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1998 Kia Sportage 4WD MPG

1998 Kia Sportage 4WD
19 mpg combined
across 2 tested versions — best is 17 city / 21 highway
1998 Kia Sportage 4WD17 mpgCity19 mpgCombined21 mpgHighway
EPA combined19mpg
Citybest tested version17mpg
Highwaybest tested version21mpg
Engines tested2.0L 4-cyl
TransmissionsAutomatic 4-spd and Manual 5-spd
Drive4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
FuelRegular
ClassSpecial Purpose Vehicle 4WD
EPA annual fuel costat 15,000 miles a year, at the fuel price used in the year of publication$3,250
CO₂ tailpipe467g/mile

Notes

  • The 1998 Kia Sportage 4WD was tested in 2 versions, and they do not all return the same figure. 2.0L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd — 17/21/19 mpg; 2.0L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd — 17/21/19 mpg. The spread between the best and worst here is 0 mpg, which is why "what does this model get" has no single answer without naming the engine and gearbox.
  • These are laboratory figures, not a prediction of your fuel economy. EPA runs a standardised dynamometer cycle so that any two cars can be compared on identical terms. Real driving diverges from it in every direction — short trips before the engine warms, cold weather, roof boxes, tyre pressure, a heavy right foot and sustained speeds above about 60 mph all cost several mpg each. EPA's own guidance is that the label figure is a comparison tool, and that individual results vary widely.
  • The test method changed in 2008, and older figures are not comparable. EPA revised its procedure for the 2008 model year to reflect higher speeds, air conditioning use and cold-weather operation, and the revision cut published city figures by roughly 10–20%. Figures shown here for pre-2008 vehicles have been restated on the current method where EPA restated them, but a number quoted from an original 1990s brochure will look better than the same car does here — the car did not change.
  • The annual fuel cost figure moves with the fuel price of the year it was published, not today's. It is useful for ranking one car against another and close to useless as a budget.

1998 Kia Sportage 4WD fuel economy

1998 Kia Sportage 4WD — 19 mpg combined, 17 city and 21 highway on the best tested version.

EPA tested 2 version(s) of this model year. Engines: 2.0L 4-cyl. Transmissions: Automatic 4-spd and Manual 5-spd. Drive: 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive.

Reading a laboratory figure honestly

These numbers exist so that two cars can be compared on identical terms, and for that they are excellent. As a prediction of what your own car will return, they are a starting point and nothing more.

The gap between the label and reality is not random. It opens up with short journeys taken before the engine reaches temperature, with cold weather, with sustained speeds above about 60 mph where aerodynamic drag dominates, with roof boxes and bike racks, with under-inflated tyres, and with hard acceleration. Each of those costs several miles per gallon on its own, and they compound.

The direction is almost always the same: real-world economy comes in below the label rather than above it, and the shortfall is largest for the cars with the highest ratings.

Nearby sizes

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