Ahhhh! Why does my air smell like vinegar when it’s hot and my ac is on?? This is my second Sportage that has done this! Dealership is zero help. Happens when it’s hot and use ac. Doesn’t happen when it’s semi warm and use ac. I have had 23 Sportage ex and now the 24 Sportage phev xline.
I’ve also looked this up and asked around, no solid answers.
I have a 26 phev x-line and I set the MY drive mode to Eco for engine and sport for steering. I noticed that after fully charging the car and starting it (no heat on), the ice doesn't kick on when still in Eco drive mode and can drive with rpm staying at 0 unless I punch it. But if I start the car and then select MY drive mode the minute it passes through sport mode the ice engine kicks on and idle is like 1300rpm and will stay like this for several minutes of driving even though I should have been going from sport back to Eco mode in like a second. And another odd thing is in that scenario when I'm leaving my neighborhood and am going slow and then go to break the idle kicks up to like 2400rpm, car is moving fully by electric by ice engine just revs up for a little.
I am considering the 2026 Sportage PHEV and I live in the greater Seattle area where I end up turning the heat on for longer part of the year than the AC. Basically if it's colder than 15°C (60° American, I guess?) I use heat.
And my daily commute is about 10 miles - from my house to the transit center (perfect for PHEV driving range).
I am just learning that the Kia PHEVs don't have an heat pump or resistive heating (I know resistive is inefficient) unlike the Toyota offerings which have heat pump.
If the car can't heat the cabin without turning on the engine, I lose any and every benefit of a PHEV and a regular HEV might be a better bet.
I wanted to learn from the knowledgeable folks here if I am missing something or if a regular HEV really does make more sense for my situation?