Compact SUVs like the 2024 Kia Sportage and the 2024 Subaru Forester are known for their spacious interiors and comfortable driving dynamics while being easy on your budget.
As such, these 5-seat family haulers compete with one another and a long list of formidable rivals, including the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox, and Hyundai Tucson, to name just a few.
The 2024 Sportage stands out for its class-leading cargo volume and eye-catching exterior. Fully updated for the 2022 model year, the Sportage has a 187-horsepower 4-cylinder coupled to an 8-speed automatic and a choice of front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). Unsurprisingly, it ranks near the top of our Best Compact SUVs of 2024 list.
This doesn’t mean the 2024 Subaru Forester will be a pushover in this comparison. On the contrary, the Forester shines brightly with its high-riding suspension, standard AWD, and off-road credentials exceeding most compact SUVs. An excellent outward view and a long roster of standard driver aids help sweeten the deal.
Let’s look at the 2024 Kia Sportage and the 2024 Subaru Forester.
2024 Kia Sportage
The 2024 Sportage starts at $28,565, including a $1,375 destination charge. The Sportage has seven trims. Opting for AWD adds about $1,800 to the price of the LX, EX, and SX Prestige trims. AWD comes standard on the all-terrain-themed X-Pro and X-Pro Prestige models. The Sportage also is offered as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid, but we review those separately.
Kia Sportage Highlights
Class-leading interior space: There is room aplenty in the 2024 Kia Sportage. Behind the split-folding rear seatback is 39.6 cubic feet of storage space. Even the roomy Forester can’t match that. Legroom in the second row also exceeds what you get in the Subaru and many other compact SUVs.
X-Pro models: Subaru used to have the family-friendly/off-road-capable niche all to itself. Not anymore. The Sportage X-Pro trims come with all-terrain tires, more ground clearance, and AWD systems with settings for tackling all types of terrain.
Excellent warranty coverage: The 2024 Kia Sportage has a bumper-to-bumper warranty of 5 years/60,000 miles and a powertrain warranty of 10 years/100,000 miles. This is much more extensive than the Forester’s coverage.
Dual-screen display: A sleek and modern dual-screen display is available. It consists of a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen. This imparts an even classier air to the Sportage’s already upscale cabin.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Sportage models for sale near you.
2024 Subaru Forester
The 2024 Subaru Forester is offered in six trims: Base, Premium, Sport, Limited, Wilderness, and Touring. All variants feature a 182-hp flat-4 engine paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), sending power to all four wheels.
We’ve found performance to be acceptable for daily driving tasks, but the 4-cylinder gets a bit winded and noisy when quick acceleration is demanded of it. On the plus side, the budget-minded Forester scored our Lowest 5-Year Cost to Own laurels among compact SUVs. Forester prices start at $28,440, including a $1,345 destination fee.
Subaru Forester Highlights
Eyesight safety items: Fitted to every Forester is what Subaru calls its Eyesight suite of active driver aids. This consists of automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure alert, automatic high-beam headlights, rear-seat reminder, and adaptive cruise control. Sportage comes with standard Kia Drive Wise driver-assist technology, including auto emergency braking technology with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-following assist, lane-keeping assist, driver attention warning with leading vehicle departure alert, rear parking sensors, high-beam assist, and rear occupant alert. Adaptive cruise control is only standard from SX trim and upward.
Wilderness model: Added for the 2022 model year, the Forester Wilderness has extra go-anywhere capability thanks to 9.2 inches of ground clearance, an upgraded AWD system, lower gearing, and improved approach and departure angles courtesy of trim-specific bumpers. You also get all-terrain tires and a protective underbody skid plate.
Standard AWD: Having AWD fitted as a no-extra-cost feature is a boon to SUV shoppers who demand extra grip when roads turn slippery and treacherous.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Forester models for sale near you.
Similarities
The 2024 Kia Sportage and 2024 Subaru Forester have roomy, adult-friendly cabins, intuitive infotainment systems, generous safety suites, and good outward views. They also have similar starting prices and more off-road capabilities than most direct competitors.
Conclusion
The Sportage and the Forester are intelligently engineered SUVs. We appreciate the bolder design of the Sportage – even if this could be a deal-breaker for some – and its high quotient of standard tech and safety features. You also won’t find many compact SUVs with this amount of passenger space and cargo volume. The dual-screen dashboard display is another feather in the cap of this Kia SUV.
On the downside, we’re not big fans of the Sportage’s quirky stereo and air conditioning controls, which share buttons and require you to toggle back and forth between them. Also, the 187-hp 4-cylinder provides only modest straight-line performance.
The same can be said of the Forester’s 2.5-liter powertrain. If you’re looking for a turn of speed in an otherwise sensible SUV, you might want to look elsewhere.
The 2024 Subaru Forester impresses with its relaxed driving manners, comfortable ride, and remarkable ability to venture out onto unpaved surfaces. It also has an extraordinarily low cost of ownership and high resale values. Yet even with all that considered, the Kia Sportage gets the nod here, thanks partly to its better warranty and a higher KBB Expert Rating of 4.6 (versus 4.3 for the Forester).
| 2024 Kia Sportage | 2024 Subaru Forester | |
| Starting Price | $28,565 | $28,440 |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | 2.5-liter 4-cylinder | 2.5-liter 4-cylinder |
| Horsepower | 187 hp @ 6,100 rpm | 182 hp @ 5,800 rpm |
| Torque | 178 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm | 176 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic | CVT |
| Fuel economy | 25 mpg city/32 mpg highway/28 mpg combined | 26 mpg city/33 mpg highway/29 mpg combined |
| Also Available | AWD | 2.5-liter flat-4 |
| 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 | 105.1 inches |
| Overall Length | 183.5 inches | 182.7 inches |
| Width | 73.4 inches | 71.5 inches |
| Height | 65.4 inches | 67.5 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 38.6 feet | 35.4 feet |
| Headroom, Front | 39.6 inches | 41.2 inches |
| Headroom, 2nd Row | 39.4 inches | 39.6 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.4 inches | 43.3 inches |
| Legroom, 2nd Row | 41.3 inches | 39.4 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 57.5 inches | 58.1 inches |
| Shoulder Room, 2nd Row | 55.6 inches | 57.2 inches |
| Cargo Volume | 39.6 cubic feet | 28.9 cubic feet |
