Hi, I'm Chris Wardlaw for CarGurus, and this week we're driving a 2015 Kia
Sportage. It's basically the same thing as a 2016 Kia Sportage, except when you get
the SX trim level, you can't get that Signal Red color anymore. Now there's a
redesigned Sportage coming for 2017. Kia is going to share a platform with the new
Hyundai Tucson. They introduced the new Sportage at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and
what people are saying about it is that looks a lot like the old Subaru Tribeca.
That's not a good thing, and I'll leave the decision as to what you think of the
styling up to you. What concerns me most is that you won't be able to get the
kickass turbocharged engine that is available in the current Sportage SX.
So the question that we're here to answer today: Should you get the Sportage
now, or should you wait? Let's go for a drive and find out. What I'm driving
today is the 2015 Kia Sportage SX. It's the turbocharged model, and you might
find a few of them still on dealer lots with big rebates on the hood. If you
can't, the 2016 Sportage is basically the same thing, and they've actually
dropped prices a little bit for 2016 while adding equipment. Let me explain
what I'm talking about.
My 2015 test car starts at just under $29,000, and when you put all the options on,
including all-wheel drive, it brings it up to almost $34,000. But for 2016 the
luxury package comes standard, and the price is about $1,500 lower.
So there you have it - you might want to just go ahead and grab a 2016. Now the reason you might want to get the current Sportage
instead of the redesigned one that's coming for 2017 is because this one
has a really terrific engine under the hood. The SX model's got a turbocharged
2-liter 4-cylinder engine that makes 260 horsepower, and this is
a compact SUV, so 260 horsepower goes a long way, but the real story is
the 269 pound-feet of torque. It is available from under 2,000
rpm, there's a broad power curve, and it really makes the Sportage SX feel
quick, even fast. And if you live at elevation, where turbocharged engines tend
to perform better, it's going to feel even more robust. You won't believe what a rocket it is in a
place like Denver. My test car has got a 6-speed automatic transmission with
manual shifting. There's no rev-matching feature when you downshift.
There's a little bit of a jerk when you downshift, but that's okay. I prefer this transmission
to the new dual-clutch transmission that is installed in the latest version of
the Hyundai Tucson, and the next-gen Sportage is going to be put on the
Tucson platform. They introduced it in Frankfurt a few weeks ago, and it's going
to basically be a restyled version of the Tucson, at least the European
edition will, and that kind of bums me out, and that's another reason why I am
recommending it may be a 2015 or 2016 Sportage is the way to go. As far as fuel
economy is concerned, the EPA says you should get 22 miles per gallon in
combined driving. I actually got 22 miles per gallon, exactly, while driving
this on my official test loop. So my test loop is a combination of city and
suburban driving, mountain twisty roads, coastal highway, freeway, farm roads, and
the Sportage did really well. I mean this is kind of an older design and sits on an older
platform, but it doesn't drive that way, and I'm really impressed with the
overall dynamics. The one thing that bothered me a little bit is the steering
is kind of lifeless. Now as far as electric steering tuning goes, especially
Kia's electric steering tuning,
they've done a good job here. There's no flex steer, I can't adjust it between
Comfort, Normal, and Sport, and that's just fine.
The problem is there's just really no feel for the road, and occasionally it
feels a little numb and lifeless on center, and sometimes off-center it
feels a little too light, but I mean I really feel like I'm nit-picking here.
Most of the time most people aren't going to notice an issue, and as far as the
rest of the dynamic tuning is concerned, Kia's really nailed it with this year.
Now the top-of-the-line Sportage has a power driver's seat with a wide range of
adjustment. My test car's also got heated and ventilated front seats. The front
passenger does get short shrift, though, because there's no height adjustment on that
side, and the seat sits really low and close to the floor. In my household
that's a dealbreaker. The rear seats have plenty of room, and they're comfortable for
adults, but one thing you're gonna want to take very close note of is the way
that the door angles straight up. The very first time I opened it to help my
daughter get out of her car seat, I almost whacked myself right in the face with
the edge of the door frame. Now my loaded Sportage has Kia's Your Voice
infotainment system with e-services technology, and I really like this setup.
I'm not crazy about the graphics,
and I'm a little frustrated that the clock changes position depending on what
screen you have up, but the thing that I really like about Kia's approach to its
e-services technology is that you don't have to pay a subscription to access the
services. All you do is pay your smartphone, and you've got access to
things like 911 Connect, which is an automatic collision-notification service.
There's this app that helps you to find your car in a crowded parking lot. If
you've got young drivers in the household, the curfew alert, the speed
alert, and the geofence boundary alerts are awesome. Unfortunately, I wouldn't
recommend having younger drivers drive a Sportage, and the reason is related to
this vehicle's biggest flaw. It gets a Poor rating in the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety's small-overlap frontal-impact test. It's a crash test
rockstar otherwise, but in that critical test, it gets the worse rating.
And really, that's the only reason I would recommend that maybe you choose a
different small crossover SUV.
Otherwise the Sportage is really impressive. You know, if it wasn't for that lousy crash-test
rating, I would recommend the Sportage to just about anybody. This vehicle has aged
exceptionally well, it still looks terrific, and it rides, drives, and handles
like a much more expensive vehicle than it is. Yeah, cargo space is a little tight,
but there's still a lot of utility associated with this vehicle. It really is
too bad about that crash-test rating. Be sure to see my full review of the
Sportage on CarGurus.com, and please comment at the bottom of the video, and if you
like what you see,
make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. For all of us here at CarGurus,
thanks for watching.