We don’t want to start by playing spoiler when it comes to our ranking of the Best Compact SUVs, but let’s say the 2025 Kia Sportage and 2025 Honda CR-V both score at the top of the charts.
What makes them stand out in such a competitive field? Each provides loads of passenger space and cargo volume, a wide range of standard and available safety features, and well-engineered driving manners.
The Sportage was redone for the 2023 model year and immediately stood out with its bold exterior design, notably its aggressive grille and boomerang-shaped headlights. The Honda CR-V was similarly redesigned in 2023 and arrived with an equally attractive shape that, like its Kia rival, houses a classy cabin with intuitive tech.
Let’s explore the highlights of the Kia Sportage and Honda CR-V to see how they compare.
2025 Kia Sportage
Available in seven trims and with a starting price of $28,565, including destination charges, the 2025 Kia Sportage is little changed from its previous year’s sibling. Perhaps the biggest change comes at the lower end of the lineup. The EX trim offers a Premium package featuring a panoramic sunroof and smart power liftgate.
A 187-horsepower 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder engine powers every Sportage through an 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard; all-wheel drive (AWD) is optional. Standard features include an 8-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, remote keyless entry, and a digital instrument display.
Kia Sportage Highlights
Class leader: Funnily enough, this is usually the bragging domain of the roomy Honda CR-V. Granted, the difference between these SUVs amounts to less than one cubic foot of cargo space behind the rear seats. But give credit where credit is due: The Sportage has class-leading cargo volume with the rear seats up, and a power liftgate is available to make loading up this Kia even easier.
Kia Drive Wise: Standard equipment on all trim levels, this bundle of driver assistance technology consists of automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, a driver attention monitor, and automatic high beams.
Outstanding warranty coverage: Let’s not forget the Sportage comes with a bumper-to-bumper warranty of 5 years/60,000 miles, along with a powertrain warranty extending to 10 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first. This class-leading warranty beats the coverage of the CR-V (and virtually every other rival).
Read our Kia Sportage Expert Review or see 2025 Kia Sportage models for sale near you.
2025 Honda CR-V
The Honda CR-V starts at $31,450, including the destination charge. It’s powered by a 190-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Front-wheel drive is standard, though all-wheel drive is optional on all three of the CR-V’s available trims. Honda also offers the CR-V as a hybrid, and for 2025, a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell version is available, too.
Honda CR-V Highlights
Safety features: Honda equips every CR-V with the Honda Sensing bundle of active driver aids. This includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, a rear-seat reminder, and automatic high-beam headlights.
Walking away: Fitted to the one-up-from-base EX trim and beyond, Honda’s Smart Entry with Walk Away Auto Lock is a self-locking/unlocking function we found convenient and comforting.
Value-packed EX-L model: It’s not often that a high trim represents great value. Yet a strong case can be made for choosing the CR-V EX-L model. Starting at approximately $36,000, it comes packed with sought-after items like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leather upholstery, wireless device charging, satellite radio, and reverse automatic emergency braking.
Read our Honda CR-V Expert Review or see 2025 Honda CR-V models for sale near you.
Similarities
The Sportage and CR-V couldn’t get much closer in terms of their impressive driving dynamics, strong fuel economy, and upscale interiors. Even zeroing in on factors like total horsepower output and cargo volume keeps these two in a virtual dead heat. But one does score ever-so-slightly above the other in our Best Compact SUV ranking.
Conclusion
The Kia Sportage and Honda CR-V are excellent picks, plain and simple. Whether you value cargo space, fuel economy, good outward visibility, or a supple highway ride, these two deliver just about everything a car buyer wants in a 2-row compact SUV with space for five adults.
Of the two, the CR-V proudly sits at the number one position in our ranking of 19 compact SUVs. Any guesses about which make and model takes second place? That would be the Kia Sportage, of course. The Sportage has the advantages of a longer warranty and lower starting price, but few vehicles on the market do everything as remarkably well as the CR-V.
New 2025 Kia Sportage Prices
|
Retail Price
|
Fair Purchase Price (92620)
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
$28,785 |
$27,363 |
|||
$30,885 |
$29,417 |
|||
$33,685 |
$32,287 |
|||
$34,385 |
$32,999 |
|||
$36,385 |
$34,660 |
|||
$37,885 |
$36,237 |
|||
$39,685 |
$37,720 |
The Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price for any individual used vehicle can vary greatly according to mileage, condition, location, and other factors. The prices here reflect what buyers are currently paying for New 2025 Kia Sportage vehicles and New 2025 Honda CR-V vehicles in typical condition when purchasing from a dealership. These prices are updated weekly. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) quoted includes the destination fee, but does not include tax, license, document fees, and options.
| 2025 Kia Sportage | 2025 Honda CR-V | |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | 2.5-liter 4-cylinder | Turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder |
| Horsepower | 187 hp @ 6,100 rpm | 190 hp @ 6,000 rpm |
| Torque | 178 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm | 179 lb-ft @ 1,700 rpm |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic | CVT |
| Fuel economy MPG | 25 city/32 highway/28 combined | 28 city/34 highway/30 combined |
| Also Available | AWD; hybrid; plug-in hybrid | AWD; hybrid, fuel-cell hybrid |
| Specs | ||
| Basic Warranty | 5 years/60,000 miles | 3 years/36,000 miles |
| Powertrain Warranty | 10 years/100,000 miles | 5 years/60,000 miles |
| NHTSA Overall Safety | 5-Stars | 5-Stars |
| Max Seating Capacity | 5 | 5 |
| Wheelbase | 108.5 inches | 106.3 inches |
| Overall Length | 183.5 inches | 184.8 inches |
| Width | 73.4 inches | 73.5 inches |
| Height | 65.4 inches | 66.5 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 38.6 feet | 37.3 feet |
| Headroom, Front | 39.6 inches | 38.2 inches |
| Headroom, 2nd Row | 39.4 inches | 38.2 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.4 inches | 41.3 inches |
| Legroom, 2nd Row | 41.3 inches | 41.0 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 57.5 inches | 57.9 inches |
| Shoulder Room, 2nd Row | 55.6 inches | 55.9 inches |
| Cargo Volume seats up/down | 39.6/74.1 cubic feet | 39.3/76.5 cubic feet |
