2025 Kia Sportage

The Sportage has something for almost everyone. Buyers seeking space, practicality, and the reassurance of excellent warranties are covered. Tech types should be happy, as well as those who like their cabins quiet. And anyone with an eye for style has a good chance of connecting with the Sportage. Driving enthusiasts? We’ll see you at the Mazda dealership, checking out the CX-50. That’s OK — most people choosing a new compact SUV don’t expect it to tear up the tarmac.

Kia has endowed the Sportage with many assets, then added a little spice to the whole concoction. We’re now in the fifth generation of Sportage, which launched for 2023. So this model is fresh yet evolved. We’d say that’s a good mix.

The Sportage Hybrid and Sportage Plug-in Hybrid each have their own reviews.

We’ve logged hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of compact SUVs, including the Kia Sportage.

The X-Line and X-Pro receive black exterior elements. A new optional Premium package for the EX consists of a panoramic sunroof and hands-free tailgate operation, both of which are standard in the next trim up.

The all-wheel-drive X-Line is a smart mix of features for the money and is the most popular variant by far.

Other top-selling compact SUVs include the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Hyundai Tucson, each starting within $1,000 or so of the Sportage.

Before buying a new Sportage compact SUV, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Resale values are in line with the class average. Recouping more money when selling a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on the next one.

The Sportage’s 187 horsepower is in that same ballpark as most of the competition — not brimming with muscle, yet with sufficient push for most situations. One aspect we really like about driving the Sportage is the quiet cabin. Seriously, we’ve found it has luxury-car levels of hush. Add the quality materials, smart interior design and the smooth ride quality, and the Sportage feels like a cut above the typical mainstream fare.

In case anyone was thinking of occasional trips where tarmac teams fear to tread, an off-road-ready Sportage X-Pro might be just the thing.

Fuel Economy

This is an area where the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 establish their superiority over most of the compact SUV class. With all-wheel drive, the Sportage achieves 25 mpg in combined city/highway driving, which is 4 mpg thirstier than the aforementioned rivals. Front-drive Sportage models run to 28 mpg combined. If efficiency is a priority in your Sportage, look to the hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants.

Although a member of the compact SUV class, the Sportage is heading toward midsize territory. The result is a spacious cabin that either matches the ever-popular and well-regarded Honda CR-V, or outdoes it slightly. The collective opinion of our reviewers is that the Sportage’s interior melds luxury with sportiness and technology.

Plus a fair bit of ingenuity. For example, when not being used to hold drinks, the center console’s cupholder area can transform into a storage place for larger items. Then there’s the one control that can either adjust the audio volume or the cabin temperature, depending on which mode is selected. We applaud the idea and the intention of keeping things as tidy as possible, but we’d gladly accept dedicated controls for each function because we don’t want to think about those modes when we’re driving.

We have nothing but praise, though, for the available unit that houses dual 12.3-inch displays, the generous 41.3 inches of rear legroom, and the massive 39.6 cubic feet of luggage space behind the rear seats.

It seems we’re in a golden age of compact SUV design. All that designed-by-committee stuff seems behind us, now that we have striking lookers like the current Kia Sportage. In our imagination, that little euphoric buzz whenever we walk up to the Sportage and press the fob’s Unlock button would always be there.

We mentioned that the Sportage is almost a midsize SUV. In reality, it fits between the bigger CR-V and the smaller RAV4. We’re talking an inch or two either way, though, so no big differences. This year sees Kia adding bumpers and side sills of gloss black, plus black badges, to the X-Line and X-Pro models. The X-Line also gains a gloss black finish for its alloy wheels.

Dual displays
Standard in the SX trim and up, these 12.3-inch screens (one for the driver, one for the infotainment system) are set into a single panoramic unit and contribute to the Sportage cabin’s contemporary feel.

Wireless charging
Standard on the EX trim and up, we simply like the convenience and the tidiness.

Drive Wise
This is the name of Kia’s set of driver aids. We’ve noticed how well things like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance work in the Sportage, as they do across the company’s portfolio.

Powered tailgate
Now available as an option in the EX while fitted as standard in higher trims, it comes with programmable heights and can open automatically when it detects the key nearby.

Harman Kardon audio
Standard from the SX trim level, we’re always happy to see — and hear — a Harman Kardon system. They’re often found in BMW vehicles, so that’s how posh Kia can be.

Blind-Spot View Monitor
Coming in at the SX Prestige level, this adds real-time video down either side of the Sportage (depending on which direction the turn signal is going), giving drivers a greater awareness of traffic when chasing lanes or turning.

The regular Sportage SUV (not the hybrid or plug-in hybrid) employs a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine making an adequate 187 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque. This connects to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is the default setup; all-wheel drive is either optional or standard in the X-Line and X-Pro versions.

5-Year/60,000-Mile Warranty

Kia offers unbeatable warranties. New-car coverage is five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first (a typical warranty here is three years or 36,000 miles). The powertrain warranty lasts 10 years or 100,000 miles, much better than most competitors.

Safety Ratings

This generation of Sportage has been made a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the institute’s second-highest accolade. Standard safety features include forward collision warning with pedestrian/cyclist detection, and lane-keeping assistance.