Kia Sportage review

Is the Kia Sportage a good car?

The latest Kia Sportage certainly stands out amongst its mid-size SUV competition, and not just for its striking looks. It covers a broad range of engine options to suit all needs, while its pricing makes it very competitive. Interior space is also a strong suit, giving the Sportage a key selling point for family car buyers, plus it provides a comfortable ride and a contemporary interior to make it easy to live with.

It’s not perfect, though, with a noisy range of engines that undermine its overall refinement, and its efficiency could be better, particularly amongst a growing range of hybrid rivals. 

How much does the Kia Sportage cost?

The Kia Sportage has evolved from an easily forgettable agricultural SUV into one of the most distinctive and best-selling cars on UK roads. Now in its fifth generation, the current Sportage uses similar head-turning styling cues to those found on the electric Kia EV6 in order to help it stand out from the crowd. Inside, the technology has taken a big step in the right direction, too.

When it comes to powering the Sportage, there’s a wide variety of engine options to choose from. Although there’s currently no fully electric variant, there’s a regular petrol engine accompanied with mild-hybrid tech, along with full hybrid and plug-in hybrid models that can be had with either front- or four-wheel drive.  

The regular petrol uses a 157bhp 1.6 T-GDi engine and is available with a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT automatic transmission, and comes only with two-wheel drive.

The hybrid and plug-in hybrid models provide more power, with 212bhp and 246bhp, respectively. Both use a six-speed automatic transmission. The PHEV features four-wheel drive as standard, and has a pure electric driving range of up to 43 miles. The regular hybrid comes standard with front-wheel drive or optional four-wheel drive - but only if you go for the top-of-the-range GT-Line S.

Trim levels move from the entry-level '2' specification (only available with the 157bhp petrol engine in manual form) through '3', '4', GT-Line, and GT-Line S. The mid-spec ‘3’ trim is arguably the sweet spot in the range - although the Shadow special edition based on this trim but with a price reduction on top of £650 worth of premium metallic paing thrown in for free is arguably the better value choice. Both ‘3’ and Shadow trims come well-equipped with dual 12.3-inch displays, partial faux-leather upholstery, heated seats, and - provided you go for an automatic or hybrid version - adaptive cruise control.

Kia offers the Sportage for just under £30,000 in ‘2’ trim, although prices climb quickly, with the top-spec GT-Line S plug-in hybrid car costing close to £46,000. Overall, though, the Sportage is still good value compared to close rivals such as the Ford Kuga and Nissan Qashqai.

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While there are certainly sharper to drive mid-size SUVs out there, the Kia Sportage excels at being a stress-free drive around town and, on the whole, it provides a comfortable ride to ease the burden of longer family holiday trips. We’d like the engine to be a bit quieter when getting up to speed because it can sound coarse when pushed. Our preferred hybrid version provides enough pace for most needs, with 212bhp and a decent 8.4 second 0-62mph time.  Read more about the Kia Sportage’s engines, performance and drive… 

While the 43.5mpg fuel economy figure of the standard petrol Sportage is nothing to write home about, the near 50mpg figure of the hybrid is much more palatable and makes it the pick of the range for private buyers. The plug-in hybrid would be the better bet for company car drivers paying benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax because of its 42-mile electric range and low emissions – although an all-electric car would be even better. The Sportage holds on to its value better than the Hyundai Tucson. Read more about the Kia Sportage’s MPG, emissions and running costs…

The designers at Kia have succeeded in giving the Sportage a distinctive style that helps it to stand out amongst the vast array of mid-size family SUVs. But that hasn’t come at the expense of a well thought out interior that’s nicely finished and comes packed with the latest in infotainment technology. It is a shame that wireless phone charging is only available on the top-of-the-range GT-Line S trim, whereas rivals offer this across a broader spectrum of their respective ranges.  Read more about the Kia Sportage’s interior, design and technology…

The Kia Sportage offers a lot of space for the money, with plenty of room for six foot occupants whether they’re sat in the front or the back. The regular hybrid version offers the greatest boot volume (587-1,776 litres) in the range, followed by the petrol (562-1,751 litres), while the plug-in hybrid has the smallest boot (540-1,715 litres) due to its battery pack taking up valuable boot space. A handy 40:20:40 split folding rear seat allows a bit more flexibility when it comes to transporting long items and people at the same time. Read more about the Kia Sportage’s boot space, comfort and practicality…

Just like the rest of the Kia range, there’s an industry leading warranty period provided as standard, and that’s backed up by a strong showing in the latest Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. The Sportage gets a top five-star score from safety experts Euro NCAP, and all versions come with plenty of safety assistance features to help prevent you getting into a collision in the first place. You will need to get an automatic version to get adaptive cruise control, or go for a top-of-the-range GT-Line S for blind spot assistance and a 360 degree camera system. Read more about the Kia Sportage’s reliability and safety…

Kia Sportage alternatives

With many capable rivals in the mid-size SUV market, the Sportage has its work cut out. Its closest competitor is the Hyundai Tucson, which is based on the same N3 platform as the Sportage. The Tucson, though, has won our Mid-size SUV of the Year title three times in a row. The Volkswagen Group also offers excellent competition in the form of the SEAT Ateca and Skoda Karoq.

If you want more driving fun, look towards 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 are particularly bad choices; it’s just that other rivals offer a more complete package.