Compare the2025 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In HybridVS 2025 Kia Sportage PHEV

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid 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 PHEV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Kia Sportage PHEV, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Kia Sportage PHEV has not been tested.

Both the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid 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, all wheel drive, 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 and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Sportage PHEV is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024, though it hasn’t yet been rated in the updated moderate overlap frontal test, a requirement for the “Top Safety Pick Plus” award.

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Sportage PHEV’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage PHEV.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked fourth.

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 7 more horsepower (268 vs. 261) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 258) than the Sportage PHEV’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

For better stopping power the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage PHEV:

For better traction, the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid SEL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sportage PHEV (245/60R18 vs. 235/55R19).

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid has 2.3 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage PHEV.

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage PHEV with its rear seat folded (66.3 vs. 65.5 cubic feet).

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Limited has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Limited’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sportage PHEV’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Sportage PHEV’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

Both the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid and the Sportage PHEV have standard heated front seats. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage PHEV.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Tucson outsold the Kia Sportage by 28% during 2024.