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Hybrids, also known as HEVs, are getting a second wind in the marketplace. Speaking of second,
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this brand is number two behind Toyota, in the number of electrified vehicles offered,
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as confusing as that description can be. Kia feels shoppers don't know the fifth generation
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Sportage has always rolled with hybrid powertrains, so it's invited automotive
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riders to a Louisville, Kentucky event to promote the mid-cycle refresh. And maybe
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check out this giant baseball bat. We still have a little bit of an awareness
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problem that we do make HEVs. I just showed you we have over 10 vehicles
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that are electrified and we're still telling that story. Sportage is Kia's
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bestseller, and 2026s get new facias, wheel designs and interior upgrades. The
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hybrid powertrain can be had across five trim levels. We're driving the most
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expensive versions because... SX Prestige happens to be our top-selling trim at
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over 50% of the mix. On these events, they always pair us up with another
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auto rider, and I have the privilege of driving with Jeremy Korsanowski,
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and he will keep me honest if I don't get something right, or if he disagrees.
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Absolutely. Two reviews in one. Sportage is available as a plug-in hybrid with
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34 miles of all electric range. We're focusing on the HEV. Sportage is
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classified as a compact crossover, meaning it's in the most competitive
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segment in the automotive industry. Going up against other hybrids like Toyota
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RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Subaru Forester. Let's throw escape, CX-50, and sister
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Tucson into the mix, too, since all can be had with ice or hybrid powertrains.
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For 2026, the improved electric drive motor adds five horsepower, so combined
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with the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, there are 232
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horses that will never run the Kentucky Derby, and 271 pound-feet of torque.
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The 1.5 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack is under here. Sportage hybrid changes
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gears with a six-speed transmission. Since it's not a continuously variable unit,
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the dynamic feels like what most would consider normal. Manual shifting is a
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All-wheel drive gets a center-locking differential. A driveshaft turns the back
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wheels, not a separate electric motor. Drive modes are easy to get to. This is a
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great location for the button, and yes, there's loads of switch gear in here.
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Most sportages have 8.3 inches of ground clearance, so terrain modes might
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actually get used. Plus, there's hill descent control. Jeremy and I leave
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downtown Louisville for some lovely rural roads. By the way, the paint is heritage
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blue. No extra cost, either. Acceleration is solid for this class. I'll estimate
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zero to sixty in just over seven seconds, so passing on this road will
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not leave your knuckles white. You've already driven this. Ride quality for
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starters, this is on the quiet side, and I would say more towards comfort. It's not
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sloppy in any way, shape, or form. No, no, it's really not. I think it's the
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right compromise. It's what most consumers who are going to be buying
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this product, they're going to prefer a more comfortable ride. As enthusiasts, we
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may like something that handles really, really well in the corners. This
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isn't really marketed towards that despite being called a sportage. It's not
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sporty, it's much more comfortable. Yeah, if you push this really hard into a turn,
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there's going to be a certain amount of understeer, but that's the way most
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drivers should have suspension dialed in. Yeah, it's, you know, it's firm
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enough to just be fun in the corners, but generally I would say the Kia
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engineers air it on the side of comfort. Engage lane keep assist, and it does get
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bossy occasionally, but it can be turned off. Transmission, it's pretty smooth.
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Downshifts are fine. You think they're maybe a little lazy? Yeah, I think if I
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did have a complaint about the drivetrain in general, it's that the
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transmissions a little bit slow to respond. These days, we've gotten so
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used to dual clutch transmissions that fire off such quick shifts. This one
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feels a little bit lazy, especially on upshifts when you're accelerating. Yeah,
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although some people do complain about how abrupt dual clutch transmissions are.
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I like the Crips feeling, but average drivers go, eh, it's rough. Yeah,
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yeah. What are you going to do? Yeah, you can't please everybody. I would
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say, again, this car airs on the side of comfort over sportiness. The
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clear 10-inch head-up display that's hard to shoot is near luxury and offers
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turn-by-turn carplay graphics. We're driving the all-wheel drive version,
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and the EPA rated average fuel economy is 35. 35 combined. Yeah, a little low,
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actually. That is a little bit low. I think competitors like the RAV4 and CR-V
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are a little bit better than that. I would expect it to be closer to 40.
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Yeah, yeah. Front-wheel drive is much higher though. I think it's like 42. That is
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what they said, which is surprising that there's that big of a difference, of
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course, in the real world when you're, you know, counting the number of gallons
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that you're putting in the tank. It's not going to be that big of a difference
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once you get into those 30 range, like the dollar amount's not that big of
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a difference. But yeah, I'm a little surprised, 35 to 42. The as-tested
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price is $42,135, including destination and optional floor mats and cargo cover,
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so there's value here. It is interesting how, during the presentation, they were
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talking about nobody knows this as a hybrid. Everybody knows RAV4 as a
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hybrid, and I think most people know that CR-V is a hybrid, but Sportage
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not so much. Yeah, they're trying to increase awareness that Kia offers a
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range of hybrid vehicles, not just hybrids, plug-in hybrids too. I do think
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fewer people think of Kia as a brand that makes hybrids, whereas Toyota and
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Honda are well known for that. Yeah. The SX Prestige cabin is a nice place to
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spend time. The new dual 12.3-inch display is easy to read. Door releases
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feel terrific. Seats with hides from synthetic cattle are heated and
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vented. This little tab helps when closing the door. Even hard plastics have
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a quality look. Surfaces get interesting patterns and no hint of
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piano black. I'm a big fan of this blind spot camera setup. My biggest
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gripe is this switchable panel. Seems it's always on the
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interface setting when I want HVAC controls and vice versa. There's
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no shortage of cameras. Scuff this Kia up and that's on you. No lack of
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places to tuck things away either. Sportage has stowage. Don't use
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cup holders. There's extra flexibility if you need more places to
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stash things. I didn't get to spend loads of time with the user
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interface, but it seems easy enough to use with good screen
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response. Five years of full connectivity are included. And hey,
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you could watch this video while parked, of course. There's phone is
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key tech too. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are wireless. Jeremy and I
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got to talking so judging the Harman Kardon sound will be up to
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you. Space is not a problem when it comes to the back seat. I'm
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five foot nine headroom. Very good. Same with knee, leg and
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footroom quite generous. The cushion does not slide four and
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a half to max out leg or cargo room, but it's high and long
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enough for excellent thigh support. Plus the doors are big
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enough to get car seats in and out. No sweat. Door pockets are a
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little bit on the small side. Love to see storage on both
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seat backs plus bag hooks. Nice. No separate climate zone back
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here, but adjustable vents and this little cubby. This being
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the top trim heated seats back here. I like this position for
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the USB ports. It's really convenient. If there's no one
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back here, I would guess this is a good place to hang a
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jacket. Yeah, there's a little bit of a spine. It's not too bad.
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Drinks don't really go in the door pockets unless they're sealed
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water bottles, but you know, there's this. Sportage is wide
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enough so you could get three average sized adults back here
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for shorter trips across town, but for long excursions, I
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would stop at two. Those full sized adults will be pretty
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uncomfortable. Actually, as for design, the profile doesn't
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really change. Maybe part of key is hybrid identity problem is
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this is the only signal this is one. The nose is extensively
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reworked with star map DRLs that are also found on EV6 and
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EV9. It's a little bit more rugged looking than the
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outgoing face square fog lamps to the back tail lamps are
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changed up and there's a different lower fascia. This is
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freshened. It's not a wholesale change. Since I'm at an
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event, there will be no TP trunk test, but I could use cases of
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bourbon since that is the gym beam distillery over there. My
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camera bag is a bit smaller than a carry on suitcase. The
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backpack is normal sized and the security cover can be
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stashed under the floor so it doesn't have to be left
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behind. I just didn't have time to fuss with it. And look a
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spare tire. That's a rarity these days. There's power, but no
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molded in bag hooks that are helpful. Remote releases are
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unusual in this class, though. That expands the 34 and a half
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cubic foot cargo hold that probably scores an eight in the
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TP trunk test to over 65 cubes. So Sportage is very
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useful. Pricing, Sportage Hybrid is a good value. So the
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LX trim at $30,290 happens to be the lowest priced compact
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SUV hybrid in the segment with the best in class field
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economy. And then the SX Pro Siege just $10,000 more
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offers a great value and class of technology. Alright, let's
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wrap this up. Pluses and minuses. Pluses? I think it's
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comfortable. It is sizable for its class. And I would say that
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it looks really nice. Yeah. And for the price, it's a really
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good value. Minuses? Again, if you're looking for something
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sporty, this is not what you're looking for. This is a nice
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comfortable car. I think it's appropriate for the segment,
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but it's definitely not what I would call a sporty car.
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Yeah, maybe go with CX 50 hybrid for that. I'll also add the
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unusual switchable interface panel and the all wheel drive fuel
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economy average isn't as lofty as RAV4 and CRV. But the total
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package, it's extremely competitive and a hybrid that
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should be better known. Sportage would be very easy to
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live with and well worth a test drive.
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Special thanks to Jeremy Korsniewski. He's kind of legend
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in the automotive world. One of the very first employees of
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Auto Block, you know, when it wasn't full of AI generated
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filler. This bite was too good to not share. Last night, I
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had a friend. He's looking for advice for a new vehicle and
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he's thinking about buying a higher end vehicle like a Volvo
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or an Audi. And you know, something like this is starting
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to bump up against those brands. Do you agree? I mean, I do
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agree. I think I think as time goes on, what the premium
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brands offer that the competitors like Kia, you know,
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mainstream brands don't offer, it's really only in the
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badge. There's maybe a little bit more sound deadening, you
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know, additional technology and whatnot. But this car feels
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like what a luxury or premium brand would have been 10 years
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ago. Before I go, it's important for me to let you
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know that Kia brought me to Kentucky, put me up and fed
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me. But I'm here to give you good information not to get
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a free lunch. Okay. All right. Thanks for watching.
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Subscribe to the channel. Okay. Follow me on social
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media. I'm on all the major platforms. And if you have a
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question, leave it in the comments. Either I will get
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back to you or one of my followers will. This is a
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great community. That's driven. I'm Tom Volk.
