First Drive: The 2026 Kia Sportage

Five years is a long time to leave only your all-time best-selling model globally out of the lineup but here we are—a pandemic, two ongoing wars, and a massive influx of new (aka Chinese competitors) in the compact crossover segment later—with the 2026 Kia Sportage.

While Kia Philippines has decided it’s the perfect time to run it back with the Sportage, it was hardly the perfect time for a first media drive as the weather over the two-day trip to Tagaytay was the sort that makes you question pushing through with a trip in the first place.

A perfect test then, for the Sportage to earn its credibility after its absence.

Taking off from Seda Manila Bay, the route to Tagaytay was via the twisty roads of Maragondon with the famous Kaybiang Tunnel on the way.

The 2026 Sportage is available in EX and SX trims but solely with 1.6-liter turbo hybrid motors paired with 6-speed transmissions-so there was no need for the pace to accommodate a less capable variant. Everyone had the same 232hp and 367nm of torque to power uphill–easily keeping pace with the fully-electric EV5s of the organizers (a bit more on this later).

Acceleration was there without the need to throw it into Sport mode (which we still did, of course) and when the pace through the exciting sweepers slowed due to blinding rain, crumbling backroads, sketchy flood puddles, and a legitimately concerning muddy stretch, the Sportage got through without any issues. As our instructor said, you wouldn't want to cancel a trip because of a single stretch of flood, mud, or moon-cratered road and the Sportage managed exactly that with a decent 181mm of ground clearance.

For electric range, the Sportage can manage around 30 km in pure EV mode but there’s no toggle for that; it relies on a light foot and the right conditions. As for fuel economy, our trip computers read 15 kilometers per liter after Cavite traffic, blasting up Ternate, and crawling around awful roads. The more conscientious cars among us clocked closer to 20 km/l, a figure we’d expect to see while doing more mundane driving around the city.

With the weather not improving as we rolled into our accommodations at Twin Lakes, many of the assembled media made do with photographing the vehicles in the most unflattering of locations: the hotel driveway.

If your car can look photogenic here, creeping puddles and traffic cones and all, then it’s undoubtedly a winner. The Sportage continues, in our opinion, Kia’s strength as one of those brands that you might consider on looks or aura alone. In addition, the brand’s “Opposites United” design language manages to look futuristic without being overdone and meshes well with every model, from the humble yet bestselling Sonet, to this Sportage, to the hulking Carnivals and EV9s.

The Star Map LED lighting is easily the highlight of the exterior on the Sportage along with intricately designed wheels that successfully skirt the line of modern elegance and tesseract-like complexity. The weakest link is perhaps the black finish on the rear bumper beneath the power tailgate; if the front has the iconic Tiger Nose grille then the back rather reminds us of a house cat with a mustache.

Inside, the first thing that catches the eye—perhaps even more so due to the gloom—is the ambient mood lighting that tastefully traces around the center console. Slide into any seat and the interior real estate is apparent: a six-footer sitting behind can fit with kneeroom to spare. Kia claims class-leading numbers in space and storage for this crossover.

The cabin lines are kept simple, such as on the dual-spoke steering wheel and a balance of digital and physical touchpoints is achieved via combos such as the rotary shifter and Kia’s switchable panel that toggles between dual-zone climate control (always used) and additional infotainment controls (never used, but it looks cool).

For the top SX variant, a Harman Kardon audio system is a highlight alongside a wireless charger, and Kia’s DriveWise ADAS suite. Common equipment with the EX consists of leather seating, dual 12.3-inch displays with wireless smartphone connectivity, parking sensors, and even a spare tire.

Coming in at P1.978 million for the EX and P2.098 million for the SX we drove, this is perhaps the strongest signal of Kia’s intent. The new Sportage is capable, handsome, comfy, but it would all be for nothing if it doesn’t have a class-leading price as well.

As specc-ed, it manages to shade quite a few rivals in price without feeling like a watered-down option in comparison. There is no ICE option for the non-electric holdouts and if you’re wondering whether an eventual BEV option is coming, the accompanying EV5 is basically an electric Sportage in all but name—space, power, even looks.

Whatever the reason for its absence was, the Kia Sportage’s return has us impressed. Will it top the market? We’ll have to wait and see, but its chances are definitely looking sunny.