Kia Sportage vs Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

What's the difference?

An updated Sportage is a big deal for Kia. It's the brand's best-selling model in Australia and around the world, and arguably has never faced more and stiffer competition.

There's a new Mazda CX-5 around the corner, this time with a hybrid, and Toyota has just whipped the covers off its new RAV4. And that's before you mention Hyundai, Volkswagen, Honda or the litany of Chinese newcomers all here for slice of the pie.

Kia tells us this mid-life update is designed to look better, drive better, offer better tech, better safety and better equipment right across a vast range that includes petrol, diesel, hybrid, two-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, turbo and non-turbo alike.

So the question is, is all of that enough to keep the Sportage fresh in the face of all this new competition? Let's go find out.

Let’s make one thing clear from the very beginning - this new Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E Performance is technically superior to the model it replaces. Whether it’s actually better or not, is the real question at the heart of the matter.

Why? Because, like the C63 sedan stablemate, AMG has opted to replace the previous model’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. It was a move brought about in part because of increasingly stricter emissions standards in Europe, but also ties-in with the German firm’s success in modern Formula One racing.

While the new hybrid system offers more power, more torque and better fuel economy, as the lukewarm response to the C63 has demonstrated, the hard reality for AMG is that its buyers associate it with V8 and even V12 engines. That emotional pull is hard to replace with logic, even if the new model offers technical superiority.

But how does the new powertrain suit the GLC63 - is it just technically better or is it holistically improved?