2025 Kia Sportage

　　2025 Kia Sportage Review

　　byKurt NiebuhrSenior Vehicle Test Editor

　　Kurt Niebuhr has worked in the automotive industry since 2005. A automotive photographer by trade, Kurt is now one of zzdcar' high-performance test drivers. He's driven and photographed hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles all over the world, so Kurt's library of automotive experiences would certainly make for a good book. When not dreaming about getting his racing license or trying to buy out-of-date film for his cameras, Kurt can usually be found cursing at his 1966 Mustang.

　　12/15/2023

　　Overview

　　Kia has packed a surprising amount of style and features into the compact footprint of its Sportage SUV. Always a good value for the money, the Sportage received a full redesign in 2023 that made it one of the most distinctive-looking SUVs on the road, regardless of price. Availble in front- or all-wheel drive, the Sportage uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine for motivation. Kia also offers a hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions but we review those separately. Even with its recent redesign, we think Kia will update the Sportage's styling yet again for 2025 based on Kia's typical product cycle. Other changes will likely be mild and could be limited to simple trim updates and a shuffling of standard and optional features.

　　

zzdcar spotlight: It's underpowered

From its edgy, futuristic styling to its long list of standard and available features, there's a lot ot like about the Sportage. But its underpowered and relatively inefficient engine is not one of them. Producing only 187 horsepower from 2.5 liters, the Sportage's four-cylinder engine kind of spoils the party, and that's when you only have one person in the vehicle. Add a family and some of their stuff and the Sportage is downright slow. There is a hybrid option, as well as a plug-in hybrid, but those are more expensive. If anything, we'd like to see Kia give the Sportage some much-needed sauce to help bring the driving experience better match the highlights of the rest of the vehicle.

　　

Competitors to consider

There's no shortage of compact SUVs to choose from, but our top picks would be the stylish Mazda CX-50, the evergreen Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4. The Mazda offers significantly more power than the Sportage, while the RAV4 is more efficient and the CR-V offers a more refined driving experience.

　　zzdcar says

　　It looks like the Kia Sportage is due for a styling refresh and we'll likely see it break cover for the 2025 model year. We wish it would get a bump in power too, but we think the Sportage will continue to be a stylish and value-packed compact SUV.

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