5 Small Family Vehicles With Higher Ratings Than The Kia Sportage

When shopping for a family car, you need to consider a model with comfort, seating capacity, cargo space, reliability, and safety. One model that should definitely be on your radar is the Kia Sportage because experts across different sites have featured it on their recommendation lists. The 2026 Kia Sportage has been well received, with experts giving it solid ratings in their hands-on testing. 

For example, the team of experts at U.S. News rated the model 8.9 out of 10 and ranked it third overall among the competitive compact SUV segment. Car and Driver rated the Kia Sportage 8 out of 10 and has shortlisted it as one of the best compact SUV models that you can buy. The team at Consumer Reports was also impressed with the Kia Sportage, with some of its variants earning a recommendation.

Users have also rated the Kia Sportage well — it earned a Consumer Rating of 81 out of 100, according to J.D. Power. But despite the Kia Sportage's impressive scores, some models have proven to be better by earning higher scores. To round out this list of cars with better ratings than the Kia Sportage, we've relied on scores from five different sites: iSeeCars, Car and Driver, U.S. News, Consumer Reports (CR), and J.D. Power.

The 2026 Subaru Outback features updated styling, adopting a boxy design that makes it look more like an SUV than a station wagon. Subaru's controversial Outback styling aside, different experts have reviewed the 2026 Subaru Outback, and it stood tall against the Kia Sportage, earning higher scores on all our reference sites. In Car and Driver's test, the 2026 Outback was awarded 8.5 out of 10, 0.5 points higher than the Sportage. Similarly, the Outback scored higher in iSeeCars' Family Car Score, which factors in reliability, safety, and other family-friendly features. It scored 8.5 out of 10 and was crowned the best small family SUV by the site.

Expert reviewers at U.S. News also rated the Subaru Outback higher than the Sportage in their testing. The Outback scored 9.3 out of 10 overall (the Sportage was awarded 8.9 out of 10), indicating it's a slightly better model. CR individually buys cars and reviews them, and for the 2026 Subaru Outback, the team was far more impressed with the Subaru than the Sportage.

The Outback earned an impressive overall CR score, higher than all the variants of the Kia Sportage, and was ranked as the best midsize SUV model by the site. J.D. Power's Consumer Rating also shows users rank the Outback higher than the Kia, as it scored 83 out of 100 vs. 81. The 2026 Subaru Outback has a starting sticker price of $36,445 and tops out at $49,445 without any extra options.

The second alternative to the Kia Sportage worth considering because of its ratings is the Honda CR-V, one of the best-selling SUVs of 2026 so far. Like the Subaru Outback, the 2026 Honda CR-V also has better ratings than the Kia Sportage. According to experts at Car and Driver, the 2026 Honda CR-V is the perfect compact SUV you can get, as it earned a 10 out of 10 in the team's hands-on review. While U.S. News didn't give it the same perfect score, it scored a solid 9.0 out of 10, slightly better than the Kia Sportage, which got 8.9 out of 10. 

Ratings from other reference sites also corroborated Car and Driver and U.S. News, giving the CR-V higher scores than the Sportage. In iSeeCars' rankings, the CR-V emerged as the second-best small family SUV, with a family score of 8.5 out of 10. The CR-V also scored higher than the Kia Sportage in Consumer Reports' testing.

Consumers also rated the CR-V highly, giving it 82 out of 100 in J.D. Power's Consumer Ratings, a point higher than the Sportage's score. The 2026 Honda CR-V starts at $32,470 and comes with a 190-hp 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), which can be configured with front- or all-wheel drive.

Hyundai's Tucson also got higher ratings than the Kia Sportage. In fact, it beat the Kia Sportage in ratings on almost all of our reference sites. However, on some sites, the two models were neck and neck, scoring similarly. For example, in J.D. Power's Consumer Ratings, which are based on reviews from actual owners, the Tucson scored 81 out of 100, similar to the Kia Sportage. Similarly, in Car and Driver's test, both the Hyundai and Kia scored 8 out of 10. However, other review sites rated the Tucson higher. 

CR tested the non-hybrid Tucson and gave it a higher overall score than the gas-only Kia Sportage. However, the hybrid Tucson and Sportage had similar scores. iSeeCars' ratings also ranked the Tucson higher, giving it an 8.3 out of 10, 0.3 points higher than the Sportage. However, both models were shortlisted among the site's compilation of the best small family SUVs. U.S. News gave the Tucson 9.3 out of 10, higher than the Kia Sportage's overall score of 8.9.

The 2026 Hyundai Tucson is available with a hybrid and non-hybrid powertrain. You can get it with an all-wheel-drive or front-wheel-drive option, with the exact engine that you get depending on the variant you pick. The non-hybrid offers a 187-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder, while the hybrid has a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder with a combined output of 231 hp or 268 hp. The model has a starting sticker price of $31,300.

Another model worth considering if you need a car with better ratings than the Kia Sportage is the 2026 Subaru Forester. The 2026 Forester ranks among the best in its category, and different sites have found it to be better than the Kia Sportage. Starting with Consumer Reports, the team's review of the 2026 Forester gave it a solid overall score for both the hybrid and non-hybrid variants. In fact, both Forester models scored higher than all Kia Sportage variants, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and gas-only models.

iSeeCars also gave the Subaru a higher score of 8.3 out of 10, which is slightly better than the Sportage's score of 8.0. Similarly, according to reviews from users in the real world, the Forester is a better car. According to J.D. Power's Consumer Rating, the Forester scored 84 out of 100, three points higher than Kia's model. However, some experts did find the Forester to be a bit inferior to the Kia, with both Car and Driver and U.S. News rating the Sportage higher, although it wasn't by a huge margin.

In Car and Driver's review, it's a mixed bag — the non-hybrid Forester received 0.5 points less, and the hybrid one scored 0.5 points higher. For U.S. News, the Forester was rated 8.6 out of 10, 0.3 points less than the Kia. The 2026 Subaru Forester comes with standard all-wheel drive, a 180-hp 2.5-liter flat-four engine with a CVT. It has a starting sticker price of $31,445.

The Toyota RAV4 is a pretty strong alternative to the Kia Sportage if you want a small SUV for your family. According to experts at CR, the 2026 RAV4 is better overall than the Sportage. The RAV4 performed well in CR's review, earning a higher score than the Kia Sportage and also standing tall among other models in the compact SUV category by getting the highest score. The RAV4 performed better in individual categories as well, earning higher scores in predicted owner satisfaction as well as the road test.

It also scored higher in predicted reliability, which isn't surprising, as the RAV4 is one of Toyota's most reliable SUVs. Car and Driver's team also rated the RAV4 higher than the Kia Sportage, giving it an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10 vs. 8.0. Owners of the RAV4 have also liked it much better than those who got the Kia Sportage. According to J.D. Power's Toyota RAV4 Consumer Ratings, it scored 85 out of 100, four points higher than the Kia Sportage.

It's only in U.S. News reviews and iSeeCars' rankings that the RAV4 scored lower than the Sportage. U.S. News rated the RAV4 with an overall score of 8.3 out of 10, 0.6 points lower than the Kia Sportage. Per iSeeCars, the Kia Sportage narrowly beat the RAV4 by earning a Family Car Score of 8.0 out of 10, just 0.1 points higher. The 2026 RAV4 offers hybrid-only powertrains and starts at an MSRP of $33,495.