Kia Sportage drive by Steve Rogers
Had
an interesting conversation with the driver who delivered the Sportage.
He
had never driven a Kia before and was so impressed he is buying a Sportage even
though he is a self confessed BMW man through and through.
That
is quite an endorsement and goes to show how Kia has developed from its bargain
basement days to a major player, not just in the UK but around the world.
Am I
surprised? Absolutely not. This is one of the most complete cars I have driven
and leaves no box without a tick.
Plenty
of others agree because in January Sportage was our top selling car while the
company is currently the second best selling car brand in the UK. Sportage has
done for Kia what Qashqai did for Nissan before it. Our obsession with SUV
crossovers is still going on.
Kia’s
change of direction came in 2010. The company wanted to get out of budget and
into the mainstream and was not afraid to spend the money to do it. They
brought in top talent including a brilliant German designer with an eye for
dynamic design and his first project was the third generation Sportage. It was
an instant hit and has been Kia’s best selling car ever since.
So
what is it about this car that makes it so popular? Unlike many of the new
Chinese brands you don’t have to spend study time with the touchscreen menus
and sub menus to find out how the car works.
The
Sportage cabin is a joy. The dashboard layout looks special with a curved
widescreen unit split into two 12.3in digital screens, one for infotainment,
the other the driver’s binnacle with a choice of displays.
Crucially
all the essential functions are controlled by tactile physical switches. The
heating and radio controls are separated from the infotainment screen while
switches for heated and ventilated seats and the heated steering wheel are
grouped neatly in the centre console. This is a car you can drive away without
thinking.
Having
applauded Sportage for its simplicity we did face a conundrum finding the main
volume control for the radio. We looked along the dashboard, centre console,
and dived into the touchscreen. Nothing. It took two days before my wife
cracked it. She touched a symbol on the heating bar and, as if by magic, it
turned into radio controls with the knob for adjusting the passenger heating
switching to the radio volume. What a brilliant piece of design.
Sportage
has only grown 25mm but modern platforms create more interior space and this is
the case here so generous proportions front and back, and the seats are
comfortable too with plenty of side and back support. I liked the way charging
ports for back seat passengers are integrated into the front seat backs.
The
range has been simplified to three grades, petrol or hybrid with a plug-in
hybrid to follow along with an all wheel drive model. At just over £30,000 the
entry Pure looks a safe bet with a decent equipment list and plenty of driver
safety aids but for another ten grand GT Line S is a mouthwatering prospect
where you want for nothing.
Catching
the eye are wireless phone charging, head-up display, powered front seats,
eight-speaker premium sound system and a digital key.
Here
you can pair your smart phone with the key and lock, unlock, and start the car
from a distance (presumably for someone else to drive) and share the function
with three others. Grown up kids will probably be first in the queue!
Kia
has dropped the diesel so it's a direct injection petrol turbo through a
six-speed manual or a seven speed automatic. Some will bemoan the loss of the
diesel economy but you are going to have to get used to it. I averaged just
over 36mpg on journeys of no more than 25 miles but clocked 44mpg on a longer
run which wasn’t bad given the size of Sportage. The hybrid will eke out a few
more miles per gallon.
Pushed
hard Sportage will hit sixty in under 10 seconds which is good enough and there
is no screaming into submission at the red line on the rev counter.
I am
tempted to say Kia has crafted the perfect car but there is one small glitch.
The accelerator snatches at start off which can make reversing into a garage
tricky when you want to creep towards a wall. It will probably emergency stop
before hitting but I wasn’t tempted to try it.
Fast
facts
Sportage
GT Line S
£40,335
(starts £30,935)
1.6
litre; 147bhp
7-speed
automatic
0-62
9.4secs; 119mph
39.8mpg
combined
162g/km.
1st VED £1,360
Boot:
591-1780 litres
Insurance
group 22
Towing: 1650kg
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