Compare the2023 Jeep CherokeeVS 2022 Kia Sportage

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The Jeep Cherokee 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 Cherokee has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints 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 Cherokee has standard Parksense with Rear Stop 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.

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

The Cherokee 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Sportage’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Cherokee has standard Rear Cross-Path Detection, helping the driver avoid collisions. Kia charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Sportage.

The Cherokee has standard SiriusXM Guardian, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen 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 Cherokee and the Sportage have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

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

	Cherokee	Sportage
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	204	207
Neck Compression	41 lbs.	72 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	166	222
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	42%
Neck Compression	26 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 Jeep Cherokee is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	Cherokee	Sportage
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	64	87
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.7 inches
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	53 G’s	56 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	203	301
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	490 lbs.	873 lbs.

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

Warranty

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

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Cherokee for 3 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 3 oil changes). Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage.

There are over 3 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Cherokee’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Cherokee has a standard 160-amp alternator (180-amp - Cherokee optional). The Sportage’s standard 140-amp alternator and largest (SX Turbo AWD) 150-amp alternator aren’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Cherokee has a standard 700-amp battery. The Sportage’s 600-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The Cherokee has more powerful engines than the Sportage:

	Horsepower	Torque
Cherokee Trailhawk 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	270 HP	295 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 Cherokee Trailhawk 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Sportage SX Turbo 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Cherokee	Sportage
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	8.1 sec
Quarter Mile	15.2 sec	16.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90.3 MPH	86.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Cherokee
	AWD	2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy
Sportage
	FWD	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

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Cherokee’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 Cherokee 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.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Jeep Cherokee, 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 Cherokee’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage:

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

Tires and Wheels

The Cherokee 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 Cherokee Trailhawk has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Sportage; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

Suspension and Handling

The Cherokee’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Sportage doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Cherokee’s wheelbase is 1.5 inches longer than on the Sportage (106.6 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Cherokee Altitude LUX executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Sportage LX (27.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Cherokee has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Sportage (7.9 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Cherokee to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Cherokee Trailhawk’s minimum ground clearance is 1.9 inches higher than on the Sportage (8.7 vs. 6.8 inches).

Chassis

The front grille of the Cherokee (except Trailhawk) 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.

The Cherokee uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sportage doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Cherokee has 4.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sportage (103.5 vs. 98.6).

The Cherokee has .1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front shoulder room and 2.1 inches more rear legroom than the Sportage.

The front step up height for the Cherokee is .6 inches lower than the Sportage (17.9” vs. 18.5”). The Cherokee’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the Sportage’s (18.1” vs. 19.4”).

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Cherokee. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sportage is limited to 2000 pounds. The Cherokee offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Cherokee 4x4 with optional equipment 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 Cherokee can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Sportage can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Cherokee uses the Electronic Stability Control 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.

Servicing Ease

The Cherokee uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sportage uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Cherokee, the optional memory system makes it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position, outside mirror angle and radio stations. The Sportage doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Cherokee’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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Kia charges extra for heated mirrors on the Sportage.

When the Cherokee with available tilt-down mirrors 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 Cherokee 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 costs extra on the Sportage.

The Cherokee 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 costs extra on the Sportage.

The Cherokee has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, 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.

The Cherokee’s ParkSense Parallel/Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Sportage doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Cherokee is less expensive to operate than the Sportage because it costs $500 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Cherokee than the Sportage, including $52 less for fuel injection and $950 less for a power steering pump.