Compare the2026 Lincoln CorsairVS 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
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The Lincoln Corsair 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 Corsair offers optional Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Sportage doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Corsair 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Sportage’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Corsair has standard Cross-Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Kia charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning on the Sportage.

Both the Corsair 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, front wheel drive, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lincoln Corsair is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	Corsair	Sportage
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	143	299
Neck Injury Risk	22.5%	24.5%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	263 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	102	307
Neck Compression	58 lbs.	115 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	220/169 lbs.	292/203 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Lincoln Corsair is safer than the Kia Sportage:

	Corsair	Sportage
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	.9 inches
Hip Force	240 lbs.	247 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	47 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	13 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	35 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	480 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

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

Reliability

The Corsair has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Sportage doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

Engine

The Corsair’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 63 more horsepower (250 vs. 187) and 97 lbs.-ft. more torque (275 vs. 178) than the Sportage’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Corsair Grand Touring’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 79 more horsepower (266 vs. 187) than the Sportage’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Lincoln Corsair turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Kia Sportage:

	Corsair	Sportage
Zero to 60 MPH	6.1 sec	9.1 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	17.5 sec	25.6 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7 sec	9.5 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	3.6 sec	4.5 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.3 sec	6.3 sec
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	84 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	120 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running on electricity gets better mileage than the Sportage:

			MPGe
Corsair
	AWD	Grand Touring Electric Motor	83 city/69 hwy
Sportage
			MPG
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy
		X-Pro Prestige 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/26 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Sportage:

			MPG
Corsair
	AWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	34 city/32 hwy
Sportage
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy
		X-Pro Prestige 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/26 hwy

The Corsair Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 27 miles. The Sportage can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Corsair Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Sportage doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Corsair’s standard fuel tank has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage (16.9 vs. 14.3 gallons).

The Corsair 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

The Corsair Grand Touring has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Sportage doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Corsair stops much shorter than the Sportage:

	Corsair	Sportage
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	182 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	139 feet	151 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Corsair’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sportage (245/45R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The Corsair Premiere’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sportage LX/X-Pro Prestige’s standard 65 series tires. The Corsair’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Corsair Premiere has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sportage LX/X-Pro Prestige. The Corsair’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Sportage SX Prestige/X-Line.

Suspension and Handling

The Corsair offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Sportage’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Corsair’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Sportage doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Corsair Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Sportage X-Pro Prestige pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Corsair Reserve AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Sportage AWD (27 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Corsair’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the Sportage’s (37.1 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

Chassis

The Corsair is 3 inches shorter than the Sportage, making the Corsair easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Corsair 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 Corsair has 1.8 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Corsair’s optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Sportage doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Corsair. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sportage is limited to 2500 pounds. The Corsair offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Corsair Grand Touring can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Corsair can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Sportage can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Servicing Ease

The Corsair 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 Corsair Reserve/Grand Touring offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning, turn signal, navigation instruction 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 Corsair’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.

If the windows are left open on the Corsair the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Sportage can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Corsair’s exterior PIN entry system. The Sportage doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its 911 Connect can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Corsair’s standard Intelligent Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Smart Key standard on the Sportage doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Corsair’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.

Consumer Reports rated the Corsair’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Sportage’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Corsair Reserve has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Sportage doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Corsair’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 Corsair’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sportage offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Lincoln Corsair has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors costs extra on the Sportage and aren't offered on the LX/EX.

The Corsair has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Sportage. The Corsair 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 Corsair Reserve/Grand Touring 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 Corsair 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.

The Corsair’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Sportage doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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