Compare the2025 Nissan KicksVS 2025 Kia Sportage PHEV

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

The Nissan Kicks 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 PHEV doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Kicks SR offers an optional 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 PHEV doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Kicks and the Sportage PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kicks for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Nissan will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage PHEV.

There are over 36 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Kicks’ warranty.

Both the Kicks and Sportage PHEV have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Kicks has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Kicks AWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage PHEV (12.4 vs. 11.1 gallons).

The Kicks 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 Kicks 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.

The Kicks SR’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage PHEV’s 55 series tires.

The Kicks 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 PHEV doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Kicks offers an optional 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 Kicks’ turning circle is 3.8 feet tighter than the Sportage PHEV’s (34.8 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

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

The Nissan Kicks may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1050 to 1250 pounds less than the Kia Sportage PHEV.

The Kicks is 11.6 inches shorter than the Sportage PHEV, making the Kicks easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kicks has 1.9 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front legroom and .5 inches more rear headroom than the Sportage PHEV.

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

The Kicks is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.