Used Kia Sportage 2016-2021 reliability

Most Sportages will have been used as family cars, so it’s important to check through the interior for stained carpets, and scuffed or broken pieces of plastic. A car that has been used and abused by a family might not have had the best attention paid to its upkeep elsewhere.

Check the extremities of the car for any damage picked up in tight car parks or on school runs; any scuffs or dents should be obvious. Check the wheels, too, because alloy wheel repairs can be expensive. Plus, there could be suspension damage as well, if the car has hit a kerb particularly hard.

The Sportage is a well-made car that has had very few reported faults in this generation. There have been some issues with non-engine electrics, mostly relating to the sat-nav system (where fitted), and the starting procedure. Keep in mind that the diesel models, like all of its contemporaries these days, is fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF). This requires a high-speed run every now and then to allow it to self-clean, otherwise it becomes clogged up, requiring it to be replaced – and DPFs don’t come cheap.

The Sportage with a petrol engine scored a respectable 93.4% in the family SUV class in our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey and came in 25th place out of 49 cars. However, the diesel-engined cars finished last with a fairly poor score of just 66.2% overall. Oddly, it seems while the diesel-engined cars made between 2016-2018 have proved reliable, those built between 2018-2021 have not. You can check the full list here.

Reliability rating 66.2%

What went wrong? Engine 24%, gearbox/clutch 20%, non-engine electrics 16%, brakes 8%, engine electrics 8%, bodywork 4%, exhaust 4%, fuel system 4%, sat-nav/ infotainment system 4%

Diesel Sportage models suffered a high percentage of faults and were slow to be repaired. Owners told us 56% of their diesel Sportages went wrong, compared with only 20% of petrol models. Half of faulty cars were in the garage for more than a week, and 8% of bills exceeded £1500; 83% of cars were fixed for free.

Owner's view: "I’ve had to take my car to the dealership to have things fixed eight times in three years of ownership."

Kia as a brand impressed in our survey. It finished 11th out of 31 manufacturers with a score of 93.4%. That placed it way above rivals from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Skoda and Volvo, although below Lexus. For the full list of brands click here.

Used Kia Sportage reliability: owners' view

We asked owners of the Kia Sportage to tell us about their cars as part of our annual Reliability Survey, and the good news is that most proved very reliable, at least in petrol-engined form. See above for diesel-engined cars faults.

While some readers reported minor issues with the car’s air conditioning system and rattles coming from the car’s doors on early models, these instances were rare among our readers. Even among those whose cars were faultless, Kia’s seven-year warranty was mentioned as offering extra peace of mind.

The trend of our reader feedback suggests that most who needed to interact with their local deals had a mostly positive experience, too.

To take part in our annual reliability survey with your car, please follow the link here