Compare the2023 Ford Escape PHEVVS 2023 Kia Sportage PHEV

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape PHEV 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 PHEV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Ford Escape PHEV 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 PHEV doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Escape PHEV 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 PHEV 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 Escape PHEV 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 and available around view monitors.

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

The Escape PHEV 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 PHEV doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

The Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV 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 stopping power the Escape PHEV’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage PHEV:

The Escape PHEV has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Sportage PHEV; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better maneuverability, the Escape PHEV’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Sportage PHEV’s (37.2 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

The Ford Escape PHEV may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 pounds less than the Kia Sportage PHEV.

The Escape PHEV is 3 inches shorter than the Sportage PHEV, making the Escape PHEV easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Escape PHEV has 2.2 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage PHEV.

The Escape PHEV can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Escape PHEV can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Sportage PHEV can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Escape PHEV 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 PHEV doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Escape PHEV’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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape PHEV’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its 911 Connect can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Escape PHEV’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 Escape PHEV’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Escape PHEV has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Sportage PHEV X-Line Prestige.

Insurance will cost less for the Escape PHEV owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Escape PHEV will cost $1080 to $2095 less than the Sportage PHEV over a five-year period.

The Escape PHEV will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Escape PHEV will retain 48.6% to 48.86% of its original price after five years, while the Sportage PHEV only retains 45.04% to 45.21%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Escape PHEV will be $11615 to $13184 less than for the Kia Sportage PHEV.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Ford Escape PHEV, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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