RAC sale - up to 33% off*
Roadside cover from £5.49 a month†. Hurry, ends 15/08/25, 10am.
*T&Cs apply. †At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Roadside (Basic). Not on sale.
The Kia Sportage is one of the best SUV you can buy. Dan Powell explains why he rates it so highly.
Things you'll like
- Upmarket and spacious interior
- High level of standard equipment
- Bold design
Things to consider
- Firm ride quality on 19-inch wheels
- Rivals are more exciting to drive
- No full EV option
What is the Kia Sportage?
Over the years, Kia has carved itself reputation for building practical and comfortable cars that deliver exceptional value. And few vehicles demonstrate these merits better than the Kia Sportage.
The original Kia Sportage (2004-2010) proved that you didn’t need to spend big to get a car that was well-equipped, easy to drive and spacious enough to accommodate a family of four.
Over the past 30 years, Kia has sold almost 500,000 Sportage vehicles in the UK (and 7 million globally). During that time, the Sportage has grown into a stylish and practical car that rivals some of the best family SUVs on sale.
Now in its fifth generation, the Sportage has evolved into an altogether more accomplished car that tempts buyers away from the Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan and Ford Kuga. Kia also thinks the Sportage has the minerals to rival the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.
The South Korean carmaker has good reason to feel confident, the fifth-gen Sportage is a design masterclass, with its striking shape, bold LED lighting patterns and ‘tiger nose’ ensuring it turns heads wherever it goes.
Offered with petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, full hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains, there should be a Sportage for most people. And all are backed by Kia’s famous seven-year/100,000 miles warranty.
Is the Kia Sportage worth buying? Read on to read our full verdict.
Verdict: is the Kia Sportage a good car?
The Kia Sportage is a class leading family SUV. It’s easy to drive, packed with useful tech and backed by a comprehensive warranty. The spacious and upmarket interior is one of the best at this price point, even if it doesn’t quite match its premium rivals. If you want an SUV that ticks all the family car boxes, the Sportage will not disappoint.
Pricing, specs & rivals
Prices for the Kia Sportage (July 2025) start at £30,885 for the entry-level 1.6- mild hybrid in Pure trim, rising to £34,425 for the full hybrid with a six-speed automatic gearbox. This is in line with pricing for the Nissan Qashqai, while undercutting more premium rivals such as the Volvo XC40 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
The Sportage gets an impressive amount of standard equipment, which means you don’t need to worry about the final price being inflated by costly extras.
All versions get a smart 12.3-inch touchscreen with built-in navigation and wireless connectivity for CarPlay and Android Auto. LED lighting and climate control is also fitted across the range, along with parking sensors and a reversing camera.
If you want your Sportage to feel a little more luxurious, we’d recommend the mid-spec GT-Line trim. It adds privacy glass for the rear windows and tailgate, along with heated front seats, roof rails and stylish alloy pedals.
GT-Line S trim tops the range and pushes the asking price beyond £40,000, which means you’ll be liable for the premium car tax fee. But you do get a lot of equipment as standard, with upgraded LED headlights, a head up driver’s display, powered tailgate, Harman Kardon sound system and a panoramic sunroof.
Rivals
The Kia Sportage competes with the best SUVs on sale. Its chief rival is the accomplished Nissan Qashqai, but you’ll also want to check out the Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Renault Austral Hybrid, Skoda Karoq, SEAT Ateca and Peugeot 3008.
If you want something that looks and feels more upmarket you should consider the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA and Volkswagen Tiguan. The Lexus UX and Volvo XC40 are also well-rounded SUVs that compete with the Sportage.
Kia Sportage: Interior comfort, quality & technology
The quality of the interior doesn’t quite match the BMW X1 or Volvo XC40, but everything feels like it’s been bolted together with purpose and there are no worrying creaks from the plastics or trim, and plenty of soft-touch materials.
Finding a good driving position is simple, thanks to the wide range of adjustment for the front seats. All versions of the Sportage get electric driver's seat lumbar support, while high spec models feature heated electric seats with three memory functions – handy if you share your car with a partner or adult children.
The interior has an open and airy feel which makes it a relaxing place to spend time. Front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera system is standard on all models, which means you won’t break a sweat when it comes to guiding the Sportage into a narrow parking space.
Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity
The infotainment system in the Sportage is excellent. It features built-in navigation as standard while the 12.3-inch display is easy to read when on the move.
The touchscreen dominates the dashboard while Pure and GT-Line models include a 4.2-inch driver display screen behind the steering wheel.
The range-topping GT-Line S gets the best driver tech, with a 10-inch head-up display and a 12.3-inch instrument screen. The graphics are crisp, and the display is fully customisable, which allows you to set-up the Sportage's screens to cater for your exact driving needs.
A row of dual-purpose, touch-sensitive buttons are lined up below the infotainment screen, which allows you to change the media selection or volume and then switch to the climate functions. We’d prefer an always visible climate control panel, but it’s better than burying it all in a touchscreen.
The leather steering wheel has buttons for all the key in-car controls. Unlike some of its rivals, the Sportage has physical steering wheel buttons that are less fiddly to use than touchpad controls.
Pairing your phone to the infotainment system is straightforward, thanks to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto being fitted as standard on all variants. USB-C sockets are also built into the front seats while the GT-Line S model gets a wireless charging pad for your phone in the centre console.
When the vehicle is stationary, the infotainment system provides access to Netflix, Disney+, YouTube and games – perfect for keeping the kids entertained if you’re stuck in traffic.
How practical is the Kia Sportage?
The Kia Sportage has lots of useable space. Four large adults have little trouble fitting into the cabin. You could probably squeeze five into the Sportage, but the person in the middle seat will find legroom restricted due to the transmission hump in the floor.
Those in the front get generous levels of head and elbow space, while those sitting in the two outer rear seats get decent levels of leg and shoulder room.
The roofline is lowered slightly if you add the panoramic sunroof, but six footers will still find the rear seats a comfortable fit.
Storage and boot space
Depending on which version of the Sportage you choose, you will get between 591 – 540 litres of boot space. That’s significantly more than you’ll find in the Nissan Qashqai or Ford Kuga.
Practicality is good with the rear seats split in a 40:20:40 layout. Folding the seats is also simple, thanks to easily accessed levers in the boot. An adjustable floor is standard on most trim levels, which means you won’t have to overextend your back to lift bulky items from the boot
Unlike the Ford Kuga and Renault Austral, the rear seats do not slide forwards or backwards. And you can’t remove them like you can with the Skoda Karoq.
In the cabin, you get good sized door pockets for water bottles. The centre storage box has a tray for spare coins and your phone, while the backs of the front seats have coat hooks and pockets for loose items.
Performance & drive: What is the Kia Sportage like on the road?
The Kia Sportage is a comfortable and versatile family SUV that’s available with good choice of powertrains that include petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, full hybrid or plug-in hybrid power.
At launch in 2022, the Sportage was offered with a 1.6-litre diesel engine with 109hp or a 1.6 petrol with 144hp. For both variants, power is delivered to the front wheel a six-speed manual transmission.
Both the petrol and diesel 1.6 engines were offered with a 48-volt mild hybrid powertrain with a seven-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox, which lowers emissions and provides a marginal improvement when it comes to fuel economy.
The 1.6 petrol full hybrid was offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive, with the latter getting an advanced all terrain mode for tackling mud, snow and sand. It develops 220hp and is linked to a six-speed automatic transmission.
A 253hp plug-in hybrid was added to the range in late 2022, which combines the 1.6 petrol engine with an electric motor and a 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It will cover up to 43 miles of range with a full battery charge.
As part of the 2025 midlife update, the mild hybrid and diesel versions of the Sportage were dropped from the line up. This means your powertrain choices are now limited to a 1.6 petrol that develops 143hp or a 1.6 full hybrid that develops 229hp.
Power, 0-62mph times
- Kia Sportage 1.6 petrol: 144hp / 9.9 seconds
- Kia Sportage 1.6 petrol mild hybrid: 144hp / 9.3 seconds
- Kia Sportage 1.6 hybrid: 220hp / 7.7 seconds (8.0 seconds for all-wheel drive)
- Kia Sportage 1.6 plug-in hybrid: 253hp / 7.9 seconds
Ride and handling
Smooth, comfortable and easy to drive, the Kia Sportage is excellent for long trips on the motorway or short school runs in a busy city.
The ride quality on the larger 19-inch wheels can be a little firm when tackling less than perfect road surfaces, but we still rate the Sportage as one of the best in the family SUV class for comfort.
If you are looking for more engagement from the driving perspective then the SEAT Ateca, BMW X1 or Mercedes-Benz GLA might be more to your liking. But we think most family SUV drivers will choose the Kia because of its fine balance between comfort, refinement and value.
Noise and refinement
The hybrid versions of the Sportage are the best for refinement and noise, with the electric motor whirring you along in near silence at low speeds. Even on the motorway, the 1.6 petrol engine doesn’t get particularly vocal when you accelerate hard.
Euro NCAP: is the Kia Sportage a safe car?
The Kia Sportage was awarded the maximum five stars in 2022 when it was crash tested by Euro NCAP, which means it’s considered to be a very safe family car.
Euro NCAP gave the Sportage a robust 87% score for adult protection and 86% for child occupant protection, which is behind the Nissan Qashqai which gets 91% in both areas.
Standard safety equipment is good, with all models getting Kia’s forward collision-avoidance assist system warning the driver or applying the brakes if it detects a potential impact with another vehicle, cyclist or a pedestrian. Lane assistance is also fitted as standard.
Fuel economy and running costs
Running costs for the Sportage should be low, with Kia’s figures claiming the 1.6 petrol hybrid will return up to 49.6mpg with the front-wheel drive model and 44.1mpg with the all-wheel drive variant.
That is slightly behind the Nissan Qashqai e-Power, however, which manages between 53 and 55mpg in official tests. And a long way short of the Renault Austral E-Tech, which promises up to 60mpg.
The mild hybrid version of the 1.6 petrol engine in the Sportage will return an official 44.1mpg while the 1.6 diesel was advertised with 61.5mpg.
The plug-in hybrid is the most efficient powertrain on paper, with Kia claiming up to 252mpg. However, it’s important to note that this figure is based on the 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery being charged on a regular basis so the petrol engine is rarely running. Failure to do this will result in running costs being closer to that of the standard 1.6 mild hybrid petrol.
How much does the Kia Sportage cost to insure?
The Kia Sportage starts in insurance group 16 for the 1.6 petrol mild hybrid in Pure trim and climbs to group 22 for the mid-spec GT-line with the full hybrid.
The Nissan Qashqai E-Power hybrid starts in group 24 while the Renault Austral E-Tech starts in group 22.
Kia Sportage FAQs
What is the best Kia Sportage model to buy?
The GT Line is the best Kia Sportage model to buy. It sits between the Pure and GT Line S models in the Sportage line-up but offers the best value for money. All versions of the GT Line get a high level of standard equipment, which includes LED headlights, sav nav, alloy wheels, parking sensors and a reversing camera.
Is the Kia Sportage a good car?
The Kia Sportage is one of the best cars in the family SUV class. It is easy to drive, competitively priced and backed by a comprehensive seven-year/100,000-mile warranty as standard.
Is the Kia Sportage a good second hand car to buy?
Yes, the Kia Sportage is a good car to buy second hand. All versions of the Sportage are efficient, comfortable and well equipped as standard. You also get Kia’s seven-year/100,000 warranty, which can be transferred to the vehicle’s next owner.
