RAV4 Vs Kia Sportage

[nirtime]

What are your thoughts on the current 2014 Rav4 and Kia Sportage?

For me:
Rav 4:
Ride quality(superior in bumpy roads especially)
quietness
more refined
bigger and more spacious
simpler by design
Pioneer 6 speaker factory stereo

Drawbacks:
DRL is super annoying


Sportage:
Looks
Backseat body support
Engine note
Performance
Head lights(compared with halogen projector 2014 rav4)
Rear Hatch is much more user friendly

Drawbacks:
Ride quality is bumpy in rough roads with tyres at 30 psi vs Rav4 at 33psi.

 

[LadyDeath]

According to Carsdirect.com and a few other websites that i have researched this what they had to say:

What the Toyota RAV4 Gets Right
The RAV4 received a much-needed makeover in 2013 and gained some helpful new features, including a power liftgate in place of its previous swing-out rear door. Its ample cargo capacity offers a maximum space of just over 73 cubic feet and more than 38 cubic feet with a full load of five passengers. What we like best about its cargo area is the low sill height, making it easy to load heavy, large and awkward items.
Good ergonomics contribute to the car-like comfort of the RAV4. It also drives and parks easily, especially with the help of the standard rearview camera.

What the Kia Sportage Gets Right

The Sportage is a stylish and well put-together vehicle. In particular, its exterior design takes a step away from the boxy Sportage of years past with a one-of-a-kind look. It also gets excellent safety ratings.
The three lower trim levels are powered by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, but the SX trim gets a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and manual-shift option, making it among the fastest of its class. This model also has sport-tuned suspension to keep up with the 260-horsepower output.

Does the Sportage Outshine the RAV4?

Among the few criticisms of the RAV4 is its utter lack of a fun factor. Although it handles well, gets good mileage, and offers ample cargo capacity, its slow acceleration squashes any sense of adventure. Although the Sportage is smaller than the RAV4, we think the available turbocharged engine adds a big dose of pizzazz to the utilitarian features of a crossover.

Our Verdict: Kia Sportage

The Sportage is smaller than the RAV4 but much more fun to drive when equipped with the turbocharged engine; an option the RAV4 doesn’t offer.

 

[LadyDeath]

According to burlingtonkia.com

Exterior Comparison
While Toyota completely ditched the previous styling of the Rav4, the new versions dated exterior still hints of its previous highly criticized exterior. On the other hand, the Sportage has consistently been praised for having one of the sharpest exteriors in its segment, while the Sportage comes with standard 16-inch alloy wheels, the Rav4 offers consumers less stylish steel wheels.

Under the Hood
While the Rav4 offers consumers a single 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 176 horsepower, the Kia Sportage offers consumers a choice of two different powerful engines. The base Sportage offers a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that mirrors the Rav4's horsepower of 176. However, the Kia Sportage SX offers consumers an unparalleled 2-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that delivers a staggering 260 horsepower. In addition, the Sportage SX includes sports shift paddles, which makes the vehicle's driving experience significantly more responsive and fun. The turbocharged engine of the Sportage SX delivers blistering acceleration and propels the vehicle as the fastest vehicle in its class.

Fuel Economy
The Rav4 delivers excellent fuel economy with an EPA-estimated 24/31 mpg city/highway, while the Kia Sportage delivers 20/27 mpg city/highway.

Cargo
While the Toyota Rav4 offers massive cargo space with 73.3 cubic feet (second row folded), the substantial cargo space of the Kia Sportage (54.6 cubic feet) more than suffices. In addition, the 2013 Kia Sportage features an ingenious lower cargo floor, which makes loading and unloading cargo extremely easier. Consumers and expert writers have continually praised the Sportage's lower cargo floor as being an amazing benefit to the owner.

Interior
The Kia Sportage offers a phenomenal value package with standard satellite radio, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming. In addition, the available panoramic sunroof, navigation system, backup camera, push-start button, automatic headlights, and dual zone climate control offers all of the features of a high end vehicle. The Rav4 offers many of the same features but lacks satellite radio and doesn't offer the convenient overhead storage.

Safety
Simply put, the NHTSA Front driver crash test rated the Sportage an impressive 5 stars, while the Rav4 is not rated. In addition, the Sportage offers standard front active headrests which helps prevent whiplash and hill assist control which supports drivers on steep hills and descending slopes, while neither of these standard Sportage features are even available on the Rav4.

Overall Value
The Kia Sportage offers an amazing value and is typically priced less than the Rav4. The value grows with Kia's 60-month/60,000 comprehensive warranty, compared to the Rav4's 36-month/ 36,000 mile warranty. In addition, the Sportage's powertrain warranty offers 120-month/100,000 mile-warranty, while the Rav4 only offers a 60-month/60,000 powertrain warranty.

Conclusion
The Kia Sportage offers more power, more interior features, a more stylish exterior, and a significantly better warranty. Even then, the Rav4 has certain benefits over the Sportage like its MPGs. All things considered, the 2013 Kia Sportage's significantly lower pricing point creates a gap that nothing about the Rav4 suggests it can overcome.

 

[nirtime]

Lol depends on what you've got locally as well. We don't get the sx model with the tgdi engine to start with.
If Ss ever does bring the sx it will be a no brainer in that case.

Otherwise I think it's a close match and I see and ride in both on a daily basis.

Also price wise it's not that much of a gap locally either.

 

[LadyDeath]

Well so far all sites are for the Kia Sportage and they made sure to compare all models. Locally you know we are handicapped when it comes to attaining different versions, however, overall the Kia takes win yes!

 

[nirtime]

I guess so but we only get the 2.0 Tetha ii in the sportage which is slightly more powerful than the rav4s 2.0.

I don't really base decisions off the web anymore because locally we always lack features even in the so called fully loaded trim levels.

Price wise it's not much of a gap between the rav4 and the sportage with features. I think that changes the decision to more or less tighten the comparison.
I also wouldn't say the Kia takes win as the ride quality and space are two things which differ greatly between the two and generally are important factors for anyone considering a vehicle based on their needs and the like.

Now if it was comparing the base lx to a base rav4 then I think it's obviously a no brainer since there's a substantial price difference between the two but that's just how I see it.

 

[Mad racer]

Both these are good in performance but everyone has its own choice to choose the car.I think RAV4 is better than Sportage from a efficiency point of view.