I drove UK’s two best selling cars and there was a clear winner

Every year the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) tracks the best selling cars in the UK. At the end of each month, and then at the end of each year, it releases a statement saying which is the best selling car in the country.

All clear so far? Good. For the past few years the best selling car in the UK has been the Ford Puma, a small SUV that took over the mantel from its now-no longer on sale sibling the popular Ford Fiesta.

However, in recent months, two challengers have emerged to take the Puma’s, and Ford’s, crown in the shape of the Kia Sportage and Jaecoo 7. In fact, at the start of 2026 the Sportage outsold the Puma, before the American model retook the lead in February.

With this in mind, and having reviewed the Puma last year, we decided to take a closer look at the Sportage and assess whether it’s better than the Puma or not.

Specifications

The car we had on test was the HEV ‘GT-Line’ 1.6 T-GDi 6AT FWD edition of the Kia Sportage with a hybrid system. It features a petrol engine and a 47.7kW electric motor working together to send 235bhp and 265Nm of torque to the front wheels via an six speed automatic gearbox.

When it comes to boot space with the rear seats up there’s 587 litres of space and with them down there’s 1,776 litres to play with. Meanwhile, on the road, the car is capable of a combined MPG figure of 50.4mpg.

All in, our Sportage as specced cost £36,975. However, prices for the car can start as low as £23,954.17 if one goes for the 1.6 T-GDi model with the six speed manual gearbox. A bit like the Puma, prices can range from just above £20,000 to just above £30,000, but with both finance options are available.

The interior

The interior of the Kia is a hybrid of buttons, a touchscreen, and haptic controls. There’s a manual selector for forward, reverse, neutral, and park as well as a buttons for heated seats, heated steering wheel and the start button.

As with most modern cars there are button shortcuts on the steering wheel that allow you to turn off things like lane assist without going into a sub menu and allow you to switch between Eco and Sport Mode.

If you get into a Kia Sportage and its infotainment systems feel similar to those on Hyundais of a similar age, don’t be surprised, because they’re both part of the same company. There are a couple of differences here and there, but otherwise they have the same shortcuts.

If you’ve not been in either of those cars before it takes a little working out, but overall it’s fine to use. I wish there was a physical dial that meant you didn’t have to touch the screen to get to different parts of the system and, sadly, the aircon is operated via a haptic touch bar meaning it feels a bit fiddly.

The steering wheel, like the Puma, is square with rounded corners. I don’t really understand why both Ford and Kia have done this because the wheel becomes too large and therefore the car more awkward to manoeuvre.

At least the opening at the top never disrupts your view of important on the dash in front of you and the padels for the adjustable regenerative braking are always within easy reach. If I had an extra small critique, it would be that the steering wheel didn’t come out far enough to me for my driving position.

On the road

Whilst the Kia is wider than the Puma, and despite the strange steering wheel, it felt far better to drive than its American rival. I didn’t like the Puma for the way it felt like a city car on stilts and rolled a lot in the corners.

In contrast, the Kia is very flat through corners. There’s communication through the steering and pedals. It’s not BMW iX3 levels of driving pleasure, it’s inoffensive and plain. In this context, that’s not a bad thing because it means the car won’t throw up any surprises.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t any problems. The regenerative braking has three strength settings and going down hills it felt very sensitive. It never felt dangerous, but it was a curiosity, when it would cut out and then cut back in; like it was uncertain.

Another curiosity was how the petrol engine and rest of the hybrid system worked together. I always felt the periods in all electric mode were all too brief before the petrol engine fired back in. The car is always trying to strike a balance, but if you’re getting a hybrid, you’re doing so to burn less fuel, so you might want a car to spend more time not burning it.

Apart from these two small critiques I enjoyed my time with the Kia. It was well sprung, and its width helped give it stability on motorways and B-roads.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the Kia Sportage is a better car than the Ford Puma. Yes, it is bigger and therefore likely less able to deal with some of the UK’s tightest spots. It does, because of that, mean that wider loads will more easily fit in it.

Furthermore, I feel the interior is easier to use, with fewer functions dealt with via the touchscreen and that it drives better. Whether it ultimately succeeds in dethroning the Ford will be fascinating to see as the year roles on.

Christopher’s Verdict: 7.5/10