2025 Kia Sportage debuts in South Korea

The Kia Sportage has received its latest facelift on the domestic market. Prices start from 28.36 million KRW.

Starting with the exterior, the whole front fascia is new with a sparse honeycomb grille spanning nearly the entire width of the car, upright headlights, new DRLS and a different bumper. The hood and the front fenders have also been revised. At the rear end, not much is going on except for new taillight patterns and a redesigned bumper.

Those in the market for an X-Line trim may look forward to a sporter look and special 19-inch wheels. On the whole, the new Sportage looks much more in line with the automaker’s other recent releases.

Just as different is the interior. The dashboard looks much cleaner and more laconic, the steering wheel is squared, and the transmission tunnel boasts a new trim with a round drive mode dial and some physical buttons around it. The dual 12.3-inch display cluster is still there, but Kia points out certain “technological improvements”. It also claims better noise proofing of the door panels and superior front shocks for a softer ride.

In Korea, the entry-level Sportage model still ships with the old 2.0-liter engine rated at 146 PS (144 hp / 107 kW). Judging by the spy shots, this version of the car will be available with a manual transmission. The 1.6-liter turbo engine rated at 180 PS (178 hp / 132 kW) continues to be available, but it is now bundled with a more smoothly shifting automatic transmission instead of the jerky old DCT.

The hybrid spec utilizes the same 1.6T engine in tandem with a new 64-PS (63-hp / 47-kW) electric motor. That’s a very mild improvement from the old 60-PS (59-hp / 44-kW) motor. Kia promises exceptional performance for the regenerative brake system on board.