KIA Sportage

The Kia Sportage is the brand’s most successful car, so it’s no wonder that the launch of a new one is a big deal for the Korean brand. Six years ago, Company Car & Van was at the previous Sportage launch to see what all the fuss was about, and we really loved the diesel and petrol models on display. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, however, and the new range features a choice of petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, full hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains. That list just proves how much has changed in such a short space of time.

There are five model grades – ‘2’, ‘GT-Line’, ‘3’, ‘4’ and ‘GT-Line S, and when you factor in the powertrain options there are18 models to choose from.

Built on Kia’s brand-new ‘N3’ architecture, the latest Sportage is 30mm longer, 10mm wider, features a 10mm longer wheelbase and it’s also 10mm higher. The front has a new take on the Kia Tiger Nose grille, boomerang LED daytime running lights, with Matrix LED headlamps. Along the side is a chrome belt line that kicks up at the rear and at the back, there’s a fastback design with razor rear lamps, all finished off with the option of a black roof, the first time this has been available on European models. There’s also a choice of ten colours and four alloy wheel designs, through 17”, 18” or 19” versions.

First seen in the EV6, the dashboard is dominated by the car’s infotainment and instrument cluster screens, which stretch across two-thirds of the car. Below the central touchscreen sits the car’s multi-mode display. This replaces physical buttons with a dedicated ‘haptic’ touchscreen, providing shortcuts to control the cars climate control, infotainment and SatNav.

The good news is that you don’t need to delve into too many sub-menus to choose what you want. It’s easy to work, with a small arrow which when pushed, switch from climate to the other functions, which helps free-up dashboard space.

The centre console on automatic versions also features a new shift-by-wire automatic transmission dial, taking up less space than a traditional gear selector, which is available on ‘GT-Line’, ‘GT-Line S’, ‘3’ and ‘4’ grades. Also new is a high speed 15W wireless charging for smartphones on ‘4’ and GT-Line S’ editions.

Up front you get twin cupholders between the front seats. On some versions, the cup holders rotate outwards and can be pushed back in when not needed, creating more space in the cabin. In front of this are two USB connections and a 12v socket. The door pockets will hold a bottle, but the glove box is slim. The front armrest lifts up to add more storage. Front and rear head and legroom is good as well.

The cabin now offers an integrated hangertype design within the headrests, allowing clothing or bags to be hooked into place. Sitting next to these are twin USB inputs located on the inside of the front seat sides. Slimmer front seats increase rear legroom to 996mm and coupled with the increased measurements all around, the cabin is more spacious than any previous Sportage.

The 40:20:40 split rear seats fold down by pulling a lever and the boot features up to 591 litres of luggage space with the seats up, with a maximum boot capacity of 1,780 litres when folding the rear seats down. The battery pack for HEV models has been cleverly placed underneath the back seats, resulting in similar rear legroom in these versions, to that you get in the petrol and diesel versions. The boot floor can also be lifted to reveal some useful storage space underneath.

With a choice of petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, full hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, the latest Sportage caters for most tastes. Customers can choose between front and AWD. Improvements include the 1.6-litre T-GDi petrol engine now being offered with 48-volt mild hybrid technology. Furthermore, the seven-speed DCT automatic gearbox now comes with both petrol and diesel drivetrains and Terrain Mode is fitted on all hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, featuring Mud, Snow and Sand modes.

As with Kia’s latest electric car, the EV6, the cabin quality is excellent, especially on higher spec versions. So there’s plenty of soft touch finishes in black and chrome and it’s all very tastefully executed. However, as you shift down to ‘2’ or ‘3’ models in the line-up you’ll find the quality dips a little, with cheaper plastic used between the front seats.

Kia has come up trumps here, with twin 12.3” touch screens and the curved panoramic display standard on most variants, plus Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone compatibility fitted as standard.

Safety-wise, again Kia has been generous, with Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) which includes sensors for city, pedestrian, cyclists, and junctions, offered on all models. Choose an auto and benefit from Highway

Driving Assist (HDA), Smart Cruise Control with Stop and Go and paddle shifters. All models come with Lane Follow Assist (LFA) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA), front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Blind-spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA) with Parking Collision Avoidance Assist (PCA) is standard on ‘4’ and ‘GT-Line S’ versions, with Remote Smart Park Assist (RSPA) standard on ‘4’ and ‘GT-Line S’ hybrid models.

At launch we had the opportunity to drive a manual petrol ‘3’ model and both AWD and FWD hybrid automatic versions.

First up was the AWD full hybrid. The first thing you notice is how easy this is to drive. In town the auto box is excellent and on the motorway you simply select cruise control and away you go. At motorway speeds the cabin is quiet and the driver’s seat is comfortable. Kick down to overtake and the revs go up and the engine noise gets a little intrusive. There’s plenty of power on offer, with the hybrid version offering 226bhp and 350Nm of torque for a decent 0-60 mph of 7.7 seconds.

This version blends a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a 1.49kWh battery, which enables the car to travel short distances using electric power, which is useful in stop-start traffic.

The three versions we drove all had light steering and good all-around visibility. On some smaller B roads the hybrid does feel a little unsettled over bumps – after all, with AWD and battery, it’s quite heavy at 2,245kg – but where neither is present, such as on the 2,085kg petrol version, it is more forgiving. The FWD hybrid sits somewhere in between, weighing in at 2,175kg.

Talking of which, while the ‘3’ spec manuals are not as fancy inside as the GT Line S, we found it both more fun to drive and better to handle than both the hybrid and mild-hybrid versions. There’s something about a manual gearbox that connects the driver so much better, in my mind.

Until the PHEV version arrives this summer, the hybrid’s CO2 emissions of 125-140g/km, coupled to fuel economy of between 47- 51mpg, make this version the most attractive to company car drivers.

With a wide range of engines and a good choice of specs, there’s a Sportage for all. The interior is arguably best in class, with the excellent infotainment system lifting this Sportage to new heights. Some clever interior design touches such as the coat hangers are also good news, while the more aggressive front and rear makes it stand out from the crowd.

Like all SUVs, the Sportage is a little bland to drive. Prices of between £26,745 – £43,795, reflect the car’s upmarket feel and for most, they’ll want at least a GT-Line version, which starts at £29,745. The PHEV will be the most attractive to fleet customers, so you’ll need to wait a little longer for that one.

How do you improve your best selling and most successful car? Simple ... • Don’t fiddle around too much with how it looks, tick. • Offer a wide choice of engines including a fleet-friendly plug-in version, tick. • Offer loads of goodies even on the cheaper versions, tick. • Add a great looking, top notch infotainment system, tick. • And, build it using higher quality materials,

In essence, the new Sportage does what all of the other Sportages did from Gen 2 onwards, which is to make a very good car even better. Existing Sportage customers will love it and it gives the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Qashqai a real run for their money.

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