The New Kia Sportage Has a Baby Mode for Smoother Trips

The Kia Sportage gets a mid-cycle update with changes inside and out. Kia's popular crossover has more sound-deadening material for a quieter cabin. The updated Sportage earns hardware improvements as well.

The Kia Sportage has already entered the 2025MY in the United States with minimal changes. It’s a different story in South Korea where the popular crossover is getting a facelift with the model year changeover. It effectively serves as the mid-cycle update and brings tweaks inside and out along with mechanical upgrades and more customization options.

The most noticeable difference is at the front where the 2025 Sportage for the Korean market has redesigned headlights. The boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights are gone but the new extra-long lighting signature of the more vertically oriented clusters is just as quirky. The grille is also fresh, and its pattern varies depending on the trim level. The same goes for the updated front bumper, available in different designs.

At the back, the taillights have retained their size and shape but the inner graphics are new. Kia also revised the bumper but nothing to write home about. Rounding off the changes on the outside are the Wolf Gray and Heritage Blue paint jobs and different alloy wheels up to 19 inches in size.

More substantial modifications have occurred inside where the Sportage has a revamped 12.3-inch curved infotainment system and a digital instrument cluster of the same size. The air vents have been completely changed and there’s more ambient lighting than before. There are still plenty of physical controls and we’re glad to see none of the images show the cabin with piano black trim.

The colorful steering wheels have an odd shape, and Kia is introducing a Lounge Brown interior to spice things up. A new head-up display is offered, along with a camera mounted on the steering wheel that monitors whether the driver is paying attention to the road. Sensors in the steering wheel detect if your hands are where they should be. As seen in other models, a fingerprint authentication system is available.

Inherited from the mechanically related 2025 Hyundai Tucson, the latest Kia Sportage for Korea has a Baby & Toddler mode. Upon activation, it automatically smoothens acceleration so that the little ones sitting in the back won’t be bothered. For extra comfort, there are fancier dampers at the front axle and additional sound-absorbing material in the B-pillars and door cards.

Elsewhere, the turbocharged 1.6-liter gasoline engine ditches the seven-speed, dual-clutch in favor of an eight-speed auto. Kia is making the hybrid model slightly more potent than before to echo the electrified 2025 Tucson.

Expect these changes to be adopted by the Sportage outside of Korea in the months to come. Americans will likely have to wait for the 2026MY to get the facelifted version.