The Kia Sportage L award news is genuine: Kia says the Sportage has retained What Car?'s Family SUV of the Year title for a fourth consecutive year, one of four wins at the 2026 awards.
It is a British award for a British market, and there is a local twist worth knowing. In the same year the Sportage was crowned best family SUV, the cost of getting into one in Pakistan rose by more than half.
Kia Sportage Wins the 2026 Family SUV Award
Kia's own announcement puts it directly: the Sportage was “crowned best family SUV for the fourth consecutive year”, retaining the Family SUV of the Year title at the 2026 What Car? Car of the Year Awards.
It was one of four category wins. The EV3 took Small Electric SUV of the Year, the PV5 Passenger took MPV of the Year, and the EV9 was named best electric seven-seat SUV.
Kia also gives the commercial backdrop, and these are UK figures: more than 47,000 Sportage models registered in Britain in 2025, more than 65,300 Kia cars and vans in the first half of the year, and third place among UK brands. You can read Kia's own announcement of the four wins in full.
What the Award Does Not Tell You
This is worth being precise about, because most coverage will blur it.
Kia's announcement names no trim, no engine and no price. The award goes to the Sportage as judged in the United Kingdom, across whatever versions are sold there.
So it is not a hybrid award, and it is not an award for the Sportage L sold here. Anyone telling you the Pakistan-spec car won something has added that themselves.
Kia Sportage L in Pakistan: Variants and Prices
Lucky Motor Corporation refreshed the range in July 2026 and now sells the Sportage L as two hybrid variants.
| Variant | Price, ex-factory | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sportage L 1.6T FWD HEV | Rs 12,199,000 | Current facelift |
| Sportage L 1.6T AWD HEV | Rs 13,299,000 | Current facelift |
| Sportage L 2.0 FWD | Rs 10,499,000 | Previous price, limited stock |
| Sportage L 1.6T FWD HEV, earlier | Rs 11,299,000 | Discontinued |
| Sportage L Alpha | Rs 7,899,000 | Discontinued |
Prices as published in August 2026, ex-factory, excluding freight and insurance. Any new or additional duties at delivery are borne by the buyer. Confirm the current list with the dealer before ordering.
Now the arithmetic, which is where the local story is. The facelift FWD hybrid costs Rs 900,000 more than the hybrid it replaced, a rise of about eight per cent. The step from front- to all-wheel drive is Rs 1,100,000.
But the number that matters most is the entry point. The Alpha at Rs 7,899,000 is discontinued, so the cheapest Sportage L you can order is Rs 12,199,000 — Rs 4,300,000 higher, an increase of about 54 per cent in what it costs to get into a Sportage.
Why “235 hp” Needs a Second Look
You will see the Sportage L HEV quoted at 235 hp. That figure is doing something it should not.
Kia's own media site gives the 2026 Sportage HEV as a 1.6 Turbo GDI with a 64 hp electric motor, a combined system output of 232 hp and 271 lb-ft, through a six-speed automatic. In metric terms, 232 hp is 235 PS.
So “235 hp” is the metric figure wearing the wrong unit. The torque is sound: 271 lb-ft converts to about 368 Nm, which is where that number comes from.
There is a second caution. That 232 hp is the US-market figure from Kia's own page, and references for the same engine elsewhere appear at 230 and 239 hp.
Kia Pakistan has published no power figure, so we are not stating one for the local car. The official Sportage HEV specification is there if you want the US numbers.
What Lucky Motor Has Confirmed
The local launch material is company-issued, so take it as the company's own description rather than independent testing.
It confirms a turbocharged 1.6-litre Smart Stream GDI with a six-speed automatic and Shift-by-Wire, with the AWD HEV adding an electronic all-wheel-drive system and snow, mud and sand terrain modes.
Inside, it lists dual 12.3-inch displays, driver's seat memory, heated and ventilated front seats, a longer wheelbase, and the DriveWise suite — forward collision-avoidance, lane keeping, blind-spot collision-avoidance, smart cruise control and a surround-view monitor.
Does the UK Award Apply to the Pakistan-Spec Car?
Treat it as evidence, not certification. Four consecutive wins in a competitive market says something real about the car's fundamentals — cabin space, comfort, how it drives, value as judged there.
What it does not do is describe your car. Equipment, powertrain calibration and safety content differ by market, and no award here was given to a locally assembled Sportage L. Judge the award on the engineering and your own variant on its specification sheet.
Kia Sportage L Accessories in Pakistan
On a car at this price the cabin is worth protecting from day one. Our Kia Sportage L accessories in Pakistan range is the deepest we keep for any single model, covering window sun shades, microfiber and all-weather top covers, trunk and dashboard mats, floor mats, a transparent protector for the screen and instrument panel, fog lights and key covers.
The screen protector is worth a thought on this one in particular: dual 12.3-inch displays are a lot of glass to keep clean in Multan dust.
If you drive an earlier Sportage, that is a different car and a different fitment — there is a separate Kia Sportage 2018–2024 range for it. Everything is fitted in-house in Multan with nationwide delivery, and none of it has any bearing on an award or a safety rating.
Final Verdict
A fourth straight Family SUV of the Year is a real achievement and a fair reflection of what the Sportage does well. Just read it for what it is: a UK award, for the UK range, with no trim or powertrain named by Kia.
Two things to carry away locally. The commonly quoted 235 figure is PS rather than hp, and Kia Pakistan has published no power output at all. And the Sportage L now starts at Rs 12,199,000 ex-factory, about 54 per cent above the discontinued Alpha — so the best family SUV in Britain has become a considerably more expensive proposition here.
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