The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Hybrid fuel economy
- Massive interior
- Great screens and dash design
- Mid-trim value
Dislikes
- Top versions are too pricey
- Too many exterior design themes
- X-trims seem expensive, mostly
- Base engine is dull and thirsty
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 Kia Sportage boasts a terrific cabin with plenty of space, but it’s best as a hybrid.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Kia Sportage? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Kia Sportage is a compact SUV that compares well to the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-50, not to mention the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson.
Is the 2025 Kia Sportage a good SUV?
It’s a great overall choice, particularly when fitted with the refined, reasonably quick, and rather thrifty hybrid option. The Sportage also earns points for its huge cabin and its good features. It’s a 6.8 on the TCC scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Kia Sportage?
Not a lot. The EX trim is now available with a panoramic sunroof and power tailgate, which are grouped together in a package. The X-Line and X-Pro versions have more blacked-out interior trim than before.
The Sportage is an overstyled compact SUV with a rather nice interior with terrific 10.3-inch screens. Higher-end models have nicer trim and even better screens, plus Kia offers more inventive color hues, too. (We really like the available green upholstery.)
Kia offers three versions of the Sportage: one with a 187-hp inline-4, a 227-hp hybrid, or a 261-hp plug-in hybrid. The middle one (that’s the Sportage Hybrid) is our choice for the way it offers up decent acceleration and a refined feel without breaking the bank.
That said, all Sportages have a refined ride and work reasonably well at highway speeds. They’re fairly nimble in town, too, but no version is remotely sporty. So much for the name.
Sportage fuel economy varies by configuration, peaking at 43 mpg combined for front-wheel-drive hybrids, or 38 mpg combined with all-wheel drive. The plug-in hybrid may tempt, but do the math carefully to see if its 34-mile electric range on a full charge and 35 mpg combined are worth the extra cost.
Non-hybrids are considerably thirstier at 28 mpg combined with front-wheel drive or just 25 mpg combined with all-wheel drive.
The Sportage has a comfy interior with terrific space for humans and their gear. Four or even five adults can fit in decent comfort, and the cargo area offers 40 cubic feet of space behind an upright second row. Interior trim and materials are good in most versions, though real leather upholstery isn’t available here.
Last year’s Sportage was an IIHS Top Safety Pick and it earned five stars in NHTSA testing. Automatic emergency braking and other crash-avoidance tech comes standard, though Kia is a bit stingy about adaptive cruise control.
How much does the 2025 Kia Sportage cost?
The cheapest 2025 Sportage LX will set you back $28,565 with front-wheel drive. Standard fare includes basic crash-avoidance tech, rear parking sensors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. All-wheel drive runs $1,800 more.
The hybrid is a strong buy at around $1,400 more with similar equipment. Some drivers might pay off that difference in a year or two in fuel savings alone.
Where is the 2025 Kia Sportage made?
In West Point, Georgia, or South Korea, depending on the trim level and configuration.
2025 Kia Sportage Styling
The 2025 Kia Sportage wears much styling.
Is the Kia Sportage a good-looking car?
It’s busy, that’s for sure. The 2025 Kia Sportage is interesting enough to net a 7 on our scale, but its styling may take some acclimation.
The boomerang LED running lights up front frame complex headlights and turn signals. In between, you’ll find about five different grille designs all meshed into a single panel. The Sportage is more conventional from the side, with typical unpainted fender flares and lower trim, plus some pleasant curviness to its haunches. The rear end tries hard and manages to come off a bit more cohesive than what’s up front, with beak-like taillights and a big “Kia” badge (or KN, if you prefer) sitting on a wide panel. X-Line versions have more blacked-out trim, while the X-Pro sits up higher.
The Sportage is a whole other animal inside, where it has a clean, elegant dashboard with generally logical controls. Higher-end versions have a single panel for climate and audio controls, which requires a double-tap of a haptic mode switch, but it won’t take most drivers more than a day or two to acclimate themselves (and there are plenty of redundant steering wheel controls, anyway). That said, the base LX trim’s touchscreen and buttons look like an afterthought here. They’re lost in a big plastic panel.
Kudos to Kia for offering some fun interior hues, like the Sage Green and matte faux wood combo on the X-Line. It sounds weird, but it works.
2025 Kia Sportage Performance
The 2025 Kia Sportage is pleasant enough to drive, but no hot rod.
The 2025 Kia Sportage is far from sporty, but that’s fine. It has a comfy enough ride, but doesn’t do enough to earn more than a 5 on the TCC scale.
Is the Kia Sportage 4WD?
All plug-in hybrids are, though most other versions of the Sportage can be had with front- or all-wheel drive.
The X-Pro trim is the only Sportage offering any hint of off-road utility thanks to its locking center differential and slightly higher-riding suspension. It’s fine for a dirt road or deep snow, but that’s about it.
How fast is the Kia Sportage?
Base versions aren’t too fast. They use a 2.5-liter inline-4 rated at 187 hp, which is paired with a somewhat slow-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission that’s simply too eager to shift up a gear to save fuel.
The hybrid is a far stronger (and less thirsty) choice. It pairs a 1.6-liter turbo-4 with an electric motor and a small lithium-ion battery pack for a total system output of 227 hp. These models are peppy enough around town and can handle moderate high-speed passing. Stronger yet is the plug-in hybrid, which ups its electric motor and lithium-ion battery game to the tune of 261 hp.
The Sportage has a soft ride even with its biggest wheels. A fairly long wheelbase for the segment helps give this Kia good stability at speed, too. It settles in nicely at higher speeds, though the steering lacks the on-center directness found in, say, the Mazda CX-50. It’s also nowhere near as fun on a twisty road as that model, though the Kia is among the quieter compact crossover SUVs.
2025 Kia Sportage Comfort & Quality
The 2025 Kia Sportage boasts a spacious cabin with upscale trim.
Kia puts a spacious interior in its Sportage, which easily earns an 8 here thanks to good room for adults in front and back plus plenty of cargo space.
The front seats have reasonable support, and most versions have at least a power-adjustable driver’s seat. A power passenger’s seat is on the options list. The rear doors are enormous, and they open to reveal a spacious bench with good legroom and enough width for three adults to squeeze in for shorter stints.
Behind the rear seats, you’ll find a hefty 40 cubic feet of cargo space, which nearly doubles to 74 cubes with the seatbacks are flopped down. Hybrid and plug-in versions are a bit less spacious due to their battery packs, though they’re still above average.
Standard cloth on the base version gives way to synthetic leather across the rest of the lineup. You won’t find real leather here.
The base Sportage LX has lots of hard plastic inside, but other trim levels swap in nicer bits.
2025 Kia Sportage Safety
The 2025 Kia Sportage has a great safety record.
How safe is the Kia Sportage?
It’s an IIHS Top Safety Pick and a NHTSA five-star recipient, plus the Sportage comes with typical crash-avoidance tech. All models have automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection, automatic high-beam LED headlights, eight airbags, and active lane control.
Kia’s a bit stingy about adaptive cruise control, though, which doesn’t come on any version below the SX trim level. That system is unusually good, though, as it allows for very short stints of hands-off ability — think a mid-ride stretch — and it doesn’t ping-pong around lanes as much as some competitors do.
2025 Kia Sportage Features
The 2025 Kia Sportage is a top buy.
The 2025 Kia Sportage offers tremendous value for the money in most configurations. We base our 10 out of 10 here on lower- and mid-trim versions, which won’t break the bank; costlier versions can, well, get a bit expensive. They get points for a big touchscreen, many configurations, a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty, and lots of crash-avoidance features. That Kia fits all these features into a $28,565 (to start) vehicle is impressive.
All-wheel drive runs an extra $1,800.
The base Sportage LX has an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, cloth upholstery, and 17-inch alloy wheels. The Sportage Hybrid costs $1,400 more.
Which Kia Sportage should I buy?
We like the EX hybrid, which comes only with all-wheel drive. It’s $33,765, and it has some worthwhile upgrades like a 10.3-inch touchscreen, a heated steering wheel and front seats, and synthetic leather upholstery. Kia doesn’t include adaptive cruise control, however.
How much is a fully loaded Kia Sportage?
The Sportage Plug-In Hybrid lineup starts at around $41,000 for the off-roady X-Line, or about $45,500 for the X-Line Prestige with its big sunroof, motion-activate power tailgate, and quilted synthetic leather upholstery. At that price point, you’re in full-on luxury territory, and the top-end Sportage doesn’t really deliver.
2025 Kia Sportage Fuel Economy
The sweet spot here for most drivers is the Sportage Hybrid.
Is the Kia Sportage good on gas?
It’s not too thirsty in any form, though gas-only models are a bit less frugal than some top rivals. We rate the lineup at 3 out of 10 based on those models, which sell in higher numbers than the hybrids. With front-wheel drive, they’re estimated at 25 mpg city, 33 highway, 28 combined. Opt for all-wheel drive and they slide to 23/26/25 mpg, which isn’t great given their modest performance.
Spend instead on the hybrids, which are estimated at up to 42/44/43 mpg with front-wheel drive or a still-decent 38 mpg all around with all-wheel drive. Those are impressive figures.
The Sportage Plug-In Hybrid offers up to 34 miles of all-electric range and checks in around 35 mpg combined.
One note: those estimates are based on the 2024 model year. We doubt much will change for 2025, though.
