The all new Kia Sportage, just launched in the beginning of this year garnered fab reviews by the car community. The edgier design and superb after-sales care of the brand are two important things of the brand. The three models respectively as the CX-5, Tucson and Sportage offer almost similar driving experience, capabilities, dimensions and Kia Accessories. While all three models will head for tough competition among them, knowing the difference can be crucial for the buyers. 

Price and Equipment

The cheapest car among the three is the Mazda which is priced just at $32,790 while the price for Tucson goes at $32,990 and for Sportage $33,990. There are too many common things like 7.0-inch screen, USB/Bluetooth, cruise control, reverse-view camera, automatic headlights and six airbags gracing all three of them.

There are also commendable differences. Both the South Korean makes respectively Hyundai and Kia offer 18 inch alloy wheels along with full sized spare wheels, while Mazda offers only 17 inch alloy wheel with only a temporary spare wheel. While Mazda comes with cloth upholstery, both Hyundai and Kia offer leather seats. The Mazda SUV also comes with electric folding mirrors.

Among the three, Mazda lacks any parking sensors.  The Kia offers both front and rear side parking sensors while Hyundai has them only on the rear side. Mazda among the three also lacks daytime running lights. The only impressive feature with Mazda is the push-button keyless start absent in other two SUVs.

Hyundai Tucson among the three SUVs lacks the climate control air conditioning in compared to other two. Though, instead of it it offers a manual setup. The Tucson also comes without rear privacy glass and rain sensing auto wipers. There are few other important things that the Hyundai SUV misses like satellite navigation while the other two are equipped with it. But among the three in discussion here the Hyundai Tucson is only loaded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though Kia is reportedly going to have it in the latter half of this year following a software update.

Being the latest SUV among the three, Kia Sportage offers all specs except the keyless start mentioned earlier. Among the three Kia Sportage is also the only model coming with a electro-chromatic rear-view mirror that dims automatically facing the glaring light.

So, is the Kia Sportage is in clear advantage over other two? We are not sure since it is slightly expensive over other two with $1000 more on price compared to Hyundai Tucson and $1200 compared to the Mazda. Many car specialists and automobile dealers stressed that even though Kia comes a bit expensive, the power features and equipments of the car worth it.

Mazda also looks as a more favorable option because of its $1230 Safety Pack that includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, etc. Compared to these two, the Hyundai Tucson may have more things to catch up with. 

Cabins

All the three offer comfort cabins as expected in family SUVs. Ample room, higher-riding position for more command while driving and five plus one seats are all perfect attributes in three of them. USB and power charging sockets, door pockets, sunglass holders and pretty legroom to straighten a little, all make these three SUVs almost at par.

But when you go into deeper, Mazda looks  to be slightly ahead of other two. With leather wheel, plush gauges, electric parking brake, tactile switches, silver cabin inserts, offers a more expensive look and feel inside.

In Kia model you can discern clean influence of Porsche in its black leather seats, full range of electric adjustment, sports steering wheel, silver-rimmed window switches and mostly plush interior with tactile points. Among the three Hyundai Tucson looks a bit austere lacking the plush comfort cabin ambience. 

Drive

Each of the SUVs mentioned here is loaded with a 2.0 litre petrol engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission capable to send the torque to the front wheels. But to be honest, hardly anyone needs a all-wheel drive with such family friendly mid range SUVs. But in case you are uncompromising over AWD, Mazda comes as the only choice offering this option by pairing a bigger 2.5 litre engine that would cost an additional $3000. To go with the option in other two you need to altogether switch to a higher spec with different engine.

Let us now come to test drive comparison among the three. Hyundai Tucson is the clear leader here with 121kW of power at 6300rpm and 203Nm of torque at 4700rpm, followed by Mazda with 114kW of power at 6000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 4000rpm and Kia coming at last with 114kW of power at 6200rpm and 192Nm of torque at 4000rpm. As far as fuel consumption is considered Mazda heads the pack with lowest combined-cycle consumption with just 6.4 litres per 100km, while the other two takes 7.9 litres per100km. 

Ride and Handling

In most aspects so far we have seen Kia and Mazda enjoying a clear edge over Hyundai except obviously the drive power and torque. Now we have come up with aspects in which Hyundai Tucson comes as clear champ over the two.

Tucson and the Sportage both have Australia made suspension tuning, but Tucson when tested offered a more comfortable ride than the other two. It is thoroughly equipped enough to glide over all road glitches, bumps and dips without making much difference to the comfort of the onboard people. Even we can easily say, the comfort level offered by Tucson is better than many commendable European makers in this niche. The Kia is felt a little harsh but still it gave a better result than more sporty feeling Mazda drive. Among the three Mazda is also the loudest while cruising over the road.