Compare the2023 Toyota Rav4VS 2023 Kia Sportage

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 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 Toyota Rav4 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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 Rav4 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Sportage doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the Rav4 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, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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 Rav4 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

The Rav4’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage runs out after 100,000 miles.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Rav4 for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage.

There are over 59 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rav4’s warranty.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota first in overall reliability. Kia is ranked 9th.

The Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (203 vs. 187) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 178) than the Sportage’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Toyota Rav4 is faster than the Kia Sportage:

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 gets better mileage than the Sportage:

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Rav4 higher (6 out of 10) than the Kia Sportage (5). This means the Rav4 produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sportage every 15,000 miles.

The Rav4 stops much shorter than the Sportage:

The Rav4 Adventure executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Sportage X-Pro (27.5 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Rav4 LE/XLE’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (36.1 feet vs. 38.6 feet). The Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Rav4 LE/XLE has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sportage (8.4 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Rav4 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/Adventure/TRD Off-Road’s minimum ground clearance is .3 inch higher than on the Sportage (8.6 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Rav4 has .1 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Rav4. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sportage is limited to 2500 pounds. The Rav4 4WD offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Rav4’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’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically. With the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Rav4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Sportage can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sportage’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Rav4’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Sportage’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 Rav4’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Sportage’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

Both the Rav4 and the Sportage offer available heated front seats. The Rav4 Limited also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage.

The Rav4 Adventure/TRD Off-Road has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Sportage doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Toyota Rav4 and the Kia Sportage, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Rav4 outsold the Kia Sportage by over three to one during 2022.