Kia teases facelifted Sportage ahead of November world debut

Kia Sportage gets its mid-cycle refresh

The Kia Sportage in its fifth-generation model had its world reveal in 2021, and the Korean manufacturer thinks it’s about time the compact crossover gets some nip and tuck.

Kia has teased the new Sportage, featuring styling updates and tech upgrades for the 2025 model year.

The teaser focuses on the new light signature of the Sportage brought by its new headlights. What used to be a boomerang-shaped DRL is now an inverted L-shaped unit that does not fall far from Kia’s current design signature. The silhouette remains relatively unchanged, but the back also gets tweaked LED taillights for a more modern look.

While there were no teaser photos inside, the Kia Sportage is reported to feature a new dashboard with a large curved display, as well as a two-spoke steering wheel.

As a platform twin of the Hyundai Tucson, the Kia Sportage could also come with a 2.0-liter gasoline, 2.0-liter diesel, 1.6T hybrid, and 1.6T plug-in hybrid variants that will depend on the markets where the Sportage will be sold.

All will be revealed this November when Kia launches the Sportage for the Korean market. Other markets should follow by 2025.

In the Philippines, the Sportage has not been on sale since the fifth-gen model came out in 2021. But with this updated version, along with the zero tariff on hybrids, we’re hoping the Sportage could fit in between the Seltos and the Sorento in Kia’s local model lineup.