Kia Sportage 2026 just got a mid-cycle facelift of its latest 5th generation that they unveiled during the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show. The latest facelift includes refreshed headlights, tail lights and body curve along with some interior tweaks and some tech upgrades that weren’t present in the older 5th generation.
Exterior Enhancements
The most obvious change that you can spot at first glance is the “opposite united” design language that Kia now uses in their modern cars. The front grille now gets vertical lines and headlights are replaced with some boomerang-like zig-zig design. The result is pretty clean, it’s more polished now and looks more conventionally appealing than the previous model.
On the back, it’s hard to spot the changes in the first glance, but back lights and bumpers are refined now with an uplifted profile for better off-roading capabilities. If you turn on the side, there’s nothing changed besides the rims that have now got 19” in size, 2” bigger from the previous generation.
Refreshed Interior
Inside, things have also been altered—just refreshed, no serious design changes. The first thing that you’ll notice is the steering wheel, which now has two-spokes, unlike the 3-spokes in older ones. The AC grills have also been replaced, and they look more sleek than the previous model, which used to look like a mashup of a Volvo and Audi car.
The infotainment has also been increased to 12.3”. The infotainment and instrument cluster are integrated into one big, long display. Wireless charging, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto are now standard in all trims.
Powertrain Add-ons
The facelift now comes with a 231 HP for the mild-hybrid version, which is a 4-HP gain over the previous model. Going into more depth, it’s a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with a 47.7kW motor that works as a mild-hybrid system. The PHEV version, however, now uses a 72Kw motor that produces a total combined output of 258 HP. The naturally aspirated version comes with 187 HP power and uses a 2.5-liter NA engine, and AWD is optional across the lineup.
