The question
Alicia is 41 years old and works as an administrator for a suburban Atlanta school district. Her commute from her Grant Park neighborhood to the district office is 24 miles one way, with additional driving between school sites during the day and family logistics on weekends. It all adds up to about 18,000 miles a year — significantly above the national average, and enough for fuel costs to matter.
Alicia has driven Kias for three vehicles running. Her current 2018 Kia Sorento is approaching 120,000 miles and beginning to show its age. She walked into her long-time Kia dealer expecting to look at the 2025 Sportage — same-size compact SUV, familiar formula, similar to her Sorento's footprint. The salesperson pointed at the EV6 on the showroom floor. "You'd never pay for gas again," he said. Alicia was skeptical but interested enough to actually run the numbers.
Her constraints: 18,000 miles a year, cash purchase, five-year ownership horizon, and a single-family home with a garage where a Level 2 charger could be installed easily (electrician quote: $850, excluded from the base analysis but noted below). The comparison: 2025 Kia Sportage EX AWD (gas) vs. 2025 Kia EV6 Wind RWD (EV).
The vehicles
2025 Kia Sportage EX AWD
$32,000
- Combined MPG26
- CategoryCompact crossover · AWD
- Depreciation model10% / yr (Kia strong recent retention)
2025 Kia EV6 Wind RWD
$42,000
- Efficiency30 kWh / 100 mi
- CategoryCompact crossover · RWD
- Depreciation model13% / yr (EV6 solid retention)
The 5-year math
| Kia Sportage | Kia EV6 | |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $32,000 | $42,000 |
| Depreciation (5-yr loss) | $13,104 | $21,066 |
| Fuel or electricity (5-yr) | $10,904 gasoline | $2,025 electricity |
| Insurance (5-yr) | $6,500 | $7,500 |
| Maintenance (5-yr) | $2,750 | $2,100 |
| State incentive | — | — (no GA state EV rebate) |
| 5-year true cost to own | $33,258 | $32,691 |
| Difference | Kia EV6 wins by $567 — a rate-structure victory | |
Assumptions: Southeast gasoline at $3.15/gal (EIA PADD 1C average, Georgia relatively low gas tax). Georgia Power Plug-In EV rate blended at $0.075/kWh (85% super off-peak at $0.06/kWh, 10% off-peak at $0.08/kWh, 5% peak at $0.20/kWh — reflects typical overnight-heavy EV charging). Insurance from Drive Economics's density-and-MSRP model for an Atlanta ZIP. Maintenance from make and category (Kia mainstream gas; Kia EV multiplier applied). Depreciation is geometric. Kia has climbed significantly in retention rankings in recent years — 10%/yr for the Sportage reflects this. EV6 depreciation of 13%/yr reflects solid post-launch stabilization. Georgia has no state EV purchase rebate; federal EV tax credit expired September 30, 2025 and is excluded. See methodology.
The verdict
The EV6 wins by $567 over 5 years — a squeaker driven almost entirely by Georgia Power's Plug-In EV rate. Take away that TOU rate structure, force Alicia onto Georgia Power's standard residential rate (~$0.13/kWh), and the EV6 total climbs by roughly $1,500 in electricity costs. Under that scenario, the Sportage wins by nearly $1,000.
The full picture:
The EV6 saves $8,879 in fuel cost versus the Sportage over 5 years — Georgia Power's overnight-heavy EV rate is one of the cheapest in the country at roughly $0.075/kWh blended, and the Sportage's 26 MPG isn't good enough to make gasoline competitive at 18,000 miles a year. It also saves $650 in maintenance.
But the EV6 loses $7,962 more in depreciation (the $10,000 higher MSRP is the big driver — even at similar retention percentages, a bigger absolute price means a bigger absolute dollar loss) and costs $1,000 more in insurance over 5 years.
Net: $9,529 in EV advantages minus $8,962 in EV disadvantages equals $567. The EV6 wins, but the margin is so thin that any small shift in assumptions could flip it.
What this case really demonstrates: a well-designed utility TOU rate can matter more than a state rebate. Georgia has no state EV purchase rebate — nothing comparable to Colorado's $5,000 or Massachusetts's $3,500 — yet Georgia Power's Plug-In EV rate delivers roughly $2,000 in electricity savings over 5 years compared to charging at the standard residential rate. In this case, that's more than four times the winning margin. Utility program design is often invisible in EV comparisons but disproportionately consequential.
What could change this
- No enrollment in Georgia Power's Plug-In EV rate. On the standard residential rate at ~$0.13/kWh, the EV6's electricity cost climbs from $2,025 to $3,510 over 5 years. That $1,485 increase alone flips the outcome — the Sportage would win by roughly $918. Enrollment requires a smart meter (Georgia Power provides free) and 30-day advance notice; not automatic.
- Higher mileage widens the EV win. At 22,000 mi/yr the EV6's advantage grows to roughly $3,100 (fuel savings compound). Alicia's 18,000-mile driving pattern is right at the threshold where the EV6 can barely overcome its higher sticker.
- Lower mileage flips the outcome. At 12,000 mi/yr the Sportage wins by about $2,300 — fuel savings can't overcome the sticker premium at moderate usage.
- Home charger installation excluded. Alicia's electrician quoted $850 for the Level 2 install. Adding this to the EV6 side flips the outcome to a Sportage win by $283. Case studies exclude infrastructure cost from base math because some drivers already have it, but Alicia should include it in her real decision.
- Federal EV credit reinstated. The prior $7,500 credit expired September 30, 2025 and is excluded. If reinstated, the EV6 would win by roughly $8,067 — a landslide.
- Considering a higher EV6 trim. GT-Line RWD ($47K) or Wind AWD ($47K) trims add $5,000 to depreciation and $500 to insurance over 5 years — reversing the outcome to a Sportage win of roughly $4,900.
- Comparing to a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (39 MPG). Against the RAV4 Hybrid, the fuel gap closes significantly. The EV6 would lose to the RAV4 Hybrid by roughly $2,600 in Atlanta. Hybrids remain formidable at moderate mileage.
Run these numbers with your details
Different Atlanta suburb, different mileage, or considering the GT-Line trim? The comparison changes fast. Try the calculator with Alicia's vehicles pre-loaded, then adjust for your situation.
Compare EV6 vs. Sportage in the calculator →