The fifth generation KIA Sportage has touched down in Australia and is poised to extend
a purple patch for the fast rising Korean brand.
Bigger inside and out, and loaded to the gills with safety and technology,
the new Sportage has plenty of merit on paper. Let's see how it translates to the road.
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KIA is clearly on a roll in Australia, winning over droves of new buyers on the back of proven
after-sales prospects and impressive products. Including our 2020 car sales car of the year
champion, the Sorento. The mid-size Sportage looks to continue the theme with larger dimensions,
new safety systems and Driver Assistance Technology and more convenience features.
Pricing has risen by $2000 at the base level, incrementally increasing through the 11 model line
up to the flagship GT line, diesel-driven here. Based on Kia's latest N3 platform architecture,
the new Sportage is bigger in wheelbase, width, height and length. It also brings to play
Kia's latest design language. And I have to say it is really quite striking and impressive in
the skin. There is a new attention to detail with this latest generation of Kia product.
As an example, the rear-windscreen wiper. Now, yes, you're gonna need it on a day like today.
But on a normal sunny day, it's hidden from public view and also doesn't obscure your rear outlook.
The Sportage GT-Line diesel rides on 19-inch alloy wheels and shares LED headlights with the rest of
the range. There are three engines on offer. Two petrol, and this flagship two-litre Turbo Diesel,
which offers 137 kilowatts and 416 Newton-metres. It offers a combined
fuel claim of just 6.3 litres per 100K's, and sends drive to all four wheels as standard.
For me, it is the interior of the new Sportage that gives off the most striking first
impression. Excellent materials throughout in this GT-Line variant. These beautiful big screens,
great outward vision and excellent storage as well. I'm a big fan of this new climate
control interface, which handily switches between climate control, all the infotainment system,
depending on your preference. It's quite easy to use on the go, and it means that
you're streamlining all the buttons that would normally occupy the centre fascia.
The interior cossets occupants with soft touch materials and low slung chairs. Features that are
bolstered by heated and ventilated leather seats on our test car. The native touch screen itself is
really quite easy to navigate. If you've been in any Kia from the past three or four years, you're
gonna jump in and feel right at home straight away. It also integrates Apple Car Play and
Android Auto quite handily, as well. My one gripe is that you have to have a corded connection for
it to work, and it can't just be the USB-C port, it needs to be the USB-A port. The Sportage's
digital instrument cluster is a cinch to navigate using the steering wheel-mounted buttons.
But oddly there is no head-up display available on any model. The Sportage range ticks all of our key
safety requisites as standard, though is yet to be formally crash-tested in Australia. The good
news continues for rear seat passengers who are presented with separate air vents and USB-C ports,
as well as nifty tablet holders that are integrated into the rear of the front headrests.
Space is plentiful, thanks to the Sportage's extension in overall length and wheelbase. A
slightly high set window line being the only gripe for those frequently faring
little ones. It's a similar story with the 543-litre boot, which is easily big enough
for a full-sized pram and is accessed by an electric tailgate and split folding rear seats
with handy boot-mounted levers. Another note worthy inclusion is the full-sized spare wheel.
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Probably the biggest praise you could heap on the new Sportage is that it feels
like a shrunken down version of the largest Sorento on the road, in terms of its poise,
in terms of its cabin refinement, and just the way it acquits itself on mixed surfaces.
Pitter patter bumps are absolutely no problem. It dispatches those with ease
and even bigger undulations in the road. There's never any major thudding or crashing through the
cabin. And when there is a big hit, the chassis recovers itself really quickly.
I love that you get a great open vision of the road. You sit
low down in the cabin, so it does cultivate maximum driver feel. But at the same time,
you've got a nice clear vista in front of you and decent rearward vision as well. It's a car that's
easy to get to grips with. Yes, there's a little bit more interior space on offer and
the dimensions have changed slightly, but it still feels as nimble and as user-friendly as ever.
The flagship two-litre turbo diesel certainly buys into the nimble theme, with smooth passage
throughout the rev range and no obvious turbo lag. It is also relatively quiet from inside the cabin.
The matching 8-speed automatic is equally up to the task of open road driving,
around town driving or even the occasional headier pursuit as well. At highway speed,
the tachometer is barely nudging 1500 rpm. So the engine is barely breaking a sweat
and it's sitting right in its sweet spot if you need to overtake or get up a hill.
At the same time, the 8-speed automatic is right up to the task of smooth around town shifts. It
makes great use of engine breaking, but equally, it relies on the engines torque when it needs to,
as well. And never feels like you've got too many ratios or that it's too busy.
It's quite harmonious, the relationship between the engine and the transmission.
The recipient of an Australian suspension tuning program, the Sportage takes the edge of bumps
in all scenarios. There's definitely a sporty premise to the controls,
but never to the detriment of outright comfort. For me, I've got to say I'm quite surprised,
and delighted with the way the Kia Sportage has acquitted itself through the corners.
There's a lot of effort that goes into that Australian tuning program.
And without sounding like I've drunk the Kool-Aid, I really do think it has worked.
Compared to equivalent SUVs this sits really flat through the corners. It feels tied down.
The chassis offers plenty of feedback. And while it's not a sports car, it's quite an enjoyable SUV
to drive through a set of bends. And it really does enamour as a competent open road tourer.
The Sportage cements its lofty positioning with Kia's seven-year
unlimited kilometre warranty and competitive 12-month 15,000 kilometre servicing intervals.
The new Kia Sportage, represents yet another significant step change for the brand in
Australia. Polished inside and out with impressive road manners, safety and technology, the Sportage
puts itself at the pointy end of the mid-size SUV short-list. It is truly an impressive machine.