KIA Sportage remains popular

By Al Qalam reporter

With over 5 millions vehicles sold across the globe, the Sportage is immensely popular and is among Kia’s most successful derivatives.

The SUV market in SA is highly competitive and the Sportage has several competitors including the Hyundai Tucson, the Nissan Qashqai, Renault Kadjar, Ford Kuga and Mazda CX-5. No doubt the Sportage sets itself apart with its bold and beautiful design.

The initial version of the new Sportage oozed appeal. The facelift adds to the appeal, especially with the sportier look aided by more colour options, a prominent grille and a new bumper design.

Among the standard features there is a rear view camera, a audio system, Bluetooth, a USB port and rear park distance control

Available features include a panoramic sunroof, navigation and a wireless smartphone charger.

The touch screen responds well to inputs and the visual dynamic is impressive.

The Sportagefeatures one of the most upscale interiors in the class. The cabin is quiet and looks upscale, and the materials would be at home in a luxury vehicle -especially for models lower down the range. Families can trouble comfortably with no complaints about the lack of leg room at the back. Like in a luxury German SUV, noise levels inside are minimal, bumps are taken seamlessly and one feels the air of sophistication in this vehicle. Just as one would expect in a vehicle with a roomy interior, the Sportage has, unsurprisingly, a large 503 litre boot.

The bottom of the range comes in with 97kW of power and 161 Nm of torque. Again not surprisingly Kia has maintained its popular 2.0-litre Multi-point Injection (MPI) and 2.0-litre CRDI (Common Rail Diesel Injection) engines and discontinued both the 2.4 GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) and 1.6 T-GDI (Turbocharged Gasoline Direct Injection) engines found in the previous SX AWD and GT Line models.

Loved for its excellent mid- and low-range torque and agile acceleration, KIA’s much-loved 2.0 CRDI engine produces 131 kW of power, and a healthy 400 Nm of torque between 1,750- and 2,750 r/min. As part of the Sportage’s mid-life enhancement, the engine is now mated exclusively to KIA’s new eight-speed automatic transmission in both the Ignite Plus, EX and EX Plus specification grades.

Pricing

This vehicle comes standard with KIA’s unlimited kilometre, five-year warranty, as well as a 5-year/900,000km service plan and 5 years of roadside assistance.

KIA Sportage 1.6 GDI Ignite (6-Speed Auto) R379,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 Ignite Plus (6-Speed Manual) R389,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 Ignite Plus (6-Speed Auto) R403,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 CRDI Ignite Plus (8-Speed Auto) R453,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 EX (6-Speed Auto) R459,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 CRDI EX (8-Speed Auto) R509,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 CRDI EX AWD (8-Speed Auto) R536,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 EX Plus (6-Speed Auto) R499,995

KIA Sportage 2.0 CRDI EX Plus (8-Speed Auto) R549,995