Compare the2023 Nissan RogueVS 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid

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 Hybrid 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 Hybrid 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 Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Rogue has a standard blind spot warning system that 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 Hybrid EX/SX-Prestige offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rogue has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Sportage Hybrid EX/SX-Prestige offers Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.

Both the Rogue and the Sportage Hybrid 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 performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rogue the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage Hybrid last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

The Rogue’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage Hybrid 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.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Rogue’s reliability 23 points higher than the Sportage Hybrid.

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 Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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 Hybrid 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 Hybrid are solid, not vented.

The Rogue stops shorter than the Sportage Hybrid:

The Rogue SL/Platinum’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage Hybrid EX/SX-Prestige’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Rogue SL/Platinum has standard 19-inch wheels. The Sportage Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

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 Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

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

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

The Rogue has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage Hybrid with its rear seat folded (74.1 vs. 73.7 cubic feet).

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 Hybrid 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 Hybrid’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 Hybrid’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Rogue’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Sportage Hybrid’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Rogue’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Sportage Hybrid’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

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

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

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Rogue and the Kia Sportage Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Rogue outsold the Kia Sportage by 49% during 2022.