'Comfortable, modern': Kia Sportage edges out Mazda CX-5 in German comparison test

Kia's compact SUV, the Sportage, is making its presence felt with a string of strong results in comparison tests by German automotive publications.

According to Kia, the Sportage beat the Mazda CX-5 in a gasoline compact SUV comparison test conducted last month by Auto Bild, adding to a first-place finish in July among four models — the Mazda CX-5, Ford Kuga and Citroën C5 Aircross — in a similar test by another leading German automotive magazine, Auto Motor und Sport.

Auto Bild is one of Germany's three major automotive publications alongside Auto Motor und Sport and Auto Zeitung, and is widely used as a key reference by European consumers when purchasing vehicles.

Auto Bild evaluated the Kia Sportage and Mazda CX-5 across seven categories: body, convenience, powertrain, driving performance, connected car, eco-friendliness and value for money. The Sportage scored 569 points in total, edging out the CX-5's 552 by a margin of 17.

The Sportage outscored the CX-5 in five of the seven categories: body, convenience, powertrain, driving performance and value for money.

In the body category, the Sportage earned high marks for its practical use of space, thanks to a maximum payload of 593 kilograms, a folding rear seatback and an adjustable cargo floor. The convenience category also drew praise for seat comfort, ease of operation, ride quality and cabin quietness.

In the powertrain category, the Sportage scored 91 points against the CX-5's 85. It reached 100 kilometers per hour from a standstill in 9.2 seconds, faster than the CX-5's 10.6 seconds, and recorded 6.4 seconds for an overtaking acceleration from 80 to 120 kph — two seconds quicker than the CX-5's 8.4 seconds.

The Sportage scored 75 points in the driving performance category, six points ahead of the CX-5's 69. It consistently outperformed the CX-5 in agility, steering and braking. Braking distances from 100 kph were particularly short — 34.6 meters in cold conditions and 34.4 meters in hot conditions, compared with the CX-5's 36.1 meters and 35.6 meters, respectively.

In the value-for-money category, the Sportage scored 88 points, seven ahead of the CX-5's 81. The category takes into account vehicle price, resale value, taxes and insurance, maintenance and warranty terms. Auto Bild singled out the Sportage's seven-year or 150,000-kilometer warranty for particular praise.

"It offers a long warranty and is a compact SUV that can be used conveniently in everyday life," Auto Bild wrote. "Of the two vehicles, the Kia feels overall slightly more modern."

"The Sportage has consistently earned recognition for its product quality and competitiveness through evaluations by global automotive media and leading German publications," a Kia official said. "This result is especially meaningful in that the Sportage has been recognized for its all-around refinement in areas directly relevant to daily driving — performance, convenience and value." The official added that Kia would "continue to do its best to deliver high-quality products and reliability that customers can feel in real-world driving."

The Sportage has also been named "Best Family SUV" for 2025 and "Family SUV of the Year" for 2026 by Britain's What Car? magazine in consecutive years. In addition, it won best hybrid model honors in 2026 from both U.S. News & World Report and Cars.com in the United States.

Meanwhile, the Sportage sold 46,239 units in global markets in August, making it Kia's best-selling vehicle for the month.