As one of the best-selling models in the Kia lineup, the Sportage has always been celebrated for its compact size and efficiency. Making its global debut at the LA Auto Show, the 2026 Kia Sportage elevates these qualities with a design that aligns more closely with its larger siblings: the Telluride, the Sorento, and the Kia EV9. The new Sportage offers three powertrain options: gas-powered, plug-in hybrid, and standard hybrid, catering to a variety of driving preferences. Inside, the Sportage features a luxurious interior with options for a dial gear selector or a standard lever, depending on the trim. Advanced features such as a head-up display and an extended multimedia screen enhance the driving experience.
The exterior design of the 2026 Kia Sportage is both modern and striking, featuring amber lightning bolt daytime running lights, star map lighting, and pixelated taillights that echo the design language of other Kia vehicles. Despite its updated aesthetics, the Sportage remains compact and easy to drive, making it a practical choice for urban environments. With its blend of style, efficiency, and advanced technology, the 2026 Kia Sportage is poised to maintain its position as a top seller in the Kia family.
Read more on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottyreiss/2025/01/06/kias-path-to-premium-brand-status-advances-with-the-2026-kia-sportage/
For more from Scotty Reiss:
https://agirlsguidetocars.com/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
With a wider front grille, amber daytime lights and winky stacked LED headlights, the 2026 Kia Sportage will greet car buyers and drivers with a more modern, cohesive look that harkens to Kia’s other popular models, the Telluride and EV9.
The addition of “Star map Lighting,” which became the Kia signature with the introduction of the Telluride, is where the makeover starts for the 2026 Kia Sportage. But it’s also what links Kia’s strategy to evolve the brand from budget to premium.
Updating the Kia Sportage to look and feel more luxe is also an im
The exterior design of the 2026 Kia Sportage is both modern and striking, featuring amber lightning bolt daytime running lights, star map lighting, and pixelated taillights that echo the design language of other Kia vehicles. Despite its updated aesthetics, the Sportage remains compact and easy to drive, making it a practical choice for urban environments. With its blend of style, efficiency, and advanced technology, the 2026 Kia Sportage is poised to maintain its position as a top seller in the Kia family.
Read more on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottyreiss/2025/01/06/kias-path-to-premium-brand-status-advances-with-the-2026-kia-sportage/
For more from Scotty Reiss:
https://agirlsguidetocars.com/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
With a wider front grille, amber daytime lights and winky stacked LED headlights, the 2026 Kia Sportage will greet car buyers and drivers with a more modern, cohesive look that harkens to Kia’s other popular models, the Telluride and EV9.
The addition of “Star map Lighting,” which became the Kia signature with the introduction of the Telluride, is where the makeover starts for the 2026 Kia Sportage. But it’s also what links Kia’s strategy to evolve the brand from budget to premium.
Updating the Kia Sportage to look and feel more luxe is also an im
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00One of the biggest global debuts at the LA Auto Show was the 2026 Kia Sportage.
00:13Kia Sportage is one of the best-selling cars in the Kia lineup and for good reason. It's compact,
00:19it's efficient, but it's filled with a lot of nice features. For 2026, the Kia Sportage grows a lot
00:25in design. It will look much more like its siblings, the Telluride, the Sorento, and even
00:31the Kia EV9. The Kia Sportage, though, takes everything up a notch for 2026. A much more
00:38beautiful interior, a choice of a dial gear selector or a standard lever based on the trim.
00:45There are three powertrains. There's a gas-powered, a plug-in hybrid, or a standard hybrid, and
00:51there's a lot of luxury. The Kia Sportage even will offer things like head-up display
00:56and an extended multimedia screen with lots of new function.
01:04The new design of the Kia Sportage harkens very much to the Telluride and other Kia vehicles,
01:11and that's notable with the amber sort of lightning bolt daytime running lights that
01:16frame the front of the car, what they call star map lighting, or these stacked block
01:21headlights, and then tail lights that really sort of look like those on their other cars,
01:26and that is sort of pixelated star map detail on the tail lights as well. The design updates to
01:33the Kia Sportage are really good, and they really sharpen the positioning of this car
01:37as, say, a diminutive version of the Telluride or the Sorento. The design looks great. It looks
01:44very modern. The scale of this car hasn't changed at all. It's comfortable to drive. It's easy to
01:49park. It's lovely to be in. The updates to the Kia Sportage will probably keep it
01:54as the number one seller in the Kia family.