2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid vs 2026 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The Sportage is big enough for family use, but not so large that it's unwieldy or difficult to park in the city or in an owner's garage. It's packed with useful technology, and boasts bold styling that stands out in a sea of similarly shaped crossovers. In its hybrid-powered form, it’s also efficient, though its mileage ratings drop dramatically with all-wheel drive (AWD).

Verdict: The 2026 Kia Sportage is sized right in between smaller subcompact and larger compact crossover SUVs, and it strikes an intriguing balance of roominess, comfort and efficiency that ought to win over plenty of American buyers.

A base-model Range Rover Sport costs about the same as a mid-tier trim of any other midsize luxury SUV. Land Rover plays in the big leagues, which require a minimum of $85,000 or a lease payment approaching $2,000 per month. Even with such immense outlays, the Range Rover Sport is Land Rover's second most-popular model in the U.S. and far surpasses the Velar, the Evoque, and the Discovery. This is the lens from which we evaluate the Range Rover Sport. The particular 2026 model we tested—the SV Carbon—is also the fastest, most extreme vehicle the company has ever made, providing further context for its roughly $200,000 MSRP. At that price, the choices narrow to a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo, or a lightly-used Aston Martin DBX or Lamborghini Urus.

Verdict: Anywhere it goes, the Range Rover Sport is at the top of its class.