Compare the2023 Ford EscapeVS 2022 Kia Sportage

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape 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 Ford Escape 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 Escape has standard Post-Collision Braking, which automatically apply 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Escape (except Base) offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Sportage doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Escape (except Base) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera 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 Escape 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Sportage’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape has standard Cross Traffic Alert to warn the driver of approaching traffic and automatically engage the brakes to help avoid a collision. Kia charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Sportage.

The Escape has standard 911 Assist, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions or 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 Escape 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 and available all wheel drive.

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

	Escape	Sportage
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	143	207
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	203 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	72 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	102	222
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	36.3%	42%
Neck Compression	58 lbs.	70 lbs.

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 Ford Escape is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	Escape	Sportage
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	240 lbs.	327 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	97	239
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	56 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	13 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	873 lbs.

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

Warranty

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

There are almost 4 times as many Ford dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

Reliability

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Sportage doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

Engine

The Escape has more powerful engines than the Sportage:

	Horsepower	Torque
Escape 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder	181 HP	190 lbs.-ft.
Escape 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	250 HP	280 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 Consumer Reports the Ford Escape turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Kia Sportage 4 cyl.:

	Escape	Sportage
Zero to 30 MPH	3.3 sec	3.5 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8.9 sec	9.6 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	5.2 sec	6.1 sec
Quarter Mile	16.9 sec	17.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	85 MPH	83 MPH

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Escape 2.0 is faster than the Sportage SX Turbo 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Escape	Sportage
Zero to 60 MPH	6.9 sec	8.1 sec
Quarter Mile	15.3 sec	16.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89.3 MPH	86.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Escape
	FWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 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 Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Sportage doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Escape’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Sportage doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Escape 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.

Environmental Friendliness

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

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Escape, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sportage.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Escape’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage:

	Escape	Sportage LX/Nightfall/EX	Sportage SX Turbo
Front Rotors	13 inches	12 inches	12.6 inches

The Escape stops much shorter than the Sportage:

	Escape	Sportage
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Escape’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Sportage (106.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Escape AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Sportage SX Turbo AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Chassis

The front grille of the Escape uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Sportage doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Escape has 5.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sportage (104 vs. 98.6).

The Escape has .7 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, .5 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 2.5 inches more rear legroom, 2.1 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

Cargo Capacity

The Escape has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Sportage with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 30.7 cubic feet). The Escape has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage with its rear seat folded (65.4 vs. 60.1 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Escape easier. The Escape’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.1 inches, while the Sportage’s liftover is 29.8 inches.

The Escape’s cargo area is larger than the Sportage’s in every dimension:

	Escape	Sportage
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	37.8”/68.5”	33.4”/68.2”
Max Width	57.3”	52.3”
Min Width	41.4”	41”
Height	34.8”	29.5”

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Escape. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sportage is limited to 2000 pounds. The Escape offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Escape uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Sportage doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

When three different drivers share the Escape (except Base), the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for all three. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Sportage doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Escape (except Base)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Sportage doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Escape Elite/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 Escape’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 Escape Select/Elite/Platinum’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 optional passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Escape Base). The Sportage doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Escape’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’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Escape Elite/Platinum’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Escape’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 Escape Elite/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Sportage doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Escape owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Escape with a number “5” insurance rate while the Sportage is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Sportage because it costs $172 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Escape than the Sportage, including $46 less for a water pump, $47 less for fuel injection, $30 less for front struts and $557 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

The Ford Escape outsold the Kia Sportage by 10% during 2022.