Crossover Showdown: 2019 Honda CR-V vs 2019 Nissan Rogue vs 2020 KIA Sportage

Crossovers have been the darling of the auto industry for some time now. With every brand improving their ever-growing lineup of compact and sporty SUVs, sometimes it’s tough to wade through the endless parade of options in the class. And if you’re a value-conscious customer with a best-bang-for-your-buck mentality, the selection gets more and more difficult.

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That’s where we come in.

Today, we’ll be examining three of the most popular selling crossovers on the market from some of the top automakers in the industry. Nissan, Honda, and KIA are all major players in the crossover field, with the Japanese and Korean automakers respectively all focusing largely on the aforementioned compact SUV market.

In this article we’ll be locked in on a comparison of the following competing models: Nissan with the uber-popular 2019 Nissan Rogue SV, Honda with the classic 2019 Honda CR-V EX and relative newcomer KIA with the quirky 2020 KIA Sportage LX. We’ll be taking a look at a few categories to compare the three vehicles, including, design, vehicle dimensions, standard features, performance, fuel economy, and lease price.

Let’s get into it and hopefully, we can help you choose the perfect crossover to fit your lifestyle!

2020 KIA Sportage LX Front

Design

Let’s start with the Sportage here. Definitely the most noticeable crossover of the bunch, the 2020 KIA Sportage does its best Snapchat ghost logo impression at first glance. With a narrow body, a wide distinct mouth-like grille and friendly LED daytime running headlights, whether or not you find the Sportage’s design appealing will have a lot to do with how much you want to stand out on the road. Younger shoppers are sure to love the Sportage’s fun-loving, almost puppy-like quirks in the design, but it will likely be hit or miss when it comes to the older crowd who prefer a more subdued ride.

2019 Honda CR-V Lease Deals

Did somebody say subdued? The 2019 Honda CR-V’s design could be summed up in one word: unremarkable. That’s not to say that the CR-V is a bad looking car by any means. It features a familiar Honda design that is well put together and highly functional, despite its underwhelming exterior. For shoppers that are willing to sacrifice some head-turns for increased reliability, comfort, and overall quality, the CR-V is a wise choice.

2019 Nissan Rogue SV Lease Deals

That brings us to the design-middle of the Sportage and the CR-V, the 2019 Nissan Rogue. Not quite as much of a standout on the road as the Sportage, nor as forgettable as the CR-V, the Rogue strikes the perfect balance between good looks and a mature presence. The biggest of the three, the Rogue features a longer front end with a nice looking grille that fits the overall persona of the crossover. It’s vibe screams “let’s get ready to pick up the kids from soccer practice on Wednesday, but let’s plan that weekend trip to the beach with some friends as well.”

All in all, it’s tough to decide which ride has the better design, since so much of looks are based on individual perception. However, the Rogue is definitely the best mix of fun and class of the three options, which is why we think it’s the best overall fit for most shoppers with design in mind. Although, in this case, the Sportage has won a lot of us over when it comes to being spookiest and most unique looking crossover on the road, and that’s what gives it the edge over the Rogue.

Winner: 2020 KIA Sportage LX

crossover trunk space

Vehicle Measurements and Cargo Room

MeasurementSportageCR-VRogue
Passenger Volume98.6 105.9105.8
Cargo Volume30.739.239.3
Front Head Room39.340.141.6
Front Leg Room41.541.343
Front Hip Room54.355.154.0
Rear Hip Room51.249.552.1
Front Shoulder Room57.157.956.6
Rear Shoulder Room55.155.655.9
Second Row Head Room39.139.238.5
Second Row Leg Room38.240.437.9
Wheelbase105.1104.7106.5
Width73.073.072.4
Length176.4180.6184.5
Height64.466.168.5

When it comes to passenger space and cargo room, this becomes more or less a two crossover race. While the Rogue and CR-V boast nearly identical passenger volume and cargo numbers, the Sportage lags considerably due to its minuscule size. However, when it comes to passenger comfort metrics such as head and legroom, the Sportage actually keeps pace and even edges out its Japanese counterparts in a few measurements like second-row legroom. However, we’re going to give the slight edge to the Rogue once again, due to the generous room given to the front passengers compared to the CR-V.

2020 KIA Sportage LX

Standard Features

First and foremost, the three vehicles that we tested all have the optional All-Wheel Drive drivetrain. When it comes to battling the elements in the Northeast during the winter, we 100% recommend going with an all-wheel-drive vehicle for increased peace of mind and stability. Trust us, you’ll thank us later. All three also have cloth interior.

Le’s start with the Sportage LX. The base LX trim of the Sportage comes with quite of few standard goodies to get you started. You’ll get Remote Keyless Entry, Daytime Running Lights, an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless smartphone integration. Safety features include lane keep assist, driver attention warning and forward collision warning with pedestrian detection – all valuable safety features to help you stay safe on the road. Overall, a nice package offered by KIA for Sportage customers that want a few sought-after features, but don’t need a whole lot else.

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2019 Honda CR-V Interior

Now for our old friend the Honda CR-V. This model happens to be an EX trim, one up from the base model. It comes with key standard features such as remote keyless entry, power moonroof, fog lights, and a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. Honda also makes sure to stock the CR-V with a fair amount of active safety features including brake assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and daytime running lights. Overall, not a bad haul for shoppers that must have a moonroof, while also benefiting from a strong active safety suite like HondaSensing.

New Crossover Comparison

Finally, let’s breakdown the Nissan Rogue SV’s bevy of standard features, ranging from safety to comfort to entertainment. First off, the Rogue SV is the only one to feature a power liftgate that also happens to be motion activated. Score one for the Rogue. Like the previous two, the Rogue also features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility on a 7inch touchscreen. The Rogue SV also comes standard with remote engine start, to go along with heated front seats, perfect for those cold months in the Northeast region. Where the Rogue SV really shines is in Nissans fantastic comprehensive safety suite. Easily the most well-equipped option when it comes to safety, the Rogue SV features blindspot detection, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert and rear automatic braking.

If you’re a safety feature-conscious buyer that doesn’t want to go up a ton of trims to get all the options you need in a car, the Rogue is the easy choice.

Winner: 2019 Nissan Rogue SV

Performance

If we’re being honest, none of these crossovers have a whole lot of giddy-up, however, if you’re in the market for a budget crossover, performance probably isn’t at the top of your list when it comes to vehicle priorities. The Sportage LX and CR-V EX both have 2.4L 4 Cylinder engines, with the Rogue having a slightly bigger 4 cylinder with a 2.5L. The CR-V makes the most horsepower with 184, with the Sportage trailing slightly with 181. The Rogue comes in last with just 170hp. Since these numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, we’re gonna leave it at that.

Out of the three, we’ll give the edge to the Sportage, due to its nimble handling and a smooth-shifting engine that is just a little bit more fun to drive than the other two competitors.

Winner: 2020 KIA Sportage LX

Fuel Economy

2019 Nissan Rogue: 25/32/27 mpg
2020 KIA Sportage: 19/24/21 mpg
2019 Honda CR-V: 27/33/29 mpg

The Honda CR-V is the easy choice for eco-friendly lessees that want to spend more time on the road and less at the pump. With a combined 29 mpg city/highway, the CR-V is what we like to call a money-saving, fuel-sipping crossover. The Nissan Rogue SV comes in second with a respectable 27 mpg combined and well, as, for the Sportage, let’s just say you and Gary at the BP down the street just became best friends.

Winner: 2019 Honda CR-V EX 

Lease Programs

Finally, what a lot of you have been waiting for and arguably the biggest variable for value-conscious shoppers: Price. All three of these vehicles are similarly priced from 27K (Sportage) to 29K (Rogue and CR-V) so, we have a pretty fair comparison when it comes to pricing out a closely identical lease. For this test, we’ll be using our online leasing calculator, Ignite, in order to get some instant quotes on these three vehicles. We’ll be using New Jersey taxes, and putting $2,000 at lease signing, which will take care of taxes and fees and first-month payment. All three of these crossovers will be priced out as a zero down lease deal, since there is no actual money going towards the overall principle of the vehicle. (Updated 9/5/2019)

2019 Honda CR-V EX: $288/month with 10,000 miles for 36 months

2019 Nissan Rogue SV: $251.96/month with 12,000 miles for 36 months  

2020 KIA Sportage LX: $229/month with 10,000 miles for 36 months 

Right off the bat, the Rogue stands out, due to Nissan’s 12,000-mile standard allotted mileage. This factor alone could sway the decision-making of some buyers that are concerned with the mileage limits that come with leasing. In addition, the Rogue also boasts a monthly price that is nearly $30 cheaper a month than the 2019 Honda CR-V. However, for those looking for the cheapest of the three options, the Sportage takes the cake with a lease price a full $20 cheaper than the Rogue. However, we would rather pony up the extra $20/month for the extra miles and features that come with the Rogue.

Winner: 2019 Nissan Rogue SV

Conclusion

When we started this crossover comparison, our goal was to determine which vehicle was the ultimate bang-for-your-buck option when it came to all of the variables we determined were important to shoppers: design, space, features, performance, efficiency, and finally, price. Our clear winner today is the 2019 Nissan Rogue SV, which has the best combination of all of those categories all in one fantastic package.

If you’re interested in any of the crossovers discussed in this post, give the automotive experts at Capital Motor Cars a call today to get behind the wheel of one of these fantastic crossovers.

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