The Jeep Cherokee has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Cherokee. But it costs extra on the Sportage.
The Jeep Cherokee’s optional 360-degree camera has integrated front and rear camera washers, ensuring clear, all-weather visibility without the need for manual cleaning. In contrast, the Kia Sportage lacks camera washers, requiring you to manually clean the cameras for optimal performance.
The Cherokee 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 Cherokee has standard Rear Cross Path Detection, helping the driver avoid collisions. Kia charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning on the Sportage.
Both the Cherokee and the Sportage have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available around view monitors.
The Jeep Cherokee weighs 468 to 899 pounds more than the Kia Sportage. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.