Kia Sportage SUV Review (2016 - 2022) | CarsIreland.ie

Published on 24 March, 2017

Overview

Overview

Kia have revamped their flagship Sportage with a bold new look, sure to upset the applecart of samey-ness on offer in the compact SUV segment lately. The striking high-mounted headlamps give it a distinctive look not dissimilar the the Porsche Macan and a sharpening up of the rear makes for a more imposing car all round.

All that was great about the previous Sportage prevails – the space, the comfort, the value for money when it comes to equipment, and of course that incredible seven-year warranty. The 1.6 CRDi engine has been tweaked to improve fuel economy and offer extra power, and a revised suspension set-up and better sound insulation makes for an even more refined drive this time around.

Interior Gallery

The Kia Sportage is pretty generous when it comes to practicality when compared to like for like across the market. And being a crossover, that extra height equates to extra space in the cabin - which alongside the higher driving position is one of the major draws to the market. Like its competitors it also makes it very easy to get in and out of, and plenty of adjustment in the driving position, along with the additional lumbar support in the EX model makes it pretty a comfortable option for any journey.

The boot is a handy 503 litres, which is about 20% bigger than your typical hatchback boot and again another big draw to this segment. The added height equates to more headroom for all on board and a longer wheelbase means even more legroom for backseat passengers this time around. There's been good use made of the space inside the cabin, a large glove-box and central storage unit will make it easy to keep the cabin nice and tidy.

While it might look quite different – the Kia Sportage has held on to all the major factors that made it so popular to begin with, one of those being value for money when it comes to equipment. Kia trim levels are very simple and generous from the ground up so Base model LX is just under €28,000 on the road and highlights include Air con, cruise control and stop/start for fuel-saving, a leather multi-function steering wheel, LED daytime running lights and 16 inch alloys. But no touchscreen, which is why you will probably want to upgrade to this one which is mid-spec EX and coming in at a little under €30,000 adds a touchscreen multimedia system, complete with satnav, a half leather interior, 17 inch alloy wheels, lumbar support for the driver and some extra safety features like lane departure warning, speed limit information and automatic highbeam adjustment. You can add a sunroof like this one here for an extra €1,100. Or, for €34,500, you can get into a GSE which without the sunroof gets you 19 inch wheels, Xenon headlamps, an upgraded interior with full leather upholstery, dual zone climate control and keyless go.

Safety is one of the areas that Kia have really stepped it up a gear with the addition of those active safety features mentioned earlier that will come as standard on the EX model upwards, but even without all that – it's well equipped with hill start assist, downhill braking control, six airbags, and isofix fittings for childseats, all helping it score the maximum five star rating on the NCAP crash test.

There's two engines to choose from – you've got the 1.7l diesel with 115 brake horse power, or the larger 2.0l diesel with 136 brake horse power that's only available in 4 wheel drive and so starts at a little over €35,000. For the majority of crossover drivers though – this will be the one to go for, it's the same engine as before but has been tweaked to increase fuel economy which now stands at 61 miles to the gallon, and reduce CO2 emissions to just 119g of CO2 a kilometre, meaning it drops from €280 to just €200 a year to tax.

Sound insulation has also been improved so that its quieter in the cabin and suspension upgrades make it a bit more comfortable on bad roads. It also offers a nice bit of grip for a crossover and like the previous one is still just a pleasant, very easy car to drive – and the last Sportage I drove was probably the first one that sold me on the whole crossover thing because I did resist it a little bit at first but this nice high driving position gives you such a great feeling of space, and such a good view of the road that it actually makes it a little bit harder to get back into a hatchback after.

Kia have made great strides in recent years and generally perform quite well in customer satisfaction, reliability and quality surveys. One area Kia have the competition well and truly beaten is the seven year warranty, which might just give it the edge for those looking to hold on to something long term.

When it comes to residual values the Sportage is holding up well. Given that this model is only a year old we don't have much information to go on. But based on a quick search of the CarsIreland.ie site we can see that after a year a Sportage will have retained roughly 85 to 90 percent of its original value.

Facts & Figures

Sinead McCann

Sinéad is our resident car tester who has the unenviable (-ok, slightly enviable) task of reviewing all the latest new cars to hit the market. You can follow her on Twitter @smcani and on Instagram @whatshedrives