Kia Sportage or Chevrolet Equinox: Which Compact SUV Reigns Supreme?

Kia Sportage or Chevrolet Equinox: Which Compact SUV Reigns Supreme?

The Kia Sportage and Chevrolet Equinox are two of the most popular SUVs in the market today. How do these compact SUVs stack up against each other?

The Kia Sportage enters the 2024 model year off a fresh redesign for 2023. This compact Kia SUV is sharp-looking, versatile, and comes with the longest new vehicle warranty available, making it a solid choice in the market.

On the other hand, the Chevrolet Equinox continues to be one of the best-selling vehicles in this segment, offering a well-rounded design, reasonable price and some impressive high-end technology features that make it one of the best options in the market.

What makes the Kia Sportage special?

The Sportage delivers a stylish build and spacious cabin, making it one of the best options in the compact SUV class. The Sportage has several powertrain options, including a conventional model, a hybrid, and a plug-in hybrid. The PHEV delivers up to 34 miles of electric range, giving owners enough driving range to travel during most errands without using any of the gasoline.

Futuristic modern design elements

If the new Kia SUV feels like it belongs in a higher class, that’s because it does. The Kia team has a BMW interior designer helping shape the new by delivering excellent interior styling and class. This change ensures the newly designed Sportage has a luxury-like interior and a pair of screens mounted together to look like one wide, curved surface. This feature of the Kia Sportage puts it ahead of the Chevrolet Equinox in terms of style.

Sportage favorite features

The Sportage has some excellent features to provide the active driving and impressive qualities desired. Kia equips this SUV with Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, which automatically applies the brakes to keep you from changing into an occupied lane.

You’ll also find a bit more ruggedness in the Sportage than most compact SUVs when you enjoy one of the X-Pro models. These models offer some excellent off-road qualities with an additional 1.5 inches of ground clearance, BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, and a multi-terrain AWD system with dirt-specific settings.

Kia offers an unbeatable warranty

The Kia Sportage has much better warranty coverage than the Chevrolet Equinox. The Kia gives you a 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. The Chevy SUV is covered by a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, which doesn’t compare favorably to the Kia.

What makes the Chevrolet Equinox special?

The only Chevy vehicle that outsells the Equinox is the Silverado. Otherwise, the Equinox is the most popular SUV in the entire Chevy lineup, making it the right solution for nearly 20 years. A new all-electric version of the Equinox is heading to the market for 2025. The 2024 version is a well-rounded SUV with a few items that make it a good choice for growing families.

Chevy gives this SUV an excellent look

The Equinox can be had with a blackout package that looks cool with dark trim and badges on most of the exterior elements. If you want a shiny style, the chrome package does the opposite, giving the Equinox more brightwork. The RS trim adds a sporty style with red contrast stitching on the upholstery, bringing a styling look to the mix. This means you can have an Equinox with a few different style options.

Your Equinox can park itself

The Chevrolet Equinox is offered with an optional automatic parking assist feature, which allows it to steer into a parking spot for you. With this feature, you’ll be able to parallel park much better than you’ve been able to do in the past.

The Chevy is the more affordable option

The top-of-the-line Chevrolet Equinox is more affordable than the top-trim Kia Sportage. The Equinox Premier starts at $33,195, while the Sportage X-Pro Prestige begins at $37,890. The price advantage of the Equinox makes it a little more attractive to some buyers than the Sportage.

Which compact SUV should you drive?

The Chevrolet Equinox might be a bit dated, but that hasn’t stopped it from being one of the most popular choices in the compact SUV market. The balance of features and affordable price make it an easy choice for many shoppers.

On the other hand, the Kia Sportage is updated and modern, has more power, and comes with a much longer warranty than the Chevrolet Equinox. The Sportage also includes hybrid and PHEV models, which provide additional options for consumers who want to enjoy better fuel mileage. Although it might be a little pricier, the Sportage could easily be the SUV that many shoppers want to buy.

Which compact SUV will you drive?

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.

Back To Top