Kia Sportage review

Our opinion on the Kia Sportage 

We already considered the Kia Sportage to be among the best SUVs around, and things have only got better for this striking family car after its refresh. Its sleek new look, interior upscale, technology boost, and streamlined trim structure bring welcome improvements, while functionality and cabin space are still strong points. The revised hybrid powertrain paired with the comfortable ride will also make this an even easier car to live with than before, and certainly more popular too.

About the Kia Sportage

The Kia Sportage mid-size SUV has been a staple of British roads for more than 30 years, and the current fifth-generation model that was launched in 2022 is one of the most popular cars in the UK. 

Sales have been climbing year-on-year, in fact, with more than 47,000 examples flying out of showrooms in 2024 alone – trumping the segment-defining Nissan Qashqai. The Sportage isn’t just popular with Brits, though; the highly regarded family SUV is also the South Korean brand’s best-selling model across Europe and globally. 

It’s currently available with either a pure-petrol engine or a full-hybrid powertrain, but company car drivers looking for a low benefit-in-kind (BiK) option will have to wait, because the plug-in hybrid version with over 40 miles of pure-electric range is only rejoining the line-up later.

Used - available now

2021 KIA

Sportage

53,622 milesAutomaticDiesel1.6L

Cash £14,799

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2023 KIA

Sportage

36,909 milesManualPetrol1.6L

Cash £19,999

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2021 KIA

Sportage

21,696 milesManualPetrol1.6L

Cash £14,699

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2015 KIA

Sportage

26,926 milesManualPetrol1.6L

Cash £9,149

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Both engine options are available across three trim levels: Pure, GT-Line and GT-Line S. 

No Sportage is poorly equipped, and the Pure trim kicks things off with:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• A 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus sat-nav
• Front and rear parking sensors plus a reversing camera
• Lane keep assistance
• Adaptive cruise control

Our preferred GT-Line trim is around £2,500 more than the Pure trim (depending upon which engine you go for), but adds a more desirable and sportier appearance package both inside and out, along with:

• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Privacy glass

Finally, the range-topping GT-Line S trim is up to a whopping £5,200 more than an equivalent GT-Line model, and includes luxuries such as:

• Adaptive LED headlights
• A panoramic glass sunroof
• Electric front seats with ventilation and driver's seat memory settings
• An electric tailgate
• An eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system
• A head-up display
• Wireless phone charging

Kia Sportage prices and latest deals

How much does the Kia Sportage cost? Well, official ‘on the road’ prices range from £30,195 to £45,775 but you can currently save an average of £3,053 through the Auto Express Find A Car service, where prices start at £28,514. You can lease a Kia Sportage from £274 per month or buy a used model at prices starting from £14,700.

Check out our latest new car deals, leasing deals and used car deals for the top offers available now on Auto Express. And don't forget we can help you sell your car, too.

​​Comfort is the Kia Sportage’s key strength. This family SUV is able to deal effectively with bumps in the road and reduce unpleasant jolts intruding into the cabin, although the compromise is that there’s a feeling that you’re not as well connected to the road as you would be in sportier alternatives.

Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed

Every model features a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The entry-level, non-hybrid version produces 147bhp and is paired with a simple six-speed manual gearbox, or an optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox like what was fitted to our prototype test car. 

With no hybrid assistance, the petrol engine needs to be worked hard, and accelerating causes it to emit a gruff, almost diesel-like tone. Trying to overtake can be quite a steady and noisy process, with a second or two’s delay before the car starts to steadily gain speed despite a significant increase in engine volume.

The hybrid versions of the Sportage offer a smoother, more refined driving experience, but we’ve always felt there’s room for improvement, especially compared with rival Toyota’s electrified powertrains. In response, Kia has fitted a more powerful electric motor, so the full-hybrid model now has 235bhp and 280Nm of torque. Its six-speed automatic transmission has been updated too, featuring a regenerative braking system including paddles behind the steering wheel for drivers to adjust the strength of the system by how quickly it slows after you lift off the accelerator.

The extra oomph from the e-motor is immediately obvious because the Sportage hybrid feels more enthusiastic when setting off. The engine also chimes in less often around town, boosting refinement and reducing fuel consumption. Suddenly putting your foot down can sometimes result in a slight jolt, as the hybrid system juggles the two power sources, but once you’re up to speed, the transmission shifts quickly to calm the engine.

Most versions of the Kia Sportage are front wheel drive, but there is a four-wheel drive option for those looking for a little more traction in slippery conditions. However, it is only reserved for the priciest GT-Line S trim with hybrid power, making it rather an expensive option when compared with its Hyundai Tucson sibling. 

Town driving, visibility and parking

The light steering and great all-round visibility make this a surprisingly easy car to pilot around town – especially if you go for a hybrid model, which is the one we prefer. The Sportage (especially models with smaller 18-inch wheels) has a smoother and more comfortable ride at low speeds than the Nissan Qashqai. 

B-road driving and handling  

The soft suspension set-up is great for handling bumpy roads, but the downside of this is that the Sportage tends to wallow around corners. We think a bit more body control won’t go amiss. The steering isn’t quite as precise as in a Ford Kuga or SEAT Ateca, either. 

As with the Qashqai, these aren’t huge negatives for a car of this type, and extra compliance means that, for the most part, the Sportage is very forgiving. We did find that some larger compressions can cause the front axle to bounce a couple of times before it fully settles, though.

Motorway driving and long-distance comfort

While its soft suspension and slightly lazy nature might not make the Sportage exciting or as fun to drive as certain rivals, it’s very good for cruising on the motorway. It feels stable, wind noise is muted, and refinement is generally good. 

The hybrid model shines again at higher speeds, because we noticed it can sometimes cruise along with the engine off and handle small bouts of acceleration without awakening the petrol engine. 

“Soft suspension and a comfy ride are two key things buyers want in a family SUV, and I think the Kia Sportage certainly delivers in that regard” - Ellis Hyde, news reporter

The latest Sportage will be available with petrol, full-hybrid, and plug-in hybrid power, giving everyone from family buyers to business users and everyone else in between an option to suit their driving needs. There’s no pure-electric version, but the Kia EV5 coming later this year is a very similarly sized SUV powered by volts alone.

Kia hasn’t confirmed the fuel efficiency for this updated model yet, but we expect the 1.6 T-GDi petrol to return just under 40mpg, while the hybrid should be able to achieve closer to 50mpg, especially with its more powerful electric motor, meaning drivers will have to rely on the petrol engine a little less.

Electric range, battery life and charge time

Kia hasn’t confirmed the pure-electric range of the upcoming revised plug-in hybrid Sportage yet either, but considering that it will use the same 13.8kWh battery as before, we do know it will be able to cover more than 40 miles without using a single drop of petrol. That range is average for this class, and a long way off rivals such as the Volkswagen Tiguan, which boasts up to 77 miles of EV range, while a number of Peugeot and Citroen PHEVs with similar ranges are just around the corner.

Based on the pre-facelift Sportage PHEV, recharging the battery from flat to 100 per cent at home using a 7.4kW wall box charger takes around two hours. The battery is covered by a separate warranty that guarantees it will maintain at least 70 per cent of its original capacity over seven years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Insurance groups

Insurance ratings for the latest Sportage are being finalised, but the pre-facelift car sat in groups 19 to 26. The updated model is likely to attract similar ratings, which aren’t alarmingly high for a car in this class. But the closely related Hyundai Tuscon is cheaper to insure than the Kia, because this starts in group 16, like the Ford Kuga.

Tax

Company car drivers will find the plug-in hybrid model (which will rejoin the Sportage line-up later) the most appealing model due to its low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rate — although an electric car, like the Kia EV5, will be lower still. 

Meanwhile, for private buyers, most of the Sportage petrol and hybrid range (including our favourite hybrid GT-Line trim) avoid the surcharge for cars costing more than £40,000 when new, and are only subject to the standard rate of vehicle excise duty (VED). The top-of-the-range GT-Line S is over this limit, unfortunately, and will incur a luxury car tax, which is an annual surcharge payable from the second time the vehicle is taxed until it the vehicle is six years old.

Depreciation

According to our most recent expert data, the Sportage should hold onto between 48 to 50 per cent of its original value over a typical three-year/36,000-mile ownership period, with the full-hybrid versions being the best performers. 

For comparison, that’s a similar result to the Ford Kuga, but the Hyundai Tucson is likely to cost you less than the Sportage in terms of lost value, retaining between 52-56 per cent over the same period.

To get an accurate valuation of a Kia Sportage, check out our free car valuation tool...

Kia knows how to style a car to stand out from the crowd, and the latest Sportage is no exception. The mid-life nip and tuck has introduced a new front bumper, stacked vertical headlights, a wider and more upright grille, and Kia’s signature ‘Star Map’ daytime running lights.

Elsewhere, there are fresh wheel designs, with sizes ranging from 17 to 19 inches, the rear bumper has been tweaked to emphasise the car’s width, and a revised tail-light signature. Overall, the butch new look perhaps isn’t as original as the previous one, but we think it will be less polarising and still pretty eye-catching.

Interior and dashboard design

It’s not just outside where the Sportage is sleeker than before. The interior features a more streamlined dashboard that ditches the tall and oddly shaped air vents of the previous iteration, while the unit that houses the car’s dual display is now thinner and has smaller bezels.

The Sportage’s futuristic-looking two-spoke steering wheel is borrowed from the Kia EV3, but more importantly, features physical buttons, including two new ones for changing the drive or terrain modes more easily. 

The Sportage’s curious switchable panel remains, allowing you to toggle between infotainment shortcuts and climate controls, but the icons are small, which can make adjusting the fan speed, for instance, a bit fiddly on the move. However, you can quickly change the temperature using a dial, and the whole set-up is certainly better than simply putting all the climate controls within the central touchscreen. The centre console still features physical buttons for features such as the heated seats and steering wheel controls, where fitted.

Materials and build quality

Our first time testing the new Sportage was in a pre-production prototype, and we were warned that material quality in some small areas wasn’t quite production ready, yet everything felt substantial to us. Our main gripe was all the dark materials that contrast with the brighter shades available in cars such as the Peugeot 3008 and Skoda Enyaq. They use fabrics and other quirkier materials in places, and feel more welcoming.

Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo

Every Sportage features an impressive 12.3-inch touchscreen, paired with either a 4.2-inch or 12.3-inch instrument panel, depending on which trim level you go for. They’re now running Kia’s latest infotainment system called ‘connected car Navigation Cockpit’, or ccNC for short. The name might not be very snappy, but the software certainly is, with menus that load quickly, and we like the fact that the icons are much larger than before, which helps make the system easy to navigate. Which it needs to be because there are so many menus and sub-menus to potentially get lost in. 

There is, however, a control centre for some key functions, as on a smartphone, that’s easily accessed by swiping down on the touchscreen. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both wireless now, and as an added bonus in top-spec models, your navigation apps can be displayed via the car’s head-up display – a first in any Kia.

Kia has also rolled out a new AI-enhanced voice assistant that can understand more natural commands and be asked to do everything from setting complex navigation routes with stops to providing information on nearby points of interest and even recommending music. 

“I’m pleased to see that instead of the piano-black plastic you used to get in the previous Sportage – which, as in any car, is a magnet for dust, fingerprints and scratches – has been replaced with a matt grey brushed finish in the latest version. That should keep the interior looking cleaner for longer.” Ellis Hyde, news reporter

Naturally, cabin space in the Sportage is the same as before. There’s plenty of head and legroom for six-foot-tall adults to sit comfortably behind anyone of similar stature in front. If you’ve got small children, mid-spec and range-topping models have USB-C charging ports handily embedded in the backs of the front seats, which has become a signature Kia feature in recent years.

There are plenty of places for your odds and ends in the Sportage's cabin. For instance, there's a wide, open shelf ahead of the gear selector that's big enough for even large smartphones. The central cup-holders are wide and deep, and the armrest behind hides another deep bin. The glovebox is a decent size, and the door bins can hold a one-litre bottle.

Dimensions and size

At 4,540mm long and 1,865mm wide, the fifth-generation Sportage is a fraction bigger than the previous model. It’s also larger than the Skoda Karoq and Nissan Qashqai. 

Driving position, seats & space in the front

The Sportage offers plenty of room up front, as you’d expect from a family SUV, and fans of a high-set driving position will appreciate the Kia more, because it feels like you sit much higher than in the almost car-like Qashqai.

Seats & space in the back 

Anyone in the back will appreciate that there’s enough space to accommodate three adult passengers. In our three-way test between the Sportage, Mazda CX-5 and SEAT Ateca, we found the Kia to have the roomiest cabin. When we tested the Kia Sportage against the previous-generation Vauxhall Grandland, our measurements showed they offer very similar amounts of rear-seat headroom and kneeroom, although the Kia stretches ahead by quite a margin in terms of elbow room. 

We like that the rear seats of the Sportage can be reclined by pulling a lever, and all versions come with a fold-down centre armrest with cupholder. Both these features help to increase comfort levels for those in the back during a long journey, and offer a little more storage.

A pair of Isofix child seat mounting points are provided on the outer positions of the rear seats. The central seatbelt in the back is a complicated arrangement that comes from the roof, which not only requires you to ensure you’re using the correct seatbelt buckles, but it also impacts the driver’s rear visibility, and some might find that the belt rubs their neck on long trips.

Boot space

There’s up to 591 litres of boot space available as well, or with the 40:20:40-split rear seats folded down, you can cram up to 1,780 litres worth of stuff into it – with the total amount depending on which powertrain you go for. Either way, luggage capacity is far more than in the Qashqai (504 litres), but not quite as much as the Hyundai Tucson (620 litres).

The hybrid version loses a little bit of boot space due to the battery and other hybrid gubbins under the boot floor. However, at 587 litres with the seats up and 1,776 litres with the seats folded, most people are unlikely to notice such a small deficit.

There are some useful features in the boot, such as the space petrol models provide underneath the boot floor to hide smaller items out of sight, and a significantly lower lip on the boot entrance compared with some rivals, making loading heavier items easier.

Towing

Towing capacity for the hybrid Sportage has increased to 1,510kg, which should be enough for a lot of people. However if you’re after a similarly sized SUV with hybrid power and need greater towing capacity, consider the Ford Kuga. In four-wheel-drive hybrid and plug-in hybrid forms, it can pull a braked trailer or caravan up to 2,100kg in weight. 

The regular petrol model has the best towing capacity of the Sportage range, at 1,650kg.

“One word of caution I have is that the top-of-the-range GT-Line S comes with a panoramic sliding glass sunroof, and that has an impact on headroom for those in the rear. If you happen to travel with taller teens or adults in the back, it’s best you avoid this version and go for our preferred GT-Line trim instead.” - Max Adams, online reviews editor 

When the latest Kia Sportage was tested by Euro NCAP in July 2022, it received the maximum five-star safety score.

The standard safety kit is excellent; cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera are included. Various camera and radar-based systems are also included to help prevent collisions occurring or mitigate the after-effects. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which monitors pedestrians, cyclists and other cars, initially providing a warning of a potential collision and automatically applying the brakes, if required.

The lane-following assist system works with the lane-keeping assist system when cruise control is engaged to help keep the car between the lines when driving along a motorway or dual carriageway. Every edition, apart from models with a manual gearbox, also have smart cruise control with stop and go functionality, which means it not only keeps you a set distance from the car in front, but can also bring you to a stop in heavy traffic. 

Upgrade to the top-of-the-range GT-Line S trim, and you’ll benefit from blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, which warns you of cars alongside you on the motorway, plus Kia’s ‘blind-spot view monitor’, which displays a feed from the car’s side cameras when you indicate. Also fitted on top-flight models is a 360-degree surround-view camera system, parking collision avoidance assist and a remote smart parking assist to help if you’re stuck in a tight car parking bay and can’t open the doors to get in.

Kia is often a top performer in our Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, but it didn’t do so well this time around and landed in 18th place (out of 31) in our best car manufacturer rankings. Meanwhile, the Mk5 Sportage fell dramatically from 11th to 45th place in our list of the best cars to own. Among the complaints, owners told us they were dissatisfied with the ease of activating or deactivating assistance systems.

Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty beats most of its close rivals, although Toyota offers the opportunity to extend its standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty by one year or 10,000 miles at a time whenever you take your car in for routine servicing at a main dealer, up until the car is 10 years old or has covered 100,000 miles.

Best buy: Kia Sportage GT-Line Hybrid

No version of the Kia Sportage is poorly equipped.  Even the base model features a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, Kia’s very latest infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat-nav, a reversing camera, parking sensors all-round and multiple driver-assistance features. 

But for an extra £2,500, GT-Line trim provides some welcome extra features, including heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, leather and suede seat upholstery, plus sportier styling and larger rims. Regarding powertrains, we would go for the hybrid version over the cheaper pure-petrol model, due to its superior refinement, fuel economy and performance. 

We think you can skip the top-of-the-range GT-Line S due to its high price, which isn’t justified despite all the extra equipment it offers. For similar money to a GT-Line S Sportage, you could get into the bigger and more versatile Skoda Kodiaq large SUV, which seems like much better value to us.

Kia Sportage alternatives

With many capable rivals in the mid-size SUV market, the Kia Sportage has its work cut out. Its closest competitor is the Hyundai Tucson, which is based on the same platform as the Sportage but has won our Mid-size SUV of the Year award four times on the trot from 2021 to 2024. Meanwhile, the Kia has only ever been highly commended. 

The Volkswagen Group also offers excellent competition in the form of the Skoda Karoq, Cupra Terramar, and Volkswagen Tiguan. Or if you want more driving fun, consider the Ford Kuga or Mazda CX-5. The Nissan Qashqai has previously been a popular choice for family buyers, although it has lost a little of its shine with the arrival of more talented opposition. 

In this competitive class, it would also be hard to recommend the expensive Honda CR-V or the commendable but dull to drive Vauxhall Grandland. Neither is a bad choice; it’s just that other rivals offer a more complete package.

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