2023 Kia Sportage

Pros

• High-tech, subtle, and stylish design for the inside of a building.
• Plenty of room for cargo and comfortable seats
• The X-Pro trim level adds the ability to go off-road.

Cons

• The speed of a standard engine is slow.
• This engine also needs to use fuel better.

Every day, Sportage comes up short. The off-road focus of the X-Pro trim we tested makes the on-road handling feel a bit softer, but this isn’t as much of a problem as the lack of power. Our test Sportage took more than 9.5 seconds to reach 60 mph, which is very slow and many seconds slower than other cars in its class. There is only the Sportage Hybrid engine, which we strongly recommend.

Most of the time, the engine makes it harder to drive than it needs to be. Because the transmission is always looking for the best gear to get the most power out of the engine, the driver must plan for moves like passing. Aside from that, the brakes were fast, and the car was easy and precise to drive. It would be much more fun to go if you replaced the engine.

If comfort is important to you, Sportage will not let you down. Even though there aren’t many ways to change the chairs, they offer enough support and comfort everywhere. Even though the cloth isn’t very nice, it feels sturdy, and if you get a higher-grade model, the front seats heat and cool. Your back-seat passengers will be comfortable because they can adjust how far back the seats go.

The Sportage’s suspension has been fine-tuned. So, the Sportage can handle potholes and cracked pavement well, but when the road is bumpy, it can sometimes bounce up and down in an uncomfortable way. Kia did a great job of keeping rattles and squeaks out of the car’s cabin and blocking out noises that were not wanted.

The touch panel controls for the temperature control system change into media controls when not in use. This is cool, but we can see why some people might not like it. Even with the interface, the system works well and keeps the cabin temperature where it is supposed to be.

The stylish and easy-to-use interior is another good thing about Sportage. Kia has improved the cabin’s looks and style without making it less valuable. Even though not everyone will like the new touchscreen icons, which look like neon signs, Kia has kept a lot of functional tactile buttons. All-wheel-drive Sportages have 8.3 inches more ground clearance than front-wheel-drive models, so they have a slightly higher step-in height. Even though the doors have good, squared-off openings, the car is still easy to get in and out of.

Large windows and precise body measurements from the driver’s seat improve the car’s visibility. Also, the Prestige trims have a great surround-view camera system for people who want to see it even better. Except for the front, there is plenty of space for passengers everywhere else. Will people over 6 feet tall feel like they are too close to the roof in the front seat? People under 6 feet tall should be fine.

The Sportage from Kia has a lot of driver aids and in-car technologies. Both rows contain multiple USB-A and USB-C plugs, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and other standard features. Our test vehicle had a 12.3-inch display for the instrument cluster and the infotainment system. It also had a wireless charging pad. The Sportage we drove had built-in navigation, which was easy to use, but it didn’t have real-time traffic information. Also, you can’t use the touchscreen while you’re moving around.

The Sportage has a lot of systems to help the driver, like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, a surround-view monitor, and parking help. We like how things work out in the real world. We didn’t get any false alarms from the collision system, and the adaptive cruise kept a safe distance without stopping often. Smart Park can move the Sportage into or out of a parking spot with the key fob.

Every small SUV worth its salt these days has storage space, and the Sportage is no exception. The Sportage is one of the roomiest cars in its class. With the second row folded down, it has a load capacity of 74.1 cubic feet, and behind the second row, it has a load capacity of 39.6 cubic feet. The back seats fold down from the hatch, and the floor is wide and flat. The car seat anchors on the rear seats are easy to find and use, and the back seat is big enough to fit bigger rear-facing car seats.

The rest of the cottage also has a lot of places to put things. Even though the center console is big enough to hold more than a phone, it has a small box with a lid with USB connections and a wireless pad in front of the shifter. The second clever thing about the cupholders is that they can fold into the walls to make room for more extensive drinks or to make an extra bin for accessories. When set up right, the Sportage can pull up to 2,500 pounds. That’s normal for a small SUV, and it’s more than enough for a small boat or trailer.

The Sportage X-EPA Pro with all-terrain tires and all-wheel drive gets a combined 25 mpg. Since many other companies can do a better job, this could be more impressive. The problem is made worse by Sportage’s slow response time. Usually, one trait is given up to improve another. On our 115-mile test route, which had a lot of highway driving, we got 26.4 mpg, which shows that the Kia should live up to its efficiency claims. But you can expect this number to go down if you drive around town a lot, as we do.

The Sportage has many features and seems like a good deal, but its price advantage over competitors is more vital than it used to be. In exchange, it has a nice-looking interior, good build quality, and high-end features like ventilated seats that other cars can’t match. We tested the Sportage X-Pro Prestige, which had almost everything you could want in a modern small SUV.

The standard warranty for a Kia is five years and 60,000 miles, and the powertrain is covered for ten years and 100,000 miles. That is impressive work that Hyundai, the sister company, can only match. A Kia also comes with roadside help for five years or 60,000 miles.

The 2018 Sportage looks better than the previous model, but we’re still determining if everyone will like the way it looks. It’s brave, aggressive, and too much. You might like that! Most people probably don’t feel as excited as we do about where Kia is going with its interior design, but we do.

The X-Pro trim is supposed to handle more off-roading and even looks rough, but we’re still determining if it can. We spend most of our time on the road, so the powertrain is the weakest part of this system and the main reason we have a terrible time.

The Sportage EX is a good choice if you want the most features for the least amount of money. Even though it costs only $2,000 more than the base LX trim, it has many features. The Sportage EX gives you a lot for your money, from better wheels and comfort to better safety and entertainment features.

Kia Sportages variants

The Sportage, the Sportage Hybrid, and the Sportage Plug-in Hybrid are all names for this small crossover sold by Kia. InvoicePricing reviews the second and third versions separately, so this buyer’s guide is only about the regular Sportage.

There are LX, EX, X-Line AWD, SX, SX Prestige, X-Pro, and X-Pro Prestige trim levels for the 2023 Sportage. Each one has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission with eight speeds. Most Sportages have front-wheel drive, but they can also have all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive (AWD) is standard on the X-Line AWD, X-Pro, and X-Pro Prestige.