Where each one leads
Kia Sportage
- New Kia Sportage cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 123 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 193 for the Subaru Outback in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol Kia Sportage uses 8.0 l/100 km on the road, the Subaru Outback 8.9.
Subaru Outback
- Against cars of the same age, the Subaru Outback comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 6% more often than average) than the Kia Sportage (passes 1% less often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Subaru Outback comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 11% less often than average) than the Kia Sportage (fails 9% more often than average).
- Fewer Subaru Outback cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (0.7% against 1.7%).
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating; official combined fuel use, Canada (l/100 km).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Kia Sportage | Subaru Outback | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1995–2026 | 1995–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 1,107,190 (2010–2022) | 38,661 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 420,691 | 9,372 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 52,257 | 858 |
| In traffic in Finland | 11,596 | 2,235 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Kia Sportage | Subaru Outback | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 77% | 75% |
| … against cars of the same age | −1% | +6% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.2% | 1.4% |
| … against cars of the same year | +9% | −11% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 1.7% | 0.7% |
| US owner complaints | 4,714 | 9,776 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Electrical system |
| Model year with most complaints | 2017 (403) | 2019 (1,036) |
| US recall campaigns | 36 | 71 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,725 | 6,038 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 63 | 10 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Kia Sportage | Subaru Outback | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2027) | 5★ (2025) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Kia Sportage | Subaru Outback | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.3 l/100 km (2026) | 8.5 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 7.4 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 8.0 l/100 km | 8.9 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 5.6 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 5.3 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 123 g/km | 193 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 119 kW (159 hp) | 124 kW (166 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,652 kg | 1,729 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €30,790 | €65,096 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 170,000 km | 106,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).