New Kia Sportage touches down
Kia Motors Australia, KMAU, believes its updated Sportage crossover can lure up to an additional 200 buyers per month, putting the seventh-placed medium SUV in prime position to move up the segment ladder.
For the first six months of the year, Kia has sold 7298 examples of the Sportage, down 1.0 percent year on year, trailing the perennially strong Mazda CX-5, 13,847, Toyota RAV4, 11,770, and Nissan X-trail, 10,280.
Kia’s nearest rival in the booming mid-size SUV segment is the Mitsubishi Outlander, which has amassed 8154 new registrations this year.
Speaking to Goauto at the launch of the Sportage in Canberra, KMAU chief operating officer Damien Meredith said the brand was happy with how the model was tracking, but an increase in volume was predicted.
“We think the update will probably bring about a 20 to 25 percent increase in sales, so we’d be expecting maybe 200 more a month,” he said.
“We’d love to see it improve – the competition is really hot in those segments especially that small-tomedium segment. So we don’t gauge ourselves too much on competitors’ volume... we like to see improvement with our volumes and if we’re seventh, we’re seventh, if we’re fifth, we’re fifth, so we don’t get too carried away with that.”
Mr Meredith said the company would like to see more patronage from private buyers, as fleet and rental sales currently made up more than half of the Sportage’s overall numbers.
“About 55 percent of Sportage sales is fleet and rentals, so we need to get private sales, retail sales higher,” he said. “There is a slightly higher component of fleet business and rental business with Sportage than there is with our other models.”
Pricing has increased slightly for the update, starting with the front-drive, petrol-powered Si from $29,990 plus on-roads, an increase of $1000 more than the outgoing model.
All variants have increased in price by between $1000 and $2500, with the highest change coming from the oil-burning SLI.
From launch, both petrol and dieselpowered Si Premium versions can be had at a driveaway price $300 less than its recommended retail cost, however the deal will not be perma- nent. The range tops out at $47,690 plus on-roads for diesel Gt-line.
Kia has made autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, forward collision warning, driver attention alert and an electrochromatic rearview mirror standard across the range, while the Gt-line gains adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert.
No changes have been made to the outputs of the Sportage’s three powerplants, consisting of the 114kw/192nm 2.0-litre and 135kw/237nm 2.4-litre petrol units, and the 136kw/400nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine.
The oil-burner gains a new in-house eight-speed automatic first shown in the Stinger, which helps reduce fuel consumption by as much as 0.4 litres per 100km. The two petrol versions retain the existing six-speed auto.
All 2.0-litre petrol variants are frontdrive only, while the larger petrol engine and diesel range all come with all-wheel drive.
In keeping with Kia Australia’s decision to not introduce hybrids and instead make the switch to full-evs when the time is right, the mild-hybrid turbo-diesel version launching overseas will not be offered here.
Updates have been made to the Sportage’s ride and handling characteristics, with the car-maker introducing measures for a more comfortable and compliant ride.
Steering response has been sharpened, while suspension changes include an increased rear spring rate on all-wheel-drive versions and changes to the shock absorber that result in a more rounded ride.
Kia’s seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, seven-year roadside assist and capped-price servicing remains for the Sportage.