Is the Kia Sportage coming too late or just at the right time?

As they always say, “it’s better late than never.”

That’s probably what’s in the minds of the people over at Kia Philippines as they recently confirmed that the Sportage will be making its Philippine comeback soon, a good five years since the previous generation was last offered in our market. 

And it has some very strong competition to battle as 2026 is pretty much the year of the compact SUV. Earlier this year, Honda Cars Philippines introduced the updated CR-V, followed by Toyota Motor Philippines a few months later with the all-new generation RAV4. Nissan Philippines will also soon be staging the comeback of the X-Trail in our market.

With that, is it too late for the Kia Sportage, or is it just the right time? We didn’t have to wait to find out as we recently got some seat time with it at the sidelines of the All-new Kia Seltos Global Media Drive in Seoul, South Korea, and based on that experience, we can say it’s the latter.

READ: We drove the all-new Kia Seltos in South Korea and it’s showing a lot of promise

Now, we don’t have any clear final specifications for our market just yet, but Kia Philippines did tell us that it should be close to what’s available there in South Korea. What we can tell you is that it will surely come in electrified form, allowing it to compete better with its rivals.

Under the hood is a 1.6-liter Smartstream G turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired to an electric motor and 1.49kWh lithium-ion battery. In total, it produces 235 horsepower and 367Nm of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This is shared with the hybrid variants of the Kia Sorento and Carnival, as well as the Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe.

This powertrain does have its highs and lows due to the fact that it’s a parallel hybrid system instead of series-parallel or series hybrid systems like on its rivals. What’s great is that it will feel like any other non-electrified vehicle as you get actual gearshifts from the six-speed automatic. On the downside, you’ll have the engine running more often which will not give you the best fuel economy figures. 

That’s perfectly fine if you’re transitioning for the first time from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electrified vehicles, and if you just simply like having less of the electric vehicle feel, and more of traditional ICE vehicles.

Regardless, it’s a very competent powertrain, offering more power output and torque than most of its rivals. Do note the fact that both Kia and Hyundai again use this powertrain for their larger midsize SUV and minivan offerings. Power and torque come in effortlessly, and the torque converter automatic gives additional driver engagement and the impression of quicker acceleration.

Handling-wise, it’s what you’d expect from a compact SUV. Steering feels light and is definitely focused on driving comfort, but still enough to provide good feedback and a sense of control. Taking a very twisty road that’s limited to an average speed of 30kph also showed how well planted the body is. The speed may not sound like much, but when I say twisty road, I really mean twisty road.

The suspension leans towards the firmer side, but for good reason. The firmer tuning allows the Sportage to remain stable over road imperfections, unlike its potential and likely more affordable Chinese rivals. This eliminates any floatiness that may give occupants nausea, and keeps the ride perfectly balanced regardless of road condition.

Despite the current generation Kia Sportage being almost five years old as of this writing, an update given to it for 2025 keeps it looking fresh to this day. I really like the implementation of the latest iteration of Kia’s Opposites United design language on what is essentially a previous generation model.

The front fascia is a huge departure compared to the pre-facelift version, featuring vertical headlights with the brand’s signature Star Map lighting that replace the old boomerang-shaped lighting signature, flanking a much wider Tiger Nose front grille. It rides on X-shaped four-spoke 19-inch wheels which are certainly attractive and give a more modern touch.

Since we drove the X-Line variant, it gets more blacked-out trim surrounding the front grille which also gets a more aggressive pattern, and surrounding the windows, along with a gloss black finish for the wheels, and blacked-out badging.

The interior is also a very nice place to be. While it’s beginning to show signs of aging, it will still easily be able to keep up with what’s on the market today. A curved display houses the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, the latter being very easy to understand despite housing the majority of the vehicle’s functions. 

The seats, at least on our X-Line tester, are wrapped in a mix of leather and suede, all-black, and also features a diamond stitch pattern which adds a very premium touch and feel to the cabin. They’re also very comfortable with a good amount of support which did not feel lacking at all during our half-day drive. 

I also appreciate the changeable control panel on the lower part of the center stack, interchangeable between climate controls and audio controls at the touch of a touch button. While they’re still not hard buttons, they’re thankfully not that difficult to work with.

Overall, the Kia Sportage understandably feels like it’s aging a bit, but truthfully, most people won’t be able to tell thanks to how much of a departure it is compared to its predecessor, especially with its more subdued styling.

Our experience with it in and around Seoul, South Korea shows that it’s still something worth looking out for. With buyers now gravitating back to this overshadowed compact SUV segment, the Sportage’s re-entry in our market spoils them with more choices, and one that’s still looking very competitive despite its age and having newer competition around. 

Indeed, better late than never. Kia Philippines has one promising model coming to the market. We trust that they will be able to spec it right based on what they currently offer with their other products, and hopefully they can price it right too. Anyway, we won’t have to wait long as they did say that they will be launching it soon.

And truthfully, we’re really also just celebrating how the segment that was overshadowed by larger and similarly priced midsize pickup-based SUVs for years is once again growing.