Let’s get it out of the way: The Kia Sportage is an old car. New for the 2027 model year in the Philippine market, sure, but the fact of the matter is that the Sportage’s current look dates back to 2024. If you want to be technical about it, the current generation first debuted in 2021—more than five years ago.
This was chief among my concerns when approaching this compact crossover. Nothing drives off customers more than last-season experiences stickering for brand-new money. So after a road trip heading up to Tagaytay the long way, how do I feel about the Sportage?
I’ll put it like this: The Sportage is a very Korean experience. It has well-considered ergonomics, even if it asks for a bit of adjustment on your part. The two-spoke steering wheel looks awkward at first, but it feels good in the hand after settling into your driving position. The throttle pedal initially feels a touch too stiff, but you quickly learn that it helps with precisely modulating the 231hp and 367Nm of torque on tap. The single compartment housing the instrument panel and infotainment screens is also present, and the subtle curve to accomodate the driver is always appreciated.
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Overall good fit and finish also helps with building a positive impression. The synthetic leather upholstery is on the nicer side, with a decently supple feel to it. The Philippine spec also skips the sunroof, but this also helps minimize outside noise leaking into the cabin. Vibrations are also well-managed, and bumps are reasonably dampened for passengers.
Our drive to Tagaytay took us through the twisties of Nasugbu, and the Sportage held up well as a compact crossover. Plenty of power helps with overcoming the uphill drive, and the steering feels responsive enough for its size. Just the slightest bit of wallow, but nothing too unpleasant. The Sportage is not a corner carver by any stretch of the imagination, of course—body roll is still present (though alleviated by the battery lowering its center of gravity).
Kia’s hybrid system also juggles ICE and electric power fairly gracefully. It’s not a perfectly silent switch between power sources, but the most noise it makes is an unintrusive rumble to let you know the car it’s tapping into the gas tank. There’s also something to be said for how Kia’s hybrid system allows for the use of a conventional torque-converter automatic instead of a CVT, which definitely helps make the drive more engaging.
The Sportage’s fuel economy with four passengers onboard and a full trunk of luggage was as expected. The uphill drive to Tagaytay through Nasugbu scored 11.9km/L, while the drive home on expressways scored 31.25km/L. On average, that’s 21.58km/L; a bit better than Kia’s own claim of 20.8km/L. That said, I’d still like to see how the Sportage fares in primarily urban, Metro Manila driving. I expect that to be more of a challenge than the road trip scenario we put it through.
There is little I can truly fault the Sportage for, so let’s get into those. The rotary drive mode selector eats up too much space on the center console, and the parking brake lever is confusingly clustered along with other controls on the left-hand side of the dashboard. These can get confusing for new owners, demanding another adjustment out of them for no real benefit.
There’s also the field of blanked-out buttons for features not present in the Philippine-spec Sportage. These are for steering wheel heating and seat ventilation and heating in models overseas. In the Philippines, these are blank squares of plastic you try your best to ignore while interacting with the center console. I can imagine this could easily have been an extra cubby for holding cards or coins or gadgets, but we just get rectangles to remind us of what we can’t have. Sad.
All things considered, the experience behind the wheel of the Kia Sportage actually felt pretty good. I found everything I would have expected from a modern compact crossover, save for the few design holdovers I mentioned above. This is a car you can easily cross-shop against its legacy contemporaries, even as an aging option that just made it to the market.
As driven, this is P2.098 million for the range-topping SX variant. Despite the missing features like the sunroof, front passenger power adjustment, and ventilated seats, it’s still a well-appointed package with many modern creature comforts. The next step down is the only other variant, the EX that goes for P1.978 million.
The big exclusions here are the adaptive cruise control, the DriveWise ADAS suite, and the premium speaker system. Are these features worth saving (or spending) P120,000? That’s for you to decide. I will say, though, that Kia has gotten pretty good at strategically speccing and pricing its variants—most of what you’re looking for will be on the base model, with a reasonable price bump for the goodies if you really want them.
Despite its age, the value is still there with the Kia Sportage. At risk of sounding like a basketball analyst reaching deep to defend his favored team: It’s all about the intangibles coming together to keep this package compelling. The years might have rolled by, but there’s no taking away from it having a well-designed, quality interior. And then there’s the proven hybrid tech.
It’s hard to sum all this up in a single marketable blurb that fits neatly on a brochure, but that’s what Kia needs to do to sell this car. In that regard, I don’t envy them at all.
More photos of the 2027 Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid:
