Compare the2026 Nissan MuranoVS 2026 Kia Sportage

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The Nissan Murano has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sportage doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Murano Platinum offers an optional front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sportage doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

With its standard Automatic Emergency Braking, the Nissan Murano is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Kia Sportage, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	Murano	Sportage
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-23 MPH
Warning Issued-Brights	2.3 sec	1.7 sec
37 MPH Low beams	-29 MPH	-21 MPH

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Murano. But it costs extra on the Sportage.

The Murano has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Sportage’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Murano has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Kia charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning on the Sportage.

Both the Murano and the Sportage have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Nissan Murano weighs 463 to 990 pounds more than the Kia Sportage. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Nissan Murano is safer than the Sportage:

	Murano	Sportage
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	33	121
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.59 in	1.1 in
Shoulder Force	156 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	1.34 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	9 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	558 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.2 in	1.1 in
Shoulder Force	22 lbs.	245 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.91 in	1.38 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Nissan Murano has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Sportage has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

Warranty

The Murano’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage runs out after 100,000 miles.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Murano for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Nissan will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage.

There are over 34 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Murano’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan second in initial quality, above the industry average. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked 8th.

Engine

The Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 54 more horsepower (241 vs. 187) and 82 lbs.-ft. more torque (260 vs. 178) than the Sportage’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Murano is faster than the Kia Sportage:

	Murano	Sportage
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	9.3 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.2 MPH	82.1 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Murano has 4.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage (18.7 vs. 14.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Murano has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sportage doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Nissan Murano, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Sportage.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Murano’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage:

	Murano	Sportage
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	11.8 inches

The Murano’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sportage are solid, not vented.

The Murano stops shorter than the Sportage:

	Murano	Sportage
60 to 0 MPH	127 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Sportage (255/55R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The Murano’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage LX/X-Pro Prestige’s standard 65 series tires. The Murano Platinum’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sportage LX/X-Pro Prestige. The Murano Platinum’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line.

The Murano has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sportage doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Murano’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Sportage (111.2 inches vs. 108.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 3 inches wider in the front and 2.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Sportage.

Chassis

The Murano uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sportage doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Murano has 10 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sportage (112 vs. 102).

The Murano has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front hip room, 3.3 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 3.5 inches more rear hip room and 2.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

Cargo Capacity

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Murano’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Sportage doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Murano. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The Murano uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sportage uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Murano Platinum has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction, incoming text message, infotainment and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sportage doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Murano’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Sportage’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

The Murano’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Sportage’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Murano to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Sportage doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Murano’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Kia charges extra for heated mirrors on the Sportage.

The Murano has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Sportage. The Murano also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage.

The Murano (except SV) offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Sportage.

The Murano has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Murano has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Sportage EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line/X-Pro offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Murano first among midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Sportage isn’t in the top three in its category.

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