Compare the2023 Mitsubishi OutlanderVS 2023 Kia Sportage

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Outlander has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sportage doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Outlander has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Outlander has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Outlander 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 and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Outlander its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

The Outlander’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Sportage’s (7/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

As tested in Car and Driver the Mitsubishi Outlander is faster than the Kia Sportage:

On the EPA test cycle the Outlander AWC gets better fuel mileage than the Sportage AWD (24 city/30 hwy vs. 23 city/28 hwy).

The Outlander 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.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mitsubishi Outlander higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Kia Sportage (5). This means the Outlander produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sportage every 15,000 miles.

The Outlander 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 doesn’t offer a CVT.

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

The Outlander’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sportage are solid, not vented.

The Outlander stops shorter than the Sportage:

For better traction, the Outlander SE/SEL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sportage (255/45R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The Outlander ES’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage LX/X-Pro’s standard 65 series tires. The Outlander SE/SEL’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Outlander ES has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sportage LX/X-Pro. The Outlander SE/SEL’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line.

The Outlander has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sportage doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Outlander SEL AWC handles at .85 G’s, while the Sportage X-Pro Prestige pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Outlander’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (36.1 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Outlander SE/SEL has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sportage (8.4 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Outlander to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Outlander has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Sportage can only carry 5.

The Outlander has 1 inch more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

The Outlander’s cargo area provides more volume than the Sportage.

The Outlander SEL 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 Outlander’s standard driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the switch, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Sportage’s standard power window’s switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully. The Outlander SE/SEL’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches. With the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

The Outlander ES’ 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 Outlander SE/SEL’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Consumer Reports rated the Outlander’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 Outlander’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Sportage’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Outlander S-AWC has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Sportage doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Outlander to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Sportage doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Outlander and the Sportage offer available heated front seats. The Outlander SEL also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage.

The Outlander has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro.

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