I have always been fascinated by how my mom can turn one of my culinary disasters onto something half decent. After dousing the flames, and adding a bit of this or that, the end result is always relatively tasty.
In the same way, Peter Schreyer has taken the ‘Cup-of-Soup’ Kia of old, and turned it into ‘Sinseollo’- a traditional Royal Korean dish (it’s a glorified stew).
To be perfectly honest, after driving the Sorento, which completely blew me away, I really was itching to get behind the wheel of the new Sportage. How it didn’t disappoint.
The Sportage shares the same signature grille as the Sorento with the headlights being incorporated into the slatted, chrome accentuated grille. The daytime running LEDs add extra Grrr! – sorry I had to, Kia describes the front as a ‘tiger face’.
Inside you are greeted by an aesthetically pleasing interior, brilliantly comfortable and supportive leather seats and an array of buttons. The dash is elegantly rounded, housing a 6CD shuttle/MP3 compatible radio. On a slightly indented panel below the radio will you will find all the controls for the climate control, which I found incredibly easy to use and very effective. Below that are Auxiliary, and USB inputs for the radio.
Under the bonnet lies a 2.0 liter diesel motor, and one that has left me slightly speechless. It produces 130 kW and 392 Nm!
But more than the figures, it’s the way the engine delivers the power that shocks. Normally a diesel motor will run out of steam somewhere between 1000 – 500 RPM before the red line. The little Kia has grunt right up to the rev-limiter. The 392 Nm of Torque is spread pretty evenly through the rev range, which means grunt for overtaking and so on is always at hand when you need it. But if you are in a serious hurry, the auto box is quick to drop a gear or two, to get you into the motor’s sweet spot. Speaking of the automatic gearbox, it is a good gearbox and is very responsive when in ‘manual’ mode – where you change gears by pushing the gear lever up or down, but works best when left in ‘Drive’.
Driving the Sportage is also quite a treat. Having 18 inch wheels, my biggest fear was that the Kia might ‘crash’ a bit over uneven road surfaces, but it doesn’t. On the contrary, it absorbs and smoothes out most abnormalities in the road. And the level of grip supplied by the AWD system is superb. The brakes are good and are equipped with ABS, EBD and Brake Assist. There is also plenty of feedback from the steering. And one of the greatest things I noted is how quiet it is on the road; there is very little, if almost no road, or wind noise. Very tranquil.
Keeping with the safety, the Kia has 6 airbags, namely driver, passenger, side and curtain.
Other awesome gadgets include a rear view camera which displays its image ‘on’ the rear view mirror when you engage reverse. Smart Key and engine stop/start button, as well as a few other odds and ends.
All Sportages come with a 5 year/100 000km warranty and service plan.P.S. Due to the set up of the fuel injectors, Diesel Sportages may only be filled with 50ppm diesel, failing to do will render your warranty void.
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