You’ve chosen a really good car – the Kia Sportage is one of the very best midsize SUVs.
The Sportage hits all the right notes – it’s one of the most practical family SUVs, it looks distinctive, has a fantastic interior and uses fuel-saving hybrid engines. Not to mention Kia’s seven-year warranty. All that means it’s not at all surprising that the Sportage was the UK’s second-best-selling car in 2024, with clear air between it and key rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson and Ford Kuga.
GT-Line and GT-Line S are the two sporty-looking trim levels in the Sportage lineup, with big alloy wheels and more sculpted bumpers. But there are surprising differences between the two – GT-Line is one of the cheaper versions of the Sportage, while the GT-Line S is the very top of the range model.
Kia Sportage GT-Line vs GT-Line S compared
| Kia Sportage GT-Line | Kia Sportage GT-Line S |
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Specification and standard equipment
Despite being one up from the entry-level ‘2’ trim, GT-Line is still well equipped. Standard equipment for the GT-Line Sportage includes:
- Automatic LED headlights
- Folding, heated wing mirrors
- Tinted rear windows
- Automatic wipers
- Heated front seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Automatic air conditioning with an auto defog setting
- Keyless entry and push-button start
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- 12.3-inch touchscreen with sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Reversing camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Cruise control
- Lane-keep assist
- Intelligent speed limit assist
Note that GT-Line hasn’t always featured heated seats or a heated steering wheel – if you test-drive a Sportage, you’ll notice their absence by the panel of blank buttons next to the gear selector.
GT-Line S looks and sounds similar to GT-Line, but adds a useful amount of extra equipment including:
- Upgraded headlights with high-beam assist
- Panoramic sunroof
- Optional black contrasting roof colour
- Heated outer rear seats
- Cooled front seats
- Full leather upholstery
- Electric front seat adjustment with memory function for the driver’s seat
- Electric bootlid
- Wireless phone charging
- Premium Harman Kardon sound system
- Smart parking assistance
- 360-degree camera
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Safe exit warning with cyclist detection
- Automatic emergency braking for reverse as well as forwards
Cost and value
With all that extra equipment comes a jump up in cost, some of which might not be immediately obvious. Most GT-Line S Sportages cost more than £40,000 when new, which means VED (road tax) jumps from £195 to £620 a year for the first five times you renew the tax as a result of the luxury car tax.
As a new car, the GT-Line starts from around £32,000 with a manual gearbox, or £34,000 for an automatic. The auto-only GT-Line S starts from over £39,000 so, if you’re a new buyer, you’ll need to work out if those extra features are must-haves.
On the used market, the difference isn’t quite so large, so you might think it’s worth upgrading to the fully stocked and more luxurious-feeling GT-Line S.
In terms of other running costs, insurance costs should be broadly similar for equivalent GT-Line and GT-Line S cars, and there’s barely a difference in fuel economy either.
From the available engine choices, the mild-hybrid petrol engine – badged T-GDi 48V – should return around 43mpg, the HEV hybrid should get closer to 50mpg, and the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) has the potential to reduce costs with a 43-mile electric range.
Which is best?
That will depend on how much you value the extra equipment, and whether you’re going to value it enough to pay the expensive car supplement on your road tax. If not, you’ll be best sticking with the GT-Line trim. However, if you can stretch to the GT-Line S, you’ll be getting luxury car features and the best Sportage experience.
For more info, read our in-depth Kia Sportage review.
