When I tell you that Kia is very successful in the Netherlands, you'll probably think it's nothing new.
However, that doesn't tell you the story of the Kia Sportage. Ten years ago, it was in its prime, and besides a small spike in popularity...
when the previous version was introduced, it all went downhill. However, Kia has high hopes for this new generation,
and they have good reasons for it. Just like the technologically identical Hyundai Tucson, it's only available as a hybrid.
You can have a mild-hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a regular hybrid. That's good news for the fuel consumption and the CO2-emissions,
and thus for the pricing. This is slightly cheaper than its predecessor, especially considering the power it puts out.
This is the regular hybrid, which produces 230 horsepower, and it's the car we're going to drive today.
This specific version of Sportage won't even be available in the Netherlands. As you can see, this is a German car.
This is the regular hybrid with four-wheel drive, and that won't be coming to the Netherlands. Thanks to the importer that is,
because they say that if you want four-wheel drive, you could also get the more expensive plug-in hybrid with four-wheel drive.
Luckily, in the Netherlands the price gap isn't that big. Only €2.200 more, because of emission regulations, and that...
means you've got four-wheel drive, more power and the possibility of electric driving. Not that bad of a deal, right?
This regular isn't that bad of a deal either, we already know this drivetrain from the Tucson, and it's a very nice one at that.
230 horsepower is more than enough, but more importantly, the way it runs is very smooth. That's partly because of the great 6-speed...
automatic gearbox. The petrol engine itself is a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder producing 180 horsepower.
It's a very nice combination, and if I had to complain about something, it would be that it holds on to first gear for a tad too long.
That's when you set off, and it will probably have a reason. It's not annoying in any way, it's just a good car.
The same goes for the rest of the car. It's much more comfortable than the previous Sportage, which was a bit too sturdy for the kind of car it was.
They've taken care of that with this new Sportage. It's smoother, more comfortable, but not weak or distant in any way.
The steering is nicely balanced, which makes it a nice and comfortable car to be in.
What helps as well is that it's very quiet. That's partly because of the drivetrain, but also because of the chassis which is very quiet.
There almost aren't any wind noises, which means it's silent in the cabin. That's always nice.
The seating position is relatively high though, and I've said the same about the Tucson. It's almost like you have a top-down view of the dashboard.
Like you're on a throne really. And even though that's not a drawback for everybody, I would've preferred it if my seat was a tad lower.
That's something to keep in mind if you're in the market for either one of the two.
Speaking of the Tucson, the interior in the Hyundai looks a bit better than in the Kia, if you ask me.
That's probably in the used materials, but also a little bit in the design. The design in the Tucson is much calmer, whilst the interior in here...
might be a little far-fetched. Of course, that's a matter of taste, but the whole impression isn't as good as in the Tucson.
However, if we forget all about the Tucson, it's a really good interior. The finishing is very neat. They did use cheaper plastics in the back...
than in the front, but we see that more often, so. Also, it looks much more modern than its predecessor.
Of course, there are a lot of EV6-elements in here. Take the screens for example, which are aimed towards the driver.
It doesn't come as standard, but it's available from the second trim level. That means it's available in all hybrids.
It looks very good as well. Unfortunately however, it's just a tad too far away, so you'll almost have to get out of your seat to operate it.
Luckily, it works very well. There's a split-screen function that offers a lot of information side-by-side.
It reacts quickly, the menu structure is logical, you've heard it all before in Kia's. It's just very good.
The instrument cluster is pretty nice as well. And if you get a more expensive version, you'll get the clever blind spot-support system,
which shows you a camera feed under the side-view mirror whenever you start indicating. That works very well.
Despite all that, I do have a few complaints with the system. Take this row of buttons for example, which allows you...
to switch from climate control to shortcuts for the infotainment system. If you do that, the heater knob becomes the volume knob.
It's a fun idea, but it'll always switch to climate control whenever you engage the heated rear window.
That means you've got no volume button anymore, which could result in some weird volume and temperature choices.
Anyway, Android Auto isn't really up to date in this car. It only works with a USB-A-port, despite there being a USB-C-port.
That USB-C-port doesn't work. Also, because it doesn't support widescreen, you're never using the entirety of the screen with Android Auto.
On the outside, this Sportage is quite a remarkable car as well. And I don't want to spend too much attention on it, because colleague Roy already...
did that in a video. I do have to say it's clear that the Sportage looks different than Kia's we've seen up to now, much more aggressive.
It's a lot of grille and the headlights are relatively special.
The Sportage we'll be getting in Europe is going to be about 14 centimetres shorter than the international version.
To my knowledge, that's the first time since the very first Sportage that they've done that.
The result is that this Sportage doesn't have an additional side window in the C-pillar, just like its predecessors.
That's relatively rare for a car in this segment. If you look at cars like a Tiguan, a CX-5, a 3008, they always have an extra window.
Because of that, they look a tad more stretched. If we look at the available space however, it's not that bad.
Logical of course, because it's four centimetres longer than the previous Sportage. Also, it's about as long as a Volkswagen Tiguan for example.
The boot is more than big enough. It offers almost 590 litres of luggage, which is very average in this segment.
However, there's a small difference per version. This is the regular hybrid, which has the biggest amount of luggage space,
because you can still fit some stuff underneath the floor. The mild-hybrid, which as a smaller battery pack, remarkably has less luggage space.
And the plug-in hybrid with the biggest battery pack has the least amount of luggage space, of course.
The back rests of the rear seats are adjustable, so if you have to take something big with you, you can annoy your passengers by making...
them sit like this, but the space is very good to begin with. As you can see, there's a lot of legroom and the seating position is good.
Also, if you're able to put the backrest down a little, you've got more than enough headroom as well.
I'm 1.84 m. tall myself, and as you can see, there's a lot of room left. There's also an arm rest in the middle seat and there's...
even a separate climate control. Additionally, you get extra USB-ports which are incorporated into the seats, as opposed to the middle console.
Prices of this new Sportage are a tad lower than before, if we compare similar versions. They start at just below €35.000,
but if you want a hybrid drivetrain, you'll be approaching €40.000, because the base version isn't available with those drivetrains.
But whatever version you choose, you can't get it above €50.000, which is a really neat price for anything in this segment.
So we're going to see if this Sportage will be able to recapture the success of the Sportage of ten years ago.