2023 Kia Sportage vs 2022 Jeep Compass

The 2022 Jeep Compass maintained a design reminiscent of its post-2017 iteration, often likened to a shrunken Grand Cherokee. Despite some exterior updates and new wheel designs, the familiar Grand Cherokee-influenced look persisted. The High Altitude model, tested here, flaunted 19-inch multi-spoke wheels with a dark sparkly finish that matched the paint, giving it an upscale appearance even though it’s a compact SUV.

Inside, the Compass made significant strides towards premium appeal, especially in the High Altitude specification. It featured a new dashboard with updated digital instrumentation and infotainment systems, soft-touch surfaces, luxury-grade leather seats, and improved sound deadening, culminating in a refined and sophisticated cabin ambiance. The lineup for the 2022 Compass ranged from the base Sport trim up to the top-tier High Altitude, with prices spanning $26,020 to $35,085 before a $1,595 destination charge. The High Altitude model tested came fully loaded, with an MSRP of $40,470, including options like standard all-wheel drive and several interior and driver assist upgrades.

In contrast, the 2023 Kia Sportage underwent a complete redesign, presenting a look described by some as French-inspired, with a resemblance to models from Renault, Peugeot, or Citroën. This new design brought an exciting and exotic aesthetic, highlighted by standout features such as bright boomerang-shaped daytime running lights and textured metal trim on the D Pillar, enhancing its stylish stance.

Inside, Kia opted for animal-friendly synthetic leather instead of traditional leather, though some users felt it didn’t quite match the premium feel of real leather. Despite this, the Sportage offered a luxurious interior, especially in higher trims. The driver’s view was expansive, thanks to a large front windshield and a relatively low beltline. A large dual-screen setup dominated the dash in all trims except the base LX, though some materials, like hard plastics and a peculiar hard plastic knee panel, detracted slightly from the overall premium experience. The 2023 Sportage also boasted various comfort features including dual-zone climate control from trims above LX.

The 2022 Jeep Compass came equipped with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder “Tigershark” engine, producing 177 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. Unfortunately, the engine’s performance left much to be desired, often feeling sluggish and unrefined, especially with its nine-speed automatic transmission. The transmission’s reluctance to downshift and quick upshifting, combined with a slow-to-react automatic stop/start system, resulted in an unrewarding driving experience. The Compass’ fuel efficiency was also below expectations, averaging 23.8 mpg in testing versus an EPA rating of 25 mpg combined. However, the Compass did offer a decent Jeep Selec-Terrain system and a capable off-road Trailhawk model, which added features like an Active Drive Low AWD system and hill descent control, increasing its off-road prowess. On regular roads, the Compass felt nimble due to its compact size but suffered from a bouncy ride and dated suspension architecture.

The 2023 Kia Sportage, for its part, featured a new 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine, generating 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Despite being marginally more powerful and fuel-efficient than its previous generation, it lacked the punch of the old turbocharged option. It offered 25 mpg city and 32 highway with FWD, and 23/28/25 with AWD. While this naturally aspirated engine felt underwhelming compared to turbocharged competitors, the Sportage stood out with its available off-road trims like the X-Pro, which included 19-inch alloy wheels, rugged exterior accents, and genuine off-road features such as all-terrain tires and higher ground clearance. These features made the Sportage capable on light off-road routes, though they affected on-road comfort due to increased noise and vibration.

The 2022 Jeep Compass, while sharing similar dimensions with its siblings, the Renegade and Cherokee, was on the smaller end of the compact SUV spectrum. The interior was spacious for four adults and their luggage, but didn’t offer much additional cargo space. The High Altitude model impressed with its refined interior featuring heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and rear seats, a panoramic sunroof, and premium leather upholstery with contrast stitching. The redesigned dashboard with a high-mounted Uconnect 5 infotainment screen contributed to a significant improvement in perceived quality. Storage saw some improvement with a new center console, but the primary storage bin remained small. The Compass offered 27.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and up to 59.8 cubic feet with the seats folded down, exceeding the capacity of the more expensive Jeep Cherokee.

The 2023 Kia Sportage benefited from its increased size, 7.1 inches longer with a 3.4-inch longer wheelbase compared to its predecessor. This resulted in generous interior space, boasting 41.3 inches of rear-seat legroom and 39.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. With the rear seats folded down, the cargo capacity expanded to an impressive 74.1 cubic feet. Front-seat storage included typical cubbies and cupholders per segment standards. However, some controls, particularly the HVAC system’s touch-sensitive buttons, were criticized for being overly complex and distracting while driving.

The 2022 Jeep Compass featured the new Uconnect 5 infotainment system, touted as five times faster than the previous version. It came with an 8.4-inch standard touchscreen or an optional 10.1-inch display, supporting multiple device pairings, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, an Amazon Alexa skill, satellite radio, and voice text-to-reply capability. It also offered over-the-air updates and optional extras like a navigation system, connected services, a WiFi hotspot, and a nine-speaker Alpine premium sound system. While Uconnect 5 was praised for its speed and functionality, it fell just short of being the industry's best due to some minor shortcomings in voice recognition and ease of use.

In the 2023 Kia Sportage, the technology package was equally impressive, particularly with the 12.3-inch touchscreen interface on EX trims and above, coupled with a panoramic, curved 12.3-inch driver information display in higher trims. Despite the sharp and stylish screens, the wired nature of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on these higher-end interfaces was puzzling, especially since the base LX trim offered wireless versions on a smaller screen. Kia’s icons were also noted for being difficult to differentiate at a glance, causing some distraction while driving. Other tech features included wireless charging, rear USB-C ports, navigation, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, HD Radio, and a Harman Kardon stereo on higher trims.

The 2022 Jeep Compass improved its safety features, now standard with forward-collision warning, pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. It also offered Highway Assist, combining adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance for highway driving, although this feature wasn’t available during testing. Other available safety features included a parking assistance system and a 360-degree surround-view camera. Despite these enhancements, the Compass had some issues with overzealous lane-keeping assist and false positives from forward-collision warnings. As of the review, crash-test results from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available, though previous ratings indicated room for improvement in headlight performance.

The 2023 Kia Sportage came equipped with a robust set of standard collision-avoidance and driver assistance systems, including automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping and lane-following assist, lane-departure warning, and rear backup sensors. Higher trims added features like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and safe exit warning. Adaptive cruise control was standard only on SX trims and above, which also included features like the blind-view monitor and Highway driving assist. While favorites like the blind-view monitor were limited to higher trims, these features significantly enhanced safety and convenience. Like the Compass, the 2023 Sportage had not yet been crash-tested by the IIHS or NHTSA at the time of review.