Motoring:Kia’s new SUV,
Kia Sportage GT-Line, 1.6 T-GDi 174bhp six-speed manual AWD Price: £24,350
GOOD
KIA Sportage, a nifty family sports utility vehicle, first hit the road in 1993. UK Sportage sales in 1995 were a mere 680. A record 23,010 were sold last year — a quarter (28 per cent) of all Kia sales in this country.
HOW times have changed. Kia i s now a serious challenger to mainstream established European and Japanese brands, with a UK headquarters in Surrey’s Walton-on-Thames.
I DROVE the sporty GT-Line five-seater, tipped to be the favourite among buyers with its new distinctive tiger- nose grille. Other models are graded 1, 2, 3 and 4 — higher numbers meaning higher specs. Those with all-road 4x4 capability have a ‘KX’ prefix.
THIS crossover Korean 4X4 was designed in Frankfurt and built in Slovakia, where Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover is to open a factory.
IT HAS a commanding view of the road from a high and a comfortable driving position. Dri ve r and passenger access is easier with wide-opening doors and the floor has been lowered by 40 mm.
THERE’S a bigger boot and more rear legroom, as the new model is 40 mm longer and has a 30 mm increase in the wheelbase.
THE GT-Line’s six-speed manual gearbox is smooth, sharp and adds to the surefootedness of the Sportage. Acceleration from a turbocharged 1.6- litre petrol engine i s more t han adequate, sprinting from rest to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds with a top speed of 126 mph. It averages 37.2 mpg.
TINTED glass, black leather seating with grey leather inserts, a D-shaped sports leather steering wheel, twin exhaust pipes, drilled stainless steel pedals and exterior trim tweaks add to the GT-Line’s appeal, as do 19-inch alloys and heated seats. There’s a push-button start to fire up the engine.
WITH more buyers using personal contract leasing deals (accounting for 60 per cent of retail sales), the GTLine model is available for monthly payments over three years at £219 with a £500 deposit.
REAR seats fold almost flat and the lift-over height of the boot lip has been lowered by 47 mm giving more load-lugger appeal.
CLEVER kit to keep you safe comes as standard. And it has a top 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests.
ITS seven-year or 100,000mile warranty also transfers to subsequent owners.
THERE’S a Sportage spec to suit most budgets — from £17,995 for the entry level 1.6 GDi Manual ‘1’, to £31,645 for the fully-loaded First Edition 2.0-litre CRDi diesel with 182 bhp and a six-speed automatic gearbox.
I ALSO took the showcase First Edition model for a spin and was impressed by its smooth diesel engine, panoramic retractable glass roof, automatic ‘smart’ tailgate, which opens when you stand close to it for three seconds with the key-fob in your pocket, and eco-friendly start-stop which cuts the engine when idling. It also has autonomous emergency braking which kicks in if you’re about to crash, blindspot detection, and lane keeping warnings.
THE First Edition’s smart parking system can recognise a parking space and slot you into it automatically.
SATNAV is standard on all but basic entry-level model.
BAD
ELECTRIC seats — ten-way adjustments for the driver and eight-way f or the passenger — are available only on the most expensive First Edition.
PLASTIC binnacles in the door may be lightweight but feel a bit cheap.
KIA may have shaved up to 29g/ km off the CO2 emissions, but 177g/km for the GT-Line is still high.
THE 1.7-litre diesel sounds agricultural compared to the rest of the range, though has plenty of pulling power.