Kia Sportage vs Nissan Qashqai

When challenged to find five reasons why we would choose the Kia Sportage over the popular Nissan Qashqai we were happy to oblige.

The cars are obvious rivals and, with the all-new Qashqai on sale for a year or so, the Sportage has been given a comprehensive facelift to help it keep pace – keep reading as we highlight what the Kia does better.

Performance

With 0-62mph taking 9.8 seconds, the 181hp 2.0-litre Kia Sportage diesel covers the benchmark sprint time 1.3 seconds quicker than the top-of-the-range 128hp Nissan Qashqai diesel. That’s a performance advantage that you’ll appreciate when you’re staring down the headlights of an approaching HGV during an A-road overtake.

It also means caravans, trailers and horse boxes (the kind of things often hauled by SUVs) will make less of a dent in the Kia’s performance.

Warranty

Yes yes, it might not be as exciting as a spritely 0-62mph time, but a long warranty is more relevant to most family buyers. Like every other model in the Kia range, the Sportage comes with cover for seven years or 100,000 miles that will guarantee (on an average mileage) a massive 84 months of stress-free motoring.

Drive off the forecourt in a Nissan Qashqai and you’ll only be covered for three years or 60,000 miles and, while you can extend the cover to five years or 100,000 miles, Nissan will charge £858 for the privilege. Enough to specify front and rear parking sensors on your new Sportage.

Bootspace

With a 465-litre boot next to the 430-litre offering in the Nissan, the Kia’s load bay offers useful extra capacity – it can take the contents of the Qashqai’s load bay and still have room for a coolbox, for a refreshing beverage at journey’s end.

Automatic gearbox

Wafting about is an SUVs bread and butter, which makes them the perfect match for an automatic gearbox. Its the Kia that wins this battle, though, not only can its automatic gearbox be paired with four-wheel drive (not possible in the Nissan), but its also a conventional unit that doesn’t suffer from the noisy operation of the Nissan’s CVT.

Panoramic sunroof

Both the Qashqai and the Sportage can be specified with a full-length glass panoramic sunroof that floods the interior with light, but the Kia’s goes one step further. The front half of its roof opens to expose the driver and front passenger to the sun’s rays and some welcome fresh air – vital when sunshine is such a rare sight on UK shores.

Scroll below to read full reviews on the Kia Sportage and the Nissan Qashqai