2024 Dodge Hornet R/T vs. 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV

2024 Dodge Hornet R/T ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Dodge wasn’t slow to the small crossover market. The Caliber and Journey models both went on sale back in the Bush administration. But with its attention on V8-powered muscle cars, Dodge never followed up on those mediocre entries – until now. Now, the old-school Dodge Challenger and Charger are gone, victims of government efficiency and emissions rules. And the 2024 Dodge Hornet aims to marry Dodge’s performance mojo with the sensible virtues that have made small crossovers so popular. 

That’s particularly true in the new 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T. It’s a plug-in hybrid that promises 32 miles of fully electric range (before its gasoline engine turns out to keep you going), yet also a 0-60 sprint of just 5.6 seconds. For this review, we spent a week testing the Hornet R/T and the competing Kia Sportage PHEV to see how the new Dodge stacks up against its competition. Keep reading as we compare the Hornet vs. Sportage in eight different categories, then name our overall winner, to see which PHEV crossover is the right hybrid for you. 

Pricing and Features

It costs money to plug in. The 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV has a starting price of $39,490, and the 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T opens at $41,400. That’s about $8,000 to $10,000 more than their respective non-PHEV counterparts. If you don’t think you’ll spend a lot of time running on low-cost electricity, you’d have to really love the PHEVs’ extra speed to cough up this much cash. 

Between the two, the Kia has more features for the money. Despite its lower starting price, it has several notable standard features that cost extra on the Dodge: a panoramic moonroof, a power liftgate, and GPS navigation. The Hornet counters with adaptive cruise control and a heated steering wheel that are optional upgrades on the Sportage, but especially for a lower starting price, the Kia is the better bargain. Our tested Sportage PHEV cost $44,680, while our Hornet R/T test vehicle came to $52,305 without even a sunroof.

Winner: Kia Sportage PHEV

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Range and Mileage

The Hornet R/T has an EPA-estimated 33 miles of all-electric range when you plug it in. That means that many people would be able to get all or most of the way to work and back without burning any gasoline. That’s good because the Hornet gets only 29 mpg in mixed driving after its range is used up – a merely average figure for a gas-only small crossover, much less a hybrid. And while it handily beats the gas-only Hornet’s 24 mpg estimate, we averaged 28 mpg in the R/T PHEV and 27 mpg in the gas-only Hornet GT. We averaged an all-electric range of 31.8 miles, also just below the EPA’s estimate. 

By the numbers, the Sportage PHEV is the efficiency winner. Not only does it have a 34-mile electric range, but the EPA rates it at a much more economical 35 mpg once you’re burning gasoline. Also, we saw electric ranges of more than 40 miles in the mechanically identical Hyundai Tucson PHEV in early summer. A caveat: The engine regularly switched on to run the heater when we tested the Sportage PHEV during 40-degree weather, wrecking our goal of burning no gasoline at all on short trips. When charged, the Hornet only needed the gas engine for extra bursts of acceleration. So we’ll count this category as an overall tie. 

Winner: Tie 

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Exterior Design

The Hornet joins the all-American Dodge brand by way of Italy, where it’s built alongside its corporate cousin: the Alfa Romeo Tonale. The two SUVs have nearly identical bodies, just different wheels and noses. And we think it’s a great body: sporty without being overdone, and looking smaller than it is without coming off as a low hatchback. It wears simple curves rather than slashy swoops or a boxy truck-like attitude, and its curved haunches and rear lightbar recall a Porsche Macan. 

The Sportage, fully redesigned last year, is even more extroverted. It’s bigger than the Hornet, and it uses its size to establish presence on the road. Kia also dresses up the details, including “boomerang” LED headlights that wrap around chunkier diamond-shaped lights beside the grille; a subtle bulge above the rear fender; a crisply creased tailgate; and a top-mounted rear windshield wiper that hides under a roof spoiler. The Sportage PHEV is sold exclusively in the model’s “X-Line” form, which means more squared-off off-road-themed bumpers. We’ll let you choose between the quietly potent Hornet and the confidently bigger Sportage. 

Winner: Tie 

2024 Dodge Hornet R/T ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Interior Design

The Hornet’s performance theme continues to its interior. Splitting the dashboard vertically and shifting the volume knob to the center console provides sports-car-style minimalism, yet the 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen keeps things contemporary. As you’d expect from a twin to the luxury-branded Alfa Romeo Tonale, interior materials are excellent as well. Our complaint is the ergonomics. The front seat heaters require careful touchscreen taps. The wireless smartphone charger kept losing connection to the phone every few seconds (and covering up the screen display to update this progress). The trip computer displays wildly implausible fuel efficiency, like 12 mpg, at the end of each drive (while retaining a more reasonable figure for its longer-term average). And various driver aids temporarily flashed warning lights during our weeklong test before going back to normal. 

The Sportage is simpler. True, it has a quirk of its own: Kia uses the same buttons and knobs for audio and climate controls, so you have to swap modes if you want to adjust the air conditioner instead of the stereo volume. But otherwise, everything was easy to use and operated like it promised to. And while some interior plastics are basic, the overall cabin has an upscale and stylish vibe. The 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster seamlessly connects to a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and a variety of shapes and colors protects against monotony. 

Winner: Kia Sportage PHEV

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Passenger and Cargo Accommodations

We mentioned that the Sportage is bigger than the Hornet, and you feel that in the cabin. Adults fit comfortably in the front and rear, and there’s an excellent 34.5 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seat. You can also fold the rear seat to open up 65.5 cubic feet of space, and the Sportage PHEV can tow up to 2,000 pounds. 

The Hornet R/T is cozier. Adults can fit in every seating position here, too, but without space to stretch out. The center console bin is smaller than the Kia's. And cargo space measures just 22.9 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 50.5 cubic feet with the rear seat folded – less than many subcompact crossovers, to say nothing of fellow compact models. We had to remove the bulky rigid cargo cover to carry suitcases, too. Towing capacity matches the Sportage PHEV’s, but otherwise, the Kia comes out well ahead for functionality. 

Winner: Kia Sportage PHEV

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Acceleration

So far, we’ve talked about ho-hum qualities like dashboard layouts, gas mileage, and rear-seat room. Now we come to the fun stuff, and that’s where the Dodge Hornet R/T shines. 

To start, it makes 288 horsepower and a mighty 383 lb-ft of torque, trouncing the Sportage PHEV’s 261 hp and 258 lb-ft. This lets the Dodge rocket to 60 mph in a gleeful 5.6 seconds, as much as 2 seconds quicker than the peppy but not raucous Kia. The Hornet has a selectable “Power Shot” mode that promises to unlock maximum power for sprints, but it felt the same to us (and other reviewers’ instrumented testing has backed up that impression). Besides the pure numbers, the Hornet has the eager feel of a dog straining at the leash, always trying to get moving. The Sportage just goes about its business quietly; it can pick up speed when you want it to, but only the Dodge makes it really fun. 

Winner: Dodge Hornet R/T 

2024 Dodge Hornet R/T ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Ride and Handling

The Hornet’s eager driving manners continue to its ride and handling. We found it slightly less agile than the gas-only version (which isn’t weighed down with a big electric battery), but the Hornet R/T is still one of the sharpest-handling SUVs on the market. Its tautly tuned suspension and firm, responsive steering give the Hornet a thrilling eagerness as you go around a curve. It also had high-end adjustable dampers, which let you retune the suspension on the fly for improved comfort or agility. This isn’t an ordinary small SUV; it’s a luxury sports sedan with a higher seating position. 

The Sportage PHEV is pleasant to drive, too. Natural-feeling steering makes it easy to drive, and it’s never clumsy. And the ride is smooth and quiet. If you’re not interested in zippy fun, you’d probably prefer the Kia over the Dodge. But by making things fun without becoming uncomfortable, the Hornet takes this category in our scorebook. 

Winner: Dodge Hornet R/T  

2024 Dodge Hornet PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Safety

Both the Hornet R/T and Sportage PHEV come packed with standard safety features, and we expect both to perform admirably in a crash. The difference is that, as we write, only the Sportage has been crash-tested. 

The Kia earned the highest designation of Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and last year’s model also earned five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (The 2024 model, though functionally identical to the 2023, doesn’t yet have a NHTSA rating as of this writing.) For its proven safety performance, the Sportage wins this category for now. 

Winner: Kia Sportage PHEV

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

We see the 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T being the perfect small SUV for some buyers. It’s a fuel-saving hybrid that broadens its mission to sporty performance and styling. In a sea of unassuming crossovers, it’s a brash, fresh alternative. It’s the hybrid crossover that could convert a skeptic. 

But if you already love ordinary compact crossovers for their spaciousness, comfort, smoothness, value, efficiency, and overall ease of use, the 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV wins on all fronts. We wish the engine would stay off more when the battery is charged, and we wish the cabin-temperature knob wasn’t doing double duty for the sound system. But it’s the better-rounded choice with a broader appeal. 

Winner: Kia Sportage PHEV

2023 Kia Sportage PHEV ・ Photo by Brady Holt