Compare the2024 Lexus UXVS 2023 Kia Sportage

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lexus UX 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 Lexus UX 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.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the UX deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The UX’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Sportage’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The UX has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Front Seatbacks, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Front Seatbacks system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Sportage doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The UX has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies 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.

The UX 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 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 UX has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro offers Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.

Both the UX 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 rear parking sensors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the UX its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

The UX’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Sportage’s (6/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

The battery on the UX is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the UX’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Sportage’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the UX second among small premium suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Sportage isn’t in the top three in its category.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Lexus vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Lexus second in overall reliability. Kia is ranked 9th.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Lexus UX is faster than the Kia Sportage:

	UX	Sportage
Zero to 30 MPH	3.4 sec	3.5 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8.8 sec	10 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.4 sec	6.3 sec
Quarter Mile	16.8 sec	17.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	86 MPH	83 MPH

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

			MPG
UX
	FWD	2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	43 city/41 hwy
	AWD	2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	41 city/38 hwy
Sportage
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/32 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the UX’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Sportage doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

The UX 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.

The UX stops shorter than the Sportage:

	UX	Sportage
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	143 feet	151 feet	Consumer Reports

The UX’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage LX/X-Pro’s standard 65 series tires. The UX’s tires are lower profile than the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the UX has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sportage LX/X-Pro.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the UX can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Sportage doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

For better maneuverability, the UX’s turning circle is 4.4 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (34.2 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

The UX is 6.5 inches shorter than the Sportage, making the UX easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the UX. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Lexus service is better than Kia. J.D. Power ranks Lexus first in service department satisfaction. With a 63% lower rating, Kia is ranked 26th.

The UX offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning 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 UX’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. With the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the UX the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Lexus service department.) The driver of the Sportage can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The UX Premium/F Sport’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sportage’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the UX’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 UX’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 UX offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Sportage doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the UX offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Sportage doesn’t offer cornering lights. The UX F Sport also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

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

The UX’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sportage offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The UX 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 Lexus UX and the Kia Sportage, based on reliability, safety and performance.