Selling a used Kia Sportage: engines, hybrid and 2025 facelift

Before you sell a 2021 or newer Kia Sportage, work out which version you have: the NQ5 launch car from November 2021, the hybrid from March 2024, or the mid-2025 facelift. Then run your VIN for the seatbelt-warning recall and find your warranty start date, because the balance of Kia’s 7-year warranty stays with the car for the next owner.

Which Sportage do you have?

The NQ5 Sportage reached Australian showrooms in November 2021, according to CarExpert’s launch pricing report. Since then Kia has added a hybrid, facelifted the car and widened the hybrid range, so the year on your rego papers isn’t a full description of the car.

Motoring press calls the facelift the 2026 Sportage, even though deliveries began in mid-2025. That means a Sportage first registered in 2025 could be either version.

The quickest way to tell is your purchase contract or the dealer’s invoice, which normally spells out the variant, such as “GT-Line 1.6T AWD”. Don’t rely on looks: CarExpert’s reviewer said some people may not notice the facelift’s design changes. Two clues help. If yours has a manual gearbox, it’s the earlier car, because the facelift dropped the manuals. On an S grade, CarExpert reported an 8-inch touchscreen at launch and a 12.3-inch one from the facelift.

2.0 petrol, 1.6 turbo, diesel or hybrid: which engine is yours?

Four powertrains have been sold in the NQ5 Sportage. The table uses the figures CarExpert reported at the launch, the hybrid’s arrival and the facelift.

Three things follow when you sell:

• FWD or AWD is easy to get wrong. Before the facelift, only the 1.6 turbo and the diesel had all-wheel drive. Every 2.0 petrol and every pre-facelift hybrid is front-wheel drive, whatever the grade.
• Name the diesel clearly. Kia kept the diesel at the facelift, and in March 2025 CarExpert called the Sportage one of the last affordable mid-sized SUVs available with diesel power in Australia. Hyundai’s Tucson dropped its diesel at its 2024 facelift, so a buyer who wants a diesel mid-size SUV has fewer to choose from. Our guide to selling a used Hyundai Tucson covers that side of the story.
• Grade and engine go together. A GT-Line can be a 1.6 turbo, a diesel or a hybrid. Saying “GT-Line” alone leaves a buyer guessing which car they’re pricing.

Is a dual-clutch Sportage harder to sell?

We found no published data showing that dual-clutch Sportages sell for less. Every pre-facelift 1.6 turbo Sportage, which means the SX+ and GT-Line 1.6T, has a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT), so any buyer comparing like with like is comparing dual-clutch cars.

At the facelift, Kia replaced it with an 8-speed torque-converter automatic. CarExpert’s launch review called the new gearbox smoother-shifting and quicker to respond from rest, without the hesitation it associates with dual-clutch gearboxes.

So the gearbox is a fact about the variant, not a fault with your car. What a buyer will judge is how your car drives on the day. They’ll notice how it moves off from a standstill, how it behaves creeping in traffic, and whether the logbook shows it was serviced on time.

If anything about the gearbox feels wrong to you, have a Kia dealer look at it while the car is still under warranty. A fault fixed under warranty before you sell is better than one a buyer finds on the test drive.

What did the hybrid add?

Kia brought the Sportage Hybrid to Australia in March 2024, in SX and GT-Line grades only. It pairs the 1.6 turbo with an electric motor for 169kW and 350Nm combined, drives through a six-speed automatic, and was front-wheel drive only until the facelift.

The facelift lifted combined output to 173kW and 367Nm, the figures in both CarExpert’s launch review and Kia’s current Sportage brochure. It also offered AWD for the first time on an electrified Sportage in Australia, in SX and GT-Line grades. In early 2026 an S Hybrid joined the range as the cheapest way into a hybrid Sportage.

If you’re selling a hybrid:

• Say “hybrid” first. At the hybrid’s 2024 launch, CarExpert reported a new-car list price $8,400 above the cheapest SX automatic, before on-road costs. That was a new-car gap, not a used value, but an ad that just says “Sportage SX” gets compared with the cheaper petrol cars.
• Don’t call a pre-facelift hybrid AWD. Every hybrid sold before the facelift is front-wheel drive.
• Have the booklet ready for battery questions. A buyer may ask how the hybrid battery is covered. Point them to the terms in your warranty and service booklet rather than guessing.

What did the 2025 facelift change?

Kia’s mid-life update reached Australian buyers in mid-2025. Going by CarExpert’s launch review and its 2026 price report, these are the changes a buyer is likely to ask about:

• Styling. A subtle refresh, which is why the paperwork tells you more than the looks do.
• Screens. A 12.3-inch infotainment system across the range, with Kia Connect services and wireless smartphone mirroring.
• Gearboxes. The six-speed manual was dropped, and the 1.6 turbo AWD moved from the dual-clutch to an 8-speed auto.
• Hybrid. More power, an AWD option and, from 2026, more grades.
• Diesel. Kept, in S, SX, SX+ and GT-Line.

If yours is a facelift, say so plainly. It’s the newer car, it has more of its warranty left, and the transmission question doesn’t apply.

If yours is the earlier car, it’s compared with other pre-facelift cars of the same grade, engine, age and kilometres, so give those details exactly.

Which recall should you check before selling?

Recall REC-005699 on the Australian Government’s recall register covers some NQ5 Sportages built in 2022 and 2023, along with some Kia Niro and Seltos models. The instrument cluster software may fail to show the seatbelt warning. As with other recalls, the fix is done free at a Kia dealer.

A missing seatbelt reminder is a safety issue, not a cosmetic one. Clear it before you sell. Work through this a week or two before you ask for offers:

1. Find your VIN. It’s on your rego papers, and usually visible through the base of the windscreen and on a label in the door frame.
2. Search it at vehiclerecalls.gov.au. This guide doesn’t list every recall, so trust the search over any summary.
3. Find the paperwork. Look for the recall letter from Kia and the dealer job card or invoice from the visit. If you bought the car second-hand or have moved house, the letter may never have reached you.
4. Book anything still open. The work costs you nothing, and a booking now is better than an open recall on inspection day.
5. Keep it together. Put the recall paperwork in the glovebox with the service booklet so it goes with the car.

Our guide to checking open recalls before you sell explains each step.

Does your 7-year warranty go with the car?

Yes. Kia’s warranty page lists 7 years with unlimited kilometres, 7 years of capped price servicing and up to 8 years of roadside assistance. It says the balance of all three “remains with the vehicle for the benefit of the vehicle’s new owner”.

Roadside assistance starts with 12 months. Kia extends it, up to 8 years, when the car comes back to an authorised Kia dealer for each scheduled service. If a buyer asks about roadside cover, your stamped booklet is the answer.

A worked example

Say your booklet shows a warranty start date of 10 December 2021 (a hypothetical date). The warranty runs to 10 December 2028. If you sell in October 2026, the next owner gets a little over two years of factory cover, with no kilometre cap.

Because the kilometres are unlimited, the start date is what sets the end of the 7-year cover. A facelift whose warranty started in mid-2025 would have more than five and a half years left in October 2026. On a hybrid, also check the booklet for any separate terms on the hybrid battery.

“Still under warranty” is vague. “Factory warranty to December 2028” is something a buyer can check against the booklet. For how buyers weigh warranty left in general, see our guide on whether remaining warranty increases a car’s value.

Trading up to a new Sportage, or selling yours first?

Owners ask what they’d get trading one SUV, such as a Mazda CX-5, into a new Sportage. The same applies if you’re moving from an earlier Sportage to a facelift or a hybrid. The trade-in figure on its own tells you very little, because the dealer can shift money between the trade figure and the discount on the new car.

Get three numbers, in writing where you can:

1. The new car’s drive-away price with no trade-in.
2. The dealer’s trade figure for your car on its own.
3. An outright offer for your car from another buyer.

Here’s how they fit together, with made-up figures. Say the dealer’s trade figure is $1,500 below an outright offer you hold, and the drive-away price is the same with or without a trade. Selling outright leaves you $1,500 better off.

Now say the dealer offers an extra $1,000 off the new car, but only if you trade. The gap shrinks to $500. Selling outright still comes out ahead, but now you can weigh $500 against the convenience of one transaction.

If there’s finance on your Sportage, the loan has to be paid out as part of the sale, so ask your lender for a payout figure early. Our guide to selling your car instead of trading it in goes through the trade-off in more detail.

What will a valuer ask about your Sportage?

Expect these questions from any serious buyer. Having the answers ready avoids surprises at the inspection.

• Full variant. Grade, engine, gearbox, and FWD or AWD, such as “SX+ 1.6T AWD” or “SX hybrid FWD”.
• Which version. Pre-facelift or facelift, plus the build date and first registration date.
• Kilometres. The exact odometer reading, not a round number.
• Service history. A booklet stamped on schedule, with receipts for anything done in between.
• Recall status. Proof that REC-005699 and any other recalls on your VIN have been done.
• Warranty start date. Taken from the booklet, so the time left can be worked out.
• Finance. The lender’s name and a current payout figure.
• Extras. A towbar, tint or roof racks, and who fitted them.
• Condition. Both keys, kerbed wheels, paint chips, interior wear, and any warning light on the dash.

Getting a firm offer on your Sportage

A Sportage with its version clearly stated, its recall cleared and a stamped booklet is an easy car to explain to any buyer. If you’d rather skip the ads, the test drives and the strangers, you can sell it to us instead.

Sell Your Car Australia, run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd (NSW licensed motor dealer MD 077404), buys cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less. Every Sportage version in this guide is 2021 or newer, so check your odometer against that 100,000 km mark. If it’s over, send it through anyway and we will tell you straight away if we can help. You get a genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer, not an online estimate.

Once you accept, a deposit is often paid the same day. The inspection happens at a time and place that suits you. The balance is paid into your bank account, and we arrange collection anywhere in Australia only after you confirm the funds have cleared.

We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. If there’s finance owing, we deal with your lender directly to pay out the loan, then pay you any equity, which usually takes 2 to 3 business days to settle. The valuation is free, there’s no obligation, and no fees come out of the offer.

Start with our sell my Kia Sportage page or our wider page on selling an SUV, or call 1800 73 55 73 with your booklet and recall paperwork handy.