Compare the2022 Nissan RogueVS 2023 Kia Sportage

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Rogue have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia Sportage doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Nissan Rogue has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sportage doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Rogue Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sportage doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Rogue has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rogue has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Rogue and the Sportage have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rogue its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 80 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage has not been tested, yet.

The Rogue’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage runs out after 100,000 miles.

There are over 38 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Rogue’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 2 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The Rogue’s 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 14 more horsepower (201 vs. 187) and 47 lbs.-ft. more torque (225 vs. 178) than the Sportage’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Rogue gets better mileage than the Sportage:

The Rogue has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sportage doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Rogue higher (7 out of 10) than the Kia Sportage (5). This means the Rogue produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sportage every 15,000 miles.

The Rogue has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Sportage doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Rogue’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sportage are solid, not vented.

The Rogue has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sportage doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better maneuverability, the Rogue’s turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (35.4 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

The Rogue has 1.5 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

The Rogue Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sportage doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Rogue’s driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the window control, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Sportage’s standard driver’s power window switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully.

The Rogue’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Sportage’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Rogue to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Sportage doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Rogue and the Sportage offer available heated front seats. The Rogue Platinum also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage.

The Nissan Rogue outsold the Kia Sportage by almost three to one during the 2021 model year.