Are you looking for a value-packed compact SUV that’s easy to maneuver and has room for five? Then allow us to present two of today’s best options: the 2024 Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4.
Each is extremely popular thanks to its affordable pricing, available all-wheel drive (AWD), roomy interior, and a long roster of available comfort and safety features.
The Sportage has only a couple of updates for the 2024 model year. LED projector headlights and second-row seat-mounted airbags are newly standard. As for the RAV4, it now offers a two-tone Army Green/Ice Edge color combination on the outdoorsy Adventure and TRD Off-Road trims.
Let’s take a closer look at the highlights of the Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4.
2024 Kia Sportage
The 2024 Kia Sportage is available in seven trims and has a starting price of $28,565, including factory-to-dealer delivery charges. A 187-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine drives every Sportage through an 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard; 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
Superb warranty: A central selling point of the Sportage is its excellent 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. That easily exceeds what the RAV4 provides.
Dual-screen infotainment display: An attractive dual-screen display consisting of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen is fitted to all trims except the base Sportage LX.
Kia Drive Wise: This bundle of driver aids is standard and consists of automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, a driver attention monitor, and automatic high beams.
Cargo space: Not many compact SUVs can boast more cargo volume than the roomy RAV4. Yet the Kia Sportage pulls off this feat – just barely – thanks to its 39.6 cubic feet of room.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Sportage models near you.
2024 Toyota RAV4
For the 2024 model year, the Toyota RAV4 comes in six trims: LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure, Limited, and TRD Off-Road. Pricing starts at $30,025, including delivery fees. Peek in the engine bay, and you’ll spot a fuel-conscious 203-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Like the Kia Sportage, front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is optional. This generation of RAV4 was introduced for the 2019 model year.
Toyota RAV4 Highlights
Reliability and resale value: These are two reasons SUV shoppers return to the RAV4 time and time again. This Toyota SUV’s excellent record for reliability and resale value makes it a fiscally responsible pick.
Driver aids: Toyota counters the Kia Sportage with its own long roster of driver aids. Standard technologies are forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and automatic high-beam headlights.
Adventurous TRD Off-Road model: Starting at $39,645 (including destination charges), the RAV4 TRD Off-Road is perfect for outdoorsy SUV shoppers out there. It comes with all-wheel drive, a more rugged suspension, all-terrain tires, an underbody skid plate, 18-inch alloy wheels, and 8.6 inches of ground clearance. The Kia Sportage’s X-Pro model starts at $37,565 (including destination charges) with 17-inch alloy wheels, 8.3 inches of ground clearance, Active all-wheel drive with a locking center diff, a power tailgate, and more.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the RAV4 models near you.
Similarities
They’re efficient, comfortable, spacious, and not unwieldy if you routinely have to squeeze into snug parking spots. The Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4 are about as evenly matched as they can get in the land of compact SUVs.
Conclusion
To be clear, the Toyota RAV4 is one of the smartest and absolute no-brainer choices when it comes to choosing a new vehicle. There is a reason the RAV4 is presently the best-selling SUV in the United States — in fact, there are lots of great reasons.
That said, this generation has been around for a while, and certain things, such as the overall interior design, are feeling overdue for an update. The Kia Sportage has a more polarizing design, granted, but the fact that Kia rebooted this model last year means it looks and feels more up-to-date.
Test drive and price them both; there isn’t a wrong choice to make here.
| 2024 Kia Sportage | 2024 Toyota RAV4 | |
| Starting Price | $28,565 | $30,025 |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | 2.5-liter 4-cylinder | 2.5-liter 4-cylinder |
| Horsepower | 187 hp @ 6,100 rpm | 203 hp @ 6,600 rpm |
| Torque | 178 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm | 184 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic | 8-speed automatic |
| Fuel economy MPG | 25 city/33 highway/28 combined | 27 city/35 highway/30 combined |
| Also Available | AWD | AWD |
| 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 | 105.9 inches |
| Overall Length | 183.5 inches | 180.9 inches |
| Width | 73.4 inches | 73.0 inches |
| Height | 65.4 inches | 67.0 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 38.6 feet | 36.1 feet |
| Headroom, Front | 39.6 inches | 37.7 inches |
| Headroom, Rear | 39.4 inches | 39.5 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.4 inches | 41.0 inches |
| Legroom, Rear | 41.3 inches | 37.8 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 57.5 inches | 57.5 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Rear | 55.6 inches | 56.4 inches |
| Cargo Volume | 39.6 cubic feet | 37.6 cubic feet |
