2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid vs 2022 Ford Escape

The Kia Sportage is the automaker’s longest-running nameplate in the United States. It started out as a no-frills off-roader, but today the Sportage competes in the red-hot small crossover SUV segment against big names like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4, as well as the Hyundai Tucson from Kia’s parent brand. All of those nameplates have added hybrid variants recently, so Kia followed suit as part of a 2023-model-year redesign.

The 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid will be offered alongside non-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the new Sportage, which represents the nameplate’s fifth generation. The hybrid model is part of an effort to create more space between the Sportage and the smaller Kia Seltos, which also brought increased interior space, more tech, and radical exterior styling.

The Sportage Hybrid arrives at dealerships later this year in base LX, midlevel EX, and range-topping SX-Prestige trim levels (we drove SX-Prestige for this review). Note that this isn’t the same lineup as the non-hybrid Sportage, which gets SX, X-Line, and rugged X-Pro and X-Pro Prestige trim levels as well.