2026 Kia Sportage SX diesel review

The 2026 Kia Sportage is one of the last remaining diesel medium SUVs in Australia – at least not without venturing into the more expensive prestige vehicle segment, considering a Mazda CX-60, or a full-blown rugged off-roader.

Even more rural-focused brands like KGM (formerly SsangYong) and Mahindra have turned to petrol power for cars this size.

Kia doesn't treat the diesel engine as a niche offering either – it’s the only engine available with every trim level of the Sportage, from the entry-level S to the luxe GT-Line.

As part of an update to the entire Sportage range earlier this year, the 2026 Sportage gets new front and rear styling to bring it into line with Kia’s other models, some new features, and a carryover diesel engine.

Buyers also have the option of petrol, turbo petrol, and hybrid engines, but for a lot of Aussies, particularly those who travel big distances out of town, nothing can beat a turbo diesel engine.

The range of trim levels and powertrain options means buyers are faced with 13 different variants in the 2026 Kia Sportage range.

The cheapest petrol Sportage S starts from $37,990, while the range-topping Sportage GT-Line Hybrid comes in at $60,370, both before on-road costs.

In between there are SX and SX+ grades, and it’s the Sportage SX turbo diesel that we’re focusing on here.

The Sportage diesel is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with the same 137kW and 416Nm outputs as before, paired with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.

Even the most basic Sportage now comes with a 12.3-inch infotainment system with digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected services and over-the-air updates, LED head and tail-lights, fabric seat trim, a leather-look steering wheel, and keyless entry with push-button start.

Move up to the SX and the Sportage gains additions like satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, rain-sensing wipers, and rear seat release levers from inside the boot. On the outside, the SX gets a unique appearance package with gloss black body cladding and grille, plus 18-inch alloy wheels.

Priced from $46,380 plus on-road costs, the Sportage SX diesel is a $2490 step up over the entry-level S when equipped with a diesel engine, or a $5400 upgrade over the petrol-powered SX. Kia also offers the SX as a front-wheel-drive hybrid, but you’ll pay an extra $570 for that variant, or $3570 more for the all-wheel-drive hybrid.

If you have your heart set on diesel, the options are few and far between.

Mahindra still offers the Scorpio with a diesel, but its more off-road-focused body-on-frame construction means it’s not an exact match. Pricing starts from $41,990 drive-away.

Audi offers the Q5 with a diesel engine too, and as the current generation enters runout, the Q5 35 TDI offers less power and torque, front-wheel drive only, and costs a substantial $73,400 before on-road costs.

As the market shifts to petrol or hybrid power, your most likely cross-shops are cars like the Hyundai Tucson hybrid, Nissan X-Trail e-Power hybrid, or Mazda CX-5 – all of which have dropped their diesel options over the last few years. That said, Mazda does offer the CX-60 (albeit a slightly larger car) with a diesel engine.

Kia has launched the 2026 Sportage without a drive-away deal or special offer pricing at the time of writing this review. That may not always be the case, however, with the brand adjusting promotional offers and pricing deals throughout the year,

The Kia Sportage sits at the larger end of the medium SUV class. At 4685mm long, it’s roughly the same size as a seven-seat Nissan X-Trail, but the Sportage only offers seating for five.

As a result, the interior dimensions are generous. Rear seat space in particular is roomy, with a long reach from the front seats to the back and plenty of leg and head room in the rear.

You’ll happily fit adult passengers in the back, and even bulky rear-facing child seats will install without fouling the front seats.

Front seat accommodation is similarly roomy, but in SX-grade, the Sportage isn’t exactly fancy.

Design updates like the new steering wheel and larger infotainment screen are about all you get over the old Sportage. The door cards and a lot of the plastics around the cabin are hard, often in touchpoints or places you’ll rest your knee or elbow.

The SX also gives away that there’s better equipment on offer in higher grades, with a huge blanking panel atop the dash in place of a head-up display, and a bank of empty buttons on the console where seat heating and ventilation would live on the GT-Line.

Interior storage is impressive, though, with a big slot at the base of the console that’s ideal for your phone and wallet, and a large open section with cupholders that can fold away when not needed.

The basic theme continues with hard seats, manual adjustment, and no wireless charger. For me, I found the minimal padding and lack of support in the driver’s seat a little grating on longer drives.

Rear seats are similarly padded, but an adjustable backrest is handy for adjusting comfort on a long trip, and great if you want to fit in a sneaky nap without sitting bolt upright.

Boot space measures in at 543 litres, down slightly on the 582L of a Tucson Hybrid or 583L in a five-seat X-Trail. On the plus side, the Sportage SX diesel is equipped with a full-size spare wheel.

The boot is a square space with no additional pockets, pouches, or shelves. A roll-up cargo cover and remote seat release levers are handy inclusions.

The new 12.3-inch screen on all Sportage models comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth, and access to Kia connected services. The SX also comes with satellite navigation.

The display size is fantastic, but the on-screen menus weren’t as intuitive and user-friendly as you might expect. In some regards, older Kia systems did a better job of this.

Once you locate your favourite functions, you’re set. The screen also acts as the access point for car settings, and offers the niche Hyundai/Kia ‘sounds of nature’ feature, which plays relaxing ambient sounds – I guess to keep you chilled out?

The driver faces an LCD instrument cluster. Instead of a fully digital display, only the centre trip computer display changes, with the outer edges using more rudimentary displays for road and engine speed.

Kia’s connected services include functions like SOS call in an emergency, remote vehicle monitoring and location tracking, remote lock and unlock, send-to-car navigation and more. Complimentary access is included for seven years.

The Kia Sportage carries a five-star safety rating, awarded when the current generation first arrived in Australia.

The 2022 test revealed adult and child occupant protection ratings of 87 per cent, a 66 per cent score for vulnerable road user protection, and a 74 per cent score for safety assist systems.

Changes to the Sportage’s safety systems are minimal, with the main change concerning a ‘smarter’ adaptive cruise-control system on the S and SX grades.

All variants of the Sportage range come equipped with a decent haul of safety and driver assist features.

Standard across all variants are autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist, and intersection intervention, lane-keep assist with lane centring, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring with collision avoidance, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, safe exit alert, rear-view camera, and traffic sign recognition with intelligent speed limit assist.

As you move higher up the range, you get access to 360-degree and blind-spot cameras, and a more advanced adaptive cruise control, but the SX tested here misses out on those features.

What’s present works well. The lane centring is a little weak and can let the car wander within its lane, but I’d rather that over a system that tugs at the wheel and won't let the driver make adjustments.

Kia’s speed sign recognition system is good, but not great, and the speed limit warnings are subtle but persistent. A long press on the mute button is all it takes to stop the audible warning, though. Not the most obvious solution, but easy to access once you know.

Kia provides seven years of warranty coverage across its range, with no kilometre limit for private buyers.

Owners who use their cars in commercial applications (ride share, delivery, hire, etc.) face a 150,000km distance limit, but the same seven-year period. A shorter three-year warranty also applies to the audio head unit.

Capped-price servicing is available through Kia dealers. Service intervals are set every 12 months or 15,000km, which is typical among competitors. Service pricing varies depending on which service is due, but is competitive over the first seven years of ownership.

Comprehensive insurance from a leading provider was quoted at $1634 for 12 months' cover, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

One of a diesel engine’s strong suits is its relative efficiency. The Sportage diesel has an official fuel consumption claim of 6.3 litres per 100 kilometres – not quite as efficient as Kia’s available petrol hybrid, but not far off.

Over the course of a week, I recorded a higher 7.6L/100km. Highway driving is incredibly efficient, but city driving throws the balance out a little.

With a 54-litre tank, the Sportage diesel has a driving range of around 710km based on the consumption recorded on test.

From first start-up, the Sportage can feel a little gruff.

The diesel engine settles into a rattly idle from cold starts, and can be noisy and rough under acceleration. While modern diesels have made big leaps forward over agricultural diesels of the past, this one still has some room for improvement.

The 137kW and 416Nm outputs are unchanged from the pre-update model, as is the eight-speed torque converter automatic.

Overall, it's a drivetrain that works well. It’s cohesive and feels effortlessly relaxed. The transmission isn’t too sharp or jittery, and it’s happy to smoothly handle low-speed work, something the larger, more expensive Sorento and its dual-clutch auto can’t always manage.

As with most other Kia models, the Sportage gets a locally developed ride and handling package designed to cope with Australia’s often poorly maintained surfaces.

The result is quite a firm ride. It’s not hard or crashy, but the Sportage feels its way over bumps and lumps, and transfers a lot of surface imperfections into the cabin.

Don't expect a soft and cushiony ride, which is a bit of a shame when the Sportage diesel could work so well as a long-distance rural tourer.

On the other side of the coin, the Sportage feels stable and secure across varied surfaces. The handling gives you a good feel for what each corner of the car is doing.

There are on-road and rough-terrain drive modes, with Eco softening the accelerator response, and Sport sharpening up the transmission and accelerator.

Kia has done a good job of keeping road noise and noise isolated, but the suspension can boom through on compression, and there’s always just a faint note of diesel clattering in the background.

One of the reasons you might prioritise the Sportage diesel over one of its petrol-powered range mates is its towing ability.

Rated to tow up to 1900kg with a braked trailer, the Sportage diesel isn't exactly a heavy hauler, but with the 2.0-litre and 1.6-litre turbo models capped at 1650kg, it has a small advantage.

It’s worth pointing out here that the Sportage Hybrid range can also tow up to 1900kg.

The easy-going nature of a diesel engine, its low-down torque and unfussed attitude to taking on extra weight are also helpful if you plan to tow often. 

Something like a garden trailer, jet ski, or a compact pop-top caravan will sit behind the Sportage pretty easily.

Keep an eye on ball weight, though, with the Sportage diesel limited to just 100kg.

With a 496kg payload, you’ll also need to keep an eye on the tally of passengers and luggage if you’re hitching up and heading away four-up for a long weekend.

The Sportage range is quite broad, and between the available variants, there’s something for just about everyone.

Kia deserves to be applauded for keeping a diesel engine available. It’s a great fit for regional buyers, and suits touring or towing in the right situations.

It’s not an ideal fit for everyone. It suits a niche, and an important one at that – but some of the decisions, like the thinly padded seats and firm suspension, take some of the gloss off an otherwise sensible package.

Still, passenger space, technology, and safety are all where they should be. It just comes down to whether you really need a diesel engine or not.

Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.

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