Compare the2023 Mazda CX-30VS 2022 Kia Sportage

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Sportage doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Mazda CX-30 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 CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Sportage doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Rear Smart Brake Support that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Sportage doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Sportage.

The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Sportage only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The CX-30 has standard E911 Automatic Emergency Notification, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Sportage doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the CX-30 and the Sportage 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	CX-30	Sportage
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	148	207
Neck Compression	18 lbs.	72 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	179	222
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	33.5%	42%

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	CX-30	Sportage
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	87
Hip Force	275 lbs.	327 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	197	239
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
HIC	178	301
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	583 lbs.	873 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-30 is much safer than the Sportage:

	CX-30	Sportage
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	89	209
Neck Tension	156 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis	GOOD	POOR
Pelvis Force	759 lbs.	1874 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	144	302
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	2.2 in
Shoulder Force	245 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.71 in	2.13 in
Torso Deflection Rate	11 MPH	14 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	379 lbs.	446 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

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 CX-30 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.

Warranty

The CX-30’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

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

Engine

The CX-30 has more powerful engines than the Sportage:

	Horsepower	Torque
CX-30 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	191 HP	186 lbs.-ft.
CX-30 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder	250 HP	320 lbs.-ft.
Sportage 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder	181 HP	175 lbs.-ft.
Sportage SX Turbo 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	237 HP	260 lbs.-ft.
Sportage SX Turbo 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	240 HP	260 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-30 4 cyl. is faster than the Kia Sportage:

	CX-30	Sportage 4 cyl.	Sportage SX Turbo
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	8 sec	8.1 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.3 sec	16.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.3 MPH	86.4 MPH	86.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 gets better mileage than the Sportage:

			MPG
CX-30
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/30 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/33 hwy
Sportage
	FWD	2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/24 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Sportage doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Suspension and Handling

The CX-30 Premium handles at .84 G’s, while the Sportage SX Turbo AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-30 Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Sportage LX (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Chassis

The CX-30 is 3.4 inches shorter than the Sportage, making the CX-30 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The CX-30 has .2 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front hip room and 2 inches more rear hip room than the Sportage.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each keyless remote activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Sportage doesn’t offer a memory system.

The CX-30 Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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 CX-30’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sportage’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The CX-30’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.

The CX-30’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Sportage’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The CX-30’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Sportage LX/Nightfall/EX’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

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 CX-30’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Sportage’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-30 Premium has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Sportage doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Sportage’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-30’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sportage offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.