Subcompact Luxury: 2023 Kia Sportage Review

Subcompact Luxury: 2023 Kia Sportage Review

The Kia Sportage is one of the most popular compact SUVs on the market, offering a stylish design, a spacious cabin, and a range of advanced features. For 2023, the Sportage has been completely redesigned, with a new look, a new platform, and new powertrain options. In this review, we will take a closer look at what the 2023 Kia Sportage has to offer and how it compares to its rivals.

Design

The 2023 Kia Sportage has a bold and distinctive appearance, with a large grille, angular headlights, and sculpted body lines. The Sportage is available in four trim levels: LX, EX, SX, and X-Line. The X-Line is the most rugged version, with unique bumpers, skid plates, roof rails, and 19-inch alloy wheels. The SX is the most luxurious version, with LED lighting, chrome accents, and a panoramic sunroof.

The Sportage's interior is equally impressive, with a modern and minimalist dashboard that features a large touchscreen display that can be either 10.25 inches or 12.3 inches depending on the trim level. The Sportage also offers a digital instrument cluster, wireless charging, ambient lighting, and a Harman Kardon sound system. The cabin is roomy and comfortable, with plenty of headroom and legroom for both front and rear passengers. The cargo space is also generous, with 32.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 67.6 cubic feet with them folded.

Performance

The 2023 Kia Sportage offers three powertrain options: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with an electric motor that produces a combined 226 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, and a plug-in hybrid version of the same engine that delivers 261 horsepower and can travel up to 34 miles on electric power alone. All engines are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

The Sportage's performance is smooth and refined, with adequate acceleration and handling. The hybrid versions are especially responsive and efficient, with an estimated fuel economy of up to 37 mpg combined for the regular hybrid and up to 79 MPGe for the plug-in hybrid. The Sportage also offers various driving modes, such as Eco, Sport, Smart, Snow, Mud, Sand, and Rock.

Safety

The 2023 Kia Sportage comes standard with a comprehensive suite of safety features that includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, driver attention warning, rear occupant alert, rear parking sensors, and a rearview camera. Higher trim levels add more features such as adaptive cruise control, front parking sensors, surround-view camera system, head-up display, blind spot view monitor, highway driving assist, safe exit assist, and remote smart parking assist.

The Sportage has not been crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) yet, but based on its previous generation's ratings and its advanced safety features, we expect it to perform well in both tests.

Conclusion

The 2023 Kia Sportage is a compelling choice for anyone looking for a compact SUV that combines style, space, technology, and efficiency. The Sportage offers a variety of options to suit different tastes and needs, from the rugged X-Line to the luxurious SX to the eco-friendly hybrid models. The Sportage also comes with Kia's excellent warranty coverage of 10 years or 100,000 miles for the powertrain and five years or 60,000 miles for the basic warranty. The Sportage's starting price is $26,290 for the LX trim level and goes up to $37,090 for the SX Prestige trim level.