2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid vs 2022 Genesis GV70

Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand has only been around for about five years, but it’s progressed so much in that time it seems like much longer than that. Genesis has quickly gone from selling two repurposed Hyundai sedans to fielding a full lineup of luxury cars and creating a distinct identity through bold design.

The 2022 Genesis GV70 is the brand’s latest effort. Not to be confused with the Genesis G70 sedan, the GV70 is a crossover SUV positioned below the recently-launched Genesis GV80 in size and price, meaning it competes with the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, Volvo XC60, and numerous other small luxury SUVs. As with the larger GV80 and the Genesis sedans, the challenge for the GV70 will be convincing new-car buyers to abandon familiar nameplates for something they might not have heard of.

The GV70 launches with a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and optional 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6. The four-cylinder is available with Standard, Select, Advanced, and Sport Prestige trim levels, while the V6 engine is available with all trim levels except the Select. Our test car was a GV70 3.5T, a range-topping AWD Sport Prestige model with the 3.5-liter V6.

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.