Compare the2023 Honda CR-V HybridVS 2023 Kia Sportage PHEV

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V Hybrid have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Honda CR-V Hybrid 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 PHEV doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V Hybrid deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V Hybrid’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Sportage PHEV’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the CR-V Hybrid and the Sportage PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

The CR-V Hybrid’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage PHEV runs out after 100,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the CR-V Hybrid for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage PHEV.

There are over 37 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the CR-V Hybrid’s warranty.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 10 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The CR-V Hybrid has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage PHEV (14 vs. 11.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The CR-V Hybrid 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 PHEV doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The CR-V Hybrid 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 PHEV doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better maneuverability, the CR-V Hybrid’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Sportage PHEV’s (37.3 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

The Honda CR-V Hybrid may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 450 pounds less than the Kia Sportage PHEV.

The CR-V Hybrid uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The CR-V Hybrid has .4 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage PHEV.

The CR-V Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Sportage PHEV with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 34.5 cubic feet). The CR-V Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage PHEV with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 65.4 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the CR-V Hybrid. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The CR-V Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sportage PHEV uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Sportage PHEV’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The CR-V Hybrid’s standard 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 PHEV’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The CR-V Hybrid is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The CR-V was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Five/10Best Trucks” for 3 of the last 21 years. The Sportage PHEV has never been a Car and Driver “Top Five/10Best Truck” pick.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Sportage PHEV has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Kia Sportage by over two to one during the 2022 model year.