2021 Los Angeles Auto Show: Best in Show
It’s a testament to the mainstreaming of electric vehicles that three of the eight major introductions at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show — the Fisker Ocean, Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X — don’t use a drop of gas. Yet the SoCal show’s biggest success comes by way of a more mainstream choice: the redesigned 2023 Kia Sportage.
Related: More 2021 L.A. Auto Show Coverage
Available in gas-only and gas-electric hybrid versions, the Sportage grows quite a bit, respectively tacking on 3.4 and 7.1 inches to wheelbase and overall length. As such, it’s one of the largest vehicles in the highly competitive compact SUV class, and it shows. If the outgoing generation had a roomy backseat, the redesign is more cavernous still — up 3.1 inches in rear legroom, by Kia’s numbers. Stay tuned for our independent accounting of cargo space, but the Sportage at the auto show appeared just as roomy behind the backseat as the Tucson, a redesigned compact SUV from Kia-affiliated automaker Hyundai. As of this writing, the Tucson has class-leading volume among the small SUVs we’ve tested.
The Tucson comparisons are inevitable, but it’s nice to see Kia avoid the unforced errors made by Hyundai’s compact SUV. The Sportage has mostly physical audio and climate controls, as opposed to the hard-to-use touch panel in upper trim levels of the Tucson. Some users may find the push-button gear selector in upper trims of the Tucson unintuitive, and the same can be said for the dial-style selector in the Sportage Hybrid. But the non-hybrid Sportage, likely the most popular version of the SUV, has a conventional gear lever.
Against the backdrop of auto-show vehicles, the Sportage was an easy choice for Best in Show because it avoided any head-scratchers. There’s no niche positioning in price or class. There’s no letdown on EV range or a lengthy timetable before mainstream versions become available. There’s no imposition of confusing interfaces or pie-in-the-sky technology. Simply put, the Sportage is a viable product full of honest benefits, and it’ll hit your local dealership in the months to come.
The nameplate isn’t Kia’s biggest seller — that goes to the Forte — but the redesign has a fighting chance to get there. It goes on sale in early 2022.
More From Cars.com:
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- 2023 Kia Sportage Revealed With More Room, More Power, More Style
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- Pricing Announced for 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid
- The 2022 Kia Sorento Is a Three-Row Bargain at $30,665
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