Used 2018 Kia Sportage for sale 

The Kia Sportage seats five and is available in three trims, namely LX, EX, and SX Turbo. The LX and the EX are equipped with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine while the Turbo trim gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder. All the models offer front-wheel drive, whereas Kia's Dynamax AWD (All-Wheel Drive) system is optional. Apart from a powerful engine, the top trim SX boasts features like navigation, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, electronic parking brake, to say the least, and are otherwise optional on the EX trim as well.

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The base LX is loaded with features and is a good choice to go with. Equipping it with Popular and Technology packages gets you some extras, including an upgraded touchscreen and accident avoidance tech. If you want a more powerful engine, then opt for the SX Turbo, however, the EX is the best value for money in the lineup. You get almost every feature that Kia has to offer in Sportage excluding the turbo-four engine, and it costs several thousand less than the SX Turbo.

The 2018 Kia Sportage has two engine options available - a 2.4-liter inline-four-cylinder gasoline-powered engine that churns out 181 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque, and a powerful turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four-cylinder gasoline-powered engine that puts out 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission comes standard on both the engines and feels smooth while shifting. While all the trims come standard with the front-wheel-drive system, an optional Kia Dynamax AWD (All-Wheel Drive) system is available as a $1,500 option. 

The base 2.4-liter engine on the 2018 Kia Sportage is adequate but fails to impress, however, the engine feels quiet and there is minimal cabin noise. A 2.0-liter turbocharged engine on the SX trim performs better and compares well with similarly powerful Ford Escape. Optional all-wheel drive across the line-up reacts quickly in slippery conditions, providing extra grip at rear wheels. Unique bumpers in AWD Sportage provide them a little more ground clearance, which is helpful in snow-covered terrain.

The Mazda CX-5 clearly has the highest power output of 187 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque, followed by the Kia Sportage that puts out 181 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. The Ford Escape comes at third with 168 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque power output, leaving the Hyundai Tucson at the bottom of the table. 

How quick is the 2018 Kia Sportage?

The base 2.4-liter Sportage feels lively, but its energy fades at higher speeds. It takes 8.8 seconds for the Sportage to cross 60 MPH from a standstill, which is average for the class. The SX Turbo, although with a zesty engine, sprints to 60 mph from a standstill in about 7.1 seconds beating most of its high-powered competition.

The 2.4-liter powered Sportage can cross the quarter-mile mark in about 16.2 seconds, which is once again not impressive but is about the most you can expect from a vehicle like this. The 2.0-liter turbocharged Sportage can achieve the same feat in 15.3 seconds. 

Similar to its rivals, the Kia Sportage's performance is what's expected of a typical compact crossover SUV. All 4 vehicles go neck-and-neck in the quarter-mile run with no major difference. While the Hyundai Tucson and Mazda CX-5 manage to scrape off 0.5 seconds from their 0 - 60 MPH run. The Kia Sportage takes a small lead in the quarter-mile run with the best time of 16.2 seconds.

How does the 2018 Kia Sportage handle?

The 2018 Kia Sportage is a solid performer overall, and handling is a strong point of this mid-size SUV. The steering feels light and quick to respond. It moves confidently on the highway and feels in control and grounded around corners. Its six-speed automatic transmission is smooth, and the Sportage handles dirt roads with ease although there is not enough ground clearance to call it a serious off-roader. The Sportage is more of a handler than a sprinter, and it is clearly visible from its performance figures. But that's exactly what makes it fun to drive in curvy stretches as this vehicle turns a whole new leaf in the aforementioned conditions. 

The LX trim has composed driving dynamics thanks to its relatively soft suspension. Moving to the EX trim, things get a bit rough. The top-end SX Turbo has a completely different demeanor, thanks to firmer springs, revised dampers, and slightly modified steering settings. The optional all-wheel-drive system is front biased and sends power to the rear wheels in slippery road conditions so as to improve the grip of the vehicle.

How good are the brakes on the 2018 Kia Sportage?

The 2018 Kia Sportage is equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system(ABS). In the LX and EX trims, the front brakes system has 12-inch vented discs while the rear brakes have 11.9-inches. The top-end SX Turbo trim receives slightly bigger discs in the front of 12.6-inch and 11.9-inch discs in the rear. The brakes in the Sportage feel strong even after repetitive use. The vehicle can come to a stop from 60 MPH in about 118 feet, which is the least distance in the segment. 

Even by being the heaviest vehicle among the competition, the Kia Sportage has the best braking performance with a 60 - 0 MPH stopping distance of 118 feet, while its corporate cousin the Hyundai Tucson takes 123 feet of distance to come to a stop from 60 MPH even though it has the least curb weight. The Mazda CX-5 takes the most distance of 135 feet to come to a stop from 60 MPH 

Kia has always been successful in making the best-in-class fuel-efficient vehicles, but the Sportage does not live up to its stingy siblings. The base engine in the Sportage gets an EPA rating of 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined, while the turbocharged engine is rated at 21 mpg city,26 MPG on the highway, and a combined MPG of 23 miles. Even though these figures fall on par with its competition, they are not good enough to seal the deal. Considering the low displacement engine and its docile nature, better fuel economy shouldn’t be hard to achieve. However, since the vehicles in this segment have similar fuel economy numbers, we cannot really blame the brand, can we?

The Mazda CX-5 has the best-combined MPG of 28 miles, followed by a tie between the corporate cousins the Kia Sportage and the Hyundai Tucson that have 26 combined MPG. However, due to its smaller fuel tank, the Mazda CX-5 has a lower range when compared to the Kia Sportage and the Hyundai Tucson. 

Kia Sportage interior looks plush and above average for the segment. You get a sporty dashboard along with intuitive controls in the front cabin, which also has an abundance of legroom for a small crossover. The base LX trim seats are YES Essential Fabric Cloth upholstered along with a 6-way manually adjustable driver’s seat and a 4-way manually adjustable front passenger seat. Move to the EX and SX Turbo trims, and Kia offers leather upholstery for both these trims with power-adjustable front row seats. While both the EX and SEX Turbo trims have 10-way power adjustable driver’s seats, the SX Turbo also gets an 8-way power-adjustable front passenger seat as standard. 

The front-row seats in the EX trim have a heating function with an optional cooling function, while the SX Turbo trim gets heated and cooled seats as standard. All the trims come with 60/40 split-folding rear bench seats with a 17-step recline function. The Kia Sportage offers decent room in both the front and second row. All the trims come with a soft-touch dashboards, armrests, and door panel trims. To make it look more premium, the EX and SX Turbo trims get artificial leather-covered door panels and gloss black trims on the center console.

In terms of overall passenger space, the Mazda CX-5 offers the best in the segment. You can find similarities in the interior dimensions of the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage as they are built pretty much on the same platform. But the Hyundai Tucson is slightly longer and hence offers more space than the Sportage.

Getting in and out of the Kia Sportage is made easy by the tall front doors, while the rear doors are also enormous in size. The material quality has improved, and now it's one of the best in the segment. Front seats are roomy and comfy and drivers have a good view of the road. The rear seat offers more space than all the rivals and has enough legroom to accommodate even the 6-footer. The rear seat gets a recline feature, which is rare among compact SUVs. The 2018 Kia Sportage seats five and comes standard with cloth upholstery. These are some of the interior features offered in the 2018 Kia Sportage:

• YES Essentials Fabric (Anti-Soiling seat) Cloth seat trim (LX trim)
• Leather upholstery (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• Power-adjustable front seats (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• Heated and ventilated front seats (SX Turbo trim)
• 60/40 split-folding rear seats with 17-step recline
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear shift knob (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• Heated steering wheel (SX Turbo trim)
• Authentic dashboard stitching (SX Turbo trim)
• Artificial leather interior door trim (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• Gloss black interior center fascia (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• LED interior lighting (SX Turbo trim)

How intuitive is the 2018 Kia Sportage’s infotainment unit?

Kia boasts multiple sizes touchscreen infotainment system in the Sportage, which is quick to respond. The LX trim comes with a 5-inch touchscreen display, followed by a 7-inch touchscreen for the EX trim, and finally, an 8-inch touchscreen display for the SX Turbo trim. Coming to the driver's information display, the LX and EX trim come with a 3.5-inch TFT cluster while the SX-Turbo trim is equipped with a 4.5-inch TFT LCD Supervision Cluster. The center stack tilts toward drivers making all the control within reach. 

The 2018 Sportage offers the best and most intuitive infotainment features in its class. It comes with some handy features such as smartphone connectivity services like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, to name a few. The infotainment system is easy to use and responds quickly to inputs. There are also some physical controls for audio and climate controls. These are some of the distinctive infotainment features offered in the 2018 Kia Sportage:

• 6-speaker audio system
• Harman Kardon 320-watt sound system with 8-speakers, CLARI-FI, and subwoofer (SX Turbo trim)
• USB/auxiliary input jacks
• Additional USB port (floor console, rear USB charger) (EX & SX Turbo trims)
• Steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls 
• Bluetooth Wireless Technology
• 12V power outlet (x3)
• SiriusXM
• Apple CarPlay
• Android Auto

How much cargo space does the 2018 Kia Sportage offer?

Even with all the passenger space that Kia has provided in the Sportage, it has compromised on the cargo space. The Sportage offers 30.7-cubic feet of cargo space with all the seats upright. Fold the second-row down, and you will avail a maximum cargo capacity of 60.1-cubic feet. The rear seats fold completely flat making it easy to load long items. There is also extra space beneath the cargo floor to store smaller items. A hands-free liftgate is available, which opens up if you stand behind it with the proximity key in your pocket. 

Coming to the storage spaces inside the cabin, the Sportage offers a couple of cupholders in the front and second row, good-sized door bins, a decently sized glove compartment, small storage in the lower center console for your smartphone, and a rather large under armrest storage space.

The Mazda CX-5 and Ford Escape offer a fair 34 cubic feet of cargo while Tucson delivers about 31 cubic feet of space, leaving the Kia Sportage with the lowest cargo space. With the second-row seats folded, the Ford Escape offers 67.8 cubic feet of space, followed by the Mazda CX-5 with 64.8 cubic feet of cargo space.

The first thing that you will notice about the 2018 Sportage is that it looks unconventional. It stands out in the competition, and buying options will vary according to styling preference. Not much has changed with the 2018 model as compared to the 2017 model as Kia has maintained the curves and lines for the 2018 model. The tiger-nose grille treatment works well with the overall design of the car. 

From the sides, it looks well-proportioned and sleek. The high-placed headlights might not rub well with some people as it does have a cartoonish look when looked at from certain angles. But other than that, it surely is an ambitious design. The base LX trim comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, which increases by an inch for the EX trim, and finally, 19-inch alloy wheels for the SX Turbo trim. While the LX and EX trim come with Bi-Projection headlights, the SX Turbo trim is fitted with Bi-xenon headlights with Dynamic Bending Light system.

The Mazda CX-5 is the lengthiest among the competition and also has the most wheelbase, which translates into more cabin space. Other than the curb weight, both the Kia Sportage and the Hyundai Tucson have similar dimensions in all aspects. But when it comes to ground clearance, the Ford Escape offers 7.8 inches, which is the highest in the segment.

The 2018 Kia Sportage has been named as the 2018 Top Safety Pick from the IIHS with ‘Good’ scores in almost all the aspects, except the headlight test in which it received "Acceptable”. NHTSA meanwhile rated the Sportage with a five-star overall with a four-star for frontal crash and rollover crash protection and a 5-star rating for the side crash protection aspect. Also, Kia has loaded the Sportage with safety features, which come both standard and optional. It comes out of the factory equipped with six airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control, and a rearview camera. The EX and SX trim gets blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alerts as standard. The SX also gets AEB ( Automatic emergency braking ) and lane departure warning as standard (optional for LX and EX). These are some of the salient safety features offered in the 2018 Kia Sportage:

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
• ABS And Driveline Traction Control
• Side Impact Beams
• Airbag Occupancy Sensor
• Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
• Front and Rear Crumple Zones
• Blind Spot Detection
• Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) 
• Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA)
• Lane Departure Warning
• Hill Start Assist Control (HAC)
• Downhill Brake Control (DBC)

Kia Sportage Vs Hyundai Tucson

Both the Sportage and Tucson offer smooth handling, ample power, and a comfortable ride, but the Hyundai scores ahead in fuel efficiency. Tucson is quiet and roomy, but the cabin quality is not as plush as the Sportage. Both the cars showcase a user-friendly infotainment system, but Kia offers more features.

There is a price difference between the two as Sportage has a higher sticker price but Tucson has excellent safety scores. Both these SUVs are closely matched so choosing between them will depend upon what factor matters the most to you.

Kia Sportage Vs Mazda CX-5

The CX-5 is a performance-oriented SUV with nimble handling and steering. It also has better mileage than the Sportage and boasts a well-built cabin like the latter. There are a lot of available features, but the CX-5 doesn't offer Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which are available in Kia. Both the SUVs accommodate five adults.

The Mazda CX-5 will leave a bigger dent in your pocket but is a better option as it gives you a more SUV-like feel.

Kia Sportage Vs Ford Escape

There is not much difference in the pricing of the two SUVs but the Escape offers better-towing capacity and more cargo space than the Sportage. The Escape is fun to drive and features a well-built interior but a lot of features are only available in the top trim. Kia, however, boasts an upscale interior and has plenty of space for the taller passengers in both rows.

If you are looking for an SUV with great value, you will be happy with the Sportage, which also has the best-in-class warranty.

Kia has impressed us with the Sportage that has a radical exterior design and more interior design and features in the class. The 2018 Sportage is a well-performing SUV. It boasts many features that a buyer looks for in an SUV, like roomy seats, plenty of techs, and nimble handling. However, there are a few drawbacks as well. Both the engine options do not offer enough power to impress, and the cargo space is undersized. The EX model with its competitive pricing and available list of features makes for a good option. So, if you are in the market for a compact crossover SUV, the Sportage is worth looking into.