Kia Sportage first drive

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Kia is emphatic their new Sportage First Edition, which is arriving now in the UK with the more mainstream versions to follow in November, is a ‘crossover’ model unlike its predecessor which was billed as an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).

Driven by the growing demand for ‘greener’ economical SUV type vehicles but more politically correct without the gas-guzzler 4x4 association, ‘crossovers’ are now offered in two or four wheel drive forms and are making significant inroads into the fleet and company car markets, vital areas for manufacturers to exploit in the future.

Nissan is credited with starting the term ‘crossover’ with their market leading Qashqai range of two and four wheel drive models; part five door hatchback, part MPV people carrier and part SUV – hence the term ‘crossover’.

The Peugeot 3008 and the Hyundai ix35 plus the Ford Kuga, new Mitsubishi ASX and the Volkswagen Tiguan are all termed as ‘crossovers’ and sometimes ‘soft-offroaders’.

Kia’s take on which term to use goes as follows: The new Kia Sportage is a five-door, five-seat ‘crossover’ designed to meet the requirements of young families – or the young at heart – who lead busy, primarily urban-centric, lifestyles. However conscious of the fact that the previous Sportage had a strong following from all generations because it was an SUV with 4x4 traction, the new five door, five seat models retain some SUV characteristics with the option of two and four wheel drive, petrol and diesel power and an improved towing capability, now 2,000kg rather than the previous 1,800kg maximum braked towing weight.

Described as a fresh start by Kia, the new Sportage was designed by Peter Schreyer, the man who created the Audi TT. The Korean manufacturer, famous for the seven year/100,000 mile warranty say the new Slovakian built Sportage combines much of the stance and attitude of a compact SUV, but with sleeker looks and a greener conscience and the crossover design will play an increasingly important role in buying patterns of the future.

Around 850 units of the new Kia Sportage First Edition will be available with a 2.0-litre CRDi turbodiesel engine and all wheel drive. Prices are £20,777 for the six-speed manual gearbox version and £22,077 for the six-speed automatic models.

The mainstream new generation Sportage models will arrive in the UK in November replacing the First Edition version. The engine line-up will be 1.6-litre direct injection petrol, 1.7-litre turbodiesel, both available only with two wheel drive configuration and Stop and Go function, 2.0-litre multi-point injection petrol and 2.0-litre CRDi turbodiesel. The 2.0-litre versions will be All Wheel Drive and have manual or automatic transmission options. Prices are yet to be released but expect a starting point of around £17,000. Trim and equipment levels are also to be revealed but expect them to follow the lead used for the new Kia Sorento 4x4 of 1, 2, 3 and 4. Kia expects to sell a total of 2,500 new Sportage models in the UK this year but this will dramatically increase to around 10,000 annual sales by the end of next year.

This is a huge increase over the 4,000 units per year the previous Sportage used to attract in the UK. Simon Hetherington, marketing director of Kia Motors UK said, “The crossover design of the new Sportage will open up new markets for the brand and the opportunities for Sportage sales in the fleet and business user-chooser market sectors is enormous. Also the new design of the car is its most important feature attracting younger family buyers.”

Hetherington added that he expects 65 to 70% of the model mix to be diesel powered with the new 1.7-litre CRDi being the most popular unit and two wheel drive models will be more popular than all wheel drive versions. Around 80% of vehicles will be ordered with a manual transmission.

According to sales figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Kia’s overall UK new car sales year to date show an increase of 65.9% to 37,802 registrations – on target to reach a total for the year of 55,000 against the 50,637 achieved in 2009.

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New Kia Sportage First Edition –first drive

Kia Motors UK has secured an advance order of 850 early production right hand drive new era Sportage ‘crossover’ five door, five seat cars powered by the new 2.0-litre R-family, 134bhp, common-rail diesel engine. The new model has Intelligent All-Wheel Drive which means front wheel drive most of the time moving to 60/40 all wheel drive when the road grip gets poor with a selectable 50/50 drive distribution lock for off-roading. Prices are £20,777 for the manual version and £22,077 for the automatic models.

In November the Slovakian built range will be see the arrival of mainstream models with three further engines; a 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol, 2.0-litre multi-point injection petrol and a 1.7-litre turbodiesel unit to go with the 2.0-litre CRDi turbodiesel used for the First Edition. The 1.6/1.7-litre units will have Kia's Intelligent Stop and Go (ISG) technology, two-wheel drive and six-speed manual gearboxes. The 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engine models will have All Wheel Drive and manual or automatic transmission options. Mainstream models are expected to start at around £17,000 but prices and specification levels are to be announced. The new maximum braked towing capacity is 2,000kg.

Currently around 3,500 to 4,000 Sportage cars are sold in the UK each year but the new range with interest from the fleet and business user-choosers markets plus younger families attracted by the youthful styling will push this annual total up to 10,000 UK sales. Currently the fleet and business user sectors are attracted by the low tax implications of the new generation ‘crossovers’ headed by the two wheel drive versions of the Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 3008 and Ford Kuga.

With a high level of specification the advance party Sportage First Edition 2.0-litre CRDi costs a fairly weighty £20,777 justified by the kit and equipment which includes fuel leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, rain sensing wipers, an excellent reversing camera viewed via the rear-view mirrors, LED daytime running lights and 18-inch alloy wheels. As standard the vehicle has a six-speed manual gearbox and there is the option of a £1,300 six-speed auto transmission.

The new Sportage is longer, lower and wider than the SUV it replaces. It also weighs around 90kg less and has a sleeker aerodynamic profile, with a Cd down from 0.40 to 0.37. All of this has ensured that it is not only more stylish and sporty, but also more environmentally friendly.

Kia says the aim with the new Sportage was to make it an object of desire rather than simply a mode of transport. The allure of a Kia should extend well beyond the fact that it moves people from one place to the other. Certainly it is eye-catching and looks a classier vehicle being sleek and rakish and not an out-and-out SUV. It is a radical departure from the 2004 model it replaces. It successfully incorporates the key features of a modern five door, five seater C-segment family sized SUV in a more urban-friendly, more athletic and more muscular package. It features the tiger's nose grille surround that Peter Schreyer their head of design is turning into a Kia trademark and an instant identifier.

The high shoulder and low roof lines meet in striking reverse-angle C-pillars that are claimed to improve the view out for rear passengers despite the high waistline and narrow depth windows. Future models with the panoramic sunroof option will brighten up the interior and make it more airy. The First Edition version with its dark interior seemed claustrophobic. The ribbed roof, chunky door handles, roof rails and large wing mirrors are as much signs of the new Sportage's street-wise urban toughness as its capability in difficult conditions.

The relatively spacious five-seat cabin is dominated by a high level multi-tier dashboard that narrows as it sweeps in from the sides towards the middle, leading into an eye-catching centre console. The design deliberately emphasises the width of the new Sportage and also gives occupants a feeling of protection and safety. The leather upholstery looks and feels welcoming but there is a lot of dark plastic trim than lack visual appeal but they will be durable for family use. The boot is large with 564-litres of space and the rear seats fold to extend the load carrying option.

The 2.0-litre diesel engine in the First Edition model develops 134bhp at 4,000rpm and 320Nm (236lb ft) of torque from just 1800rpm, giving it a better power-to-weight and torque-to-weight ratio than the outgoing Sportage with the older 2.0-litre diesel engine. Yet it is more fuel and tax-efficient and potentially less damaging to the environment.

With the six-speed manual gearbox it achieves combined economy of 47.1mpg – 7.3mpg better than the old car – with CO2 emissions of 156g/km, a huge reduction of 31g/km. But it also accelerates more quickly and has a higher top speed. Even the six-speed automatic outscores the previous manual model, with fuel consumption of 40.4mpg (versus 39.8mpg) and CO2 emissions of 183g/km (formerly 187g/km). It is also quicker and faster than the previous manual Sportage.

The new First Edition comes as standard with intelligent electronically controlled single high ratio all-wheel drive that normally delivers 100% of engine torque to the front wheels. But the torque can be redistributed up to a maximum of 60:40 front-to-rear to enhance cornering stability or if road conditions deteriorate. For off-road driving, drivers can manually select lock mode, which gives a 50:50 torque split at speeds of up to 25mph.

A number of new electronic features have been added to the new Sportage, increasing safety for on-road driving and the car's capability for those owners who wish to go off-road or who live in areas where bad weather and poor driving conditions are facts of life.

Standard Electronic Stability Control (ESC) counter-acts any tendency of the car to understeer or oversteer in hard cornering or slippery conditions. It is linked in the new Sportage to three additional systems – Downhill Brake Control (DBC), Hill -Start Assist Control (HSC) and a Roll-over Sensor.

DBC ensures the car maintains a steady speed of 5mph when descending steep slopes. HAC has the reverse effect, preventing slip-back when setting off uphill and eliminating the possibility of wheelspin. The roll-over sensor detects when the car might be in danger of rolling over and deploys the side and curtain airbags and seat-belt pre-tensioners so that occupants are fully protected should the worst happen.

As is now the norm with Kia, the car is covered by an unrivalled seven-year, 100,000-mile manufacturer’s warranty.

In my first Sportage test drive this week, using the winding and hilly routes of the Cotswolds, plus a stretch of motorway driving, the new model proved to be a capable and comfortable performer. The torquey engine felt strong and responsive mid-range, thankfully not over-geared to produce unrealistic fuel economy figures that detract from real-life driving conditions. The manual gearbox was slick to use, the steering well weighted although lacking in feel at times. The 18-inch wheels were prone to ‘vibration’ after hitting deep potholes and there was some road noise intrusion but I suspect that the 17-inch alloys for future mainstream models in the range will be a better choice. The handling was agile and felt very car-like. Being tall there is some cornering bodyroll but less than expected. The Lotus tuned suspension using UK roads as the universal blueprint coped really well with absorbing potholes and much better than a conventional mid-sized SUV or 4x4.

Overall the new Sportage will be an easy and relatively affordable car to live with. Depending on taste, it is an eye-catching and relatively stylish car, very modern in its appearance and with the high expectations Kia has of it in terms of sales expect to see loads of them on our roads next year when the full range becomes available.

MILESTONES. Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi First Edition AWD Manual. Price: £20,777. Engine/transmission: 2.0-litre, four cylinder, turbodiesel, 134bhp, 236lb ft of torque from 1,800rpm, 6-speed manual with on demand All Wheel Drive. Performance: 112mph, 0-62mph 10.9 seconds, 47.1mpg (42.8mpg on test), CO2 156g/km, VED road tax £155, BIK company car tax 22%. Insurance group: 13E. Dimensions: L 4,440mm, W 18,885mm, H 1,645mm, Boot-load area 564-1,436-litres. Braked towing weight: 2,000kg. For: Conforms with the move from SUV to crossover buying trends, distinctive styling, well equipped, family friendly interior, strong and flexible engine, agile with a comfortable ride, long 7-year warranty. Against: Rear visibility but the reversing camera and parking sensors help, too much bland interior plastic trim, low depth widows, rear seat backs do not fold down completely flat for maximum load carrying, road noise intrusion from the large wheels/tyres.Miles Better News Agency Girlracer magazine

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