New Kia Sportage hits the road with fresh EV-inspired design
Sixth generation of huge-selling family SUV promises more space and sharper looks
Kia’s range of all-electric models now spans all the important market segments, but it’s the petrol and hybrid-powered Sportage that remains the firm’s most popular car – and we’ve just spotted the next one testing.
The new Sportage will be the sixth generation of Kia’s compact SUV and it will have massive shoes to fill, as the current model is the UK’s third best-selling car, despite arriving back in 2021.
These spy shots, our first of the new Sportage on the road, don’t reveal too much in terms of design details, but do give us a good idea of the proportions of the Mk6 model. It’s still very much an SUV in profile, with a high roofline, tall bonnet line and plenty of ground clearance.
The overall character of the Sportage is likely to mimic that of the similarly sized, all-electric EV5. Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy took on a new approach with the likes of the EV4 and EV3, and the facelifted Sportage, which arrived in 2024, aligned more closely to the electric cars, with its new ‘Star Map’ headlights and more angular shape.
The new car is set to go even further in that direction, bringing the designs of Kia’s combustion and pure-EV models even closer.
We expect the new Sportage will be bigger than the current car, as it’ll almost certainly continue to share its underpinnings with sister outfit Hyundai’s new Tucson, revealed this summer.
The outgoing Tucson and Sportage have the same width, height and wheelbase, but the new Tucson is 35mm wider, 20mm taller and 35mm longer than its predecessor. Expect the same for the Sportage to increase passenger space, while it will also compete with the Hyundai’s massive 695-litre boot.
The interior of the Sportage will be centered around Hyundai’s all-new Pleos infotainment software, which arrived this year on the Ioniq 3 and Tucson, and will be rolled out to Kia and a claimed 20 million cars within the group up to 2030. The system, which on the latest Tucson makes use of a 12.9-inch or 17-inch touchscreen, comes with the latest AI-enhanced voice recognition, plus access to third-party apps and connected services such as YouTube and Spotify.
The Sportage’s powertrain options will also likely mirror those of the new Tucson. We expect the usual mix of petrol, full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid units, with front and four-wheel drive. Entry-level Sportages should get the 148bhp 1.6-litre T-GDI engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, with cars fitted with the seven-speed DCT gaining a 48V mild-hybrid system. Above these should be the full hybrid, with around 240bhp and a sole six-speed automatic.
The new Tucson will also get a new plug-in hybrid with a 17.1kWh battery allowing for up to 50 miles of range. The current Sportage PHEV maxes out at 44 miles thanks to a 13.8kWh battery.
Given this is our first look at the next Sportage, we don’t expect a full reveal until 2027.
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