Kia
Sportage
1.6T-GDi
The Kia Sportage has been one of the Kia success stories, and
now Kia has introduced a new 4th generation of the vehicle that is
probably one of their best sellers, writes Bob Hickman.
The Sportage range between £17,995 and £31,495 and there is quite a huge selection of choices to
be made. There are 4 engines, 3 gearboxes, the choice between front or 4-wheel drive and there
are 5 levels of trim, the top specification being the particular vehicle that I had on test recently,
the GT-line. What I particularly liked about my derivative was the 1.6-litre engine which produced a
healthy 174 bhp but what was impressive to me it drove all 4 wheels. This particular Sportage is not
just a look at me I am a 4-wheel drive look alike, this was a genuine 4-wheel drive vehicle, so when
the good old British weather turns a bit nasty, think, icy or horrendous rain you are going to have that
security of 4-wheel drive if you have chosen this particular derivative.
It has a high CO emission of 177 so it is not going to be cheap to tax and the fuel figures quoted
are 37mpg, I only managed to achieve 34mpg on a combined cycle on a variety of various roads
including an odd bit of motorway but primarily around town and on country roads.
The 5-door body shape is new and as in keeping with a lot of manufacturers is slightly longer by 40mms,
albeit the wheelbase has increased and this does generate just that little bit of extra interior legroom.
The floor has been cleverly lowered, again if you are not quite as able as you would like to be, this makes
for a vehicle that is easier to get in to.
The cabin is generally comfortable, it is a pleasant area to be cocooned within and in the dark trim it
seemed to suit the vehicle although I do like lighter head linings and the tinted windows all round tend to
diminish the ambiance of being ensconced within this vehicle.
The boot on the Sportage is a bonus it is exceptionally wide and even allowing for the wheel arches you
can store a tremendous amount of luggage within this, the rear seats do fold back and you then have
almost 1.5 metres of transit van type of luggage carrying capacity.
It was gratifying to note that the 1.6-litre engine performed quite well, the 6-speed gearbox had excellent
ratios, and whilst I am a critic of some manufacturers it was possible to utilise both 5th and 6th gear around
town, they had not been incorporated in to the vehicle just to allow for extra fuel economy.
The specification on my derivative was very high, the 19” alloy wheels really set the vehicle off, and the
LED ice cube front fog lamps and the LED day running lights and rear tail lights are an attractive option to
the vehicle. The electronic equipment within my vehicle was easy to understand and very easy to operate,
the BlueTooth system, one of the easiest that I have come across to lock in my mobile phone. The Satellite
Navigational System proved to be an easy companion and the wonderful reversing aid allied to a reversing
camera proved to be simplicity in itself when you came to reversing this larger size vehicle in to a confined spot.
All the Kia range come with the superb and industry leading 7-year or 100,000 miles warranty.
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