Motoring: Wide power choice in latest Kia Sportage

The new Kia Sportage manages to combine a sleek yet muscular and modern exterior design with a cutting-edge premium interior that features a swooping integrated curved display, housing the very latest advances in connectivity tech.

But that’s not all. This fifth-generation model offers one of the widest choices of power supplies I have come across, with 1.6 litre mild hybrid petrol, 1.6 litre hybrid petrol, 1.6 litre diesel and 1.6 litre mild hybrid diesel engine options.

While I did not manage to drive all variants on launch day, I did get my hands on the mild hybrid diesel version, an SUV that displayed great capability and a version I’d urge potential customers to check out. In quarter two, Kia will also offer a plug-in petrol model.

The exterior look of the new Sportage is totally new. Crisp body lines and muscular design traits give this SUV a more dramatic road presence.

The frontal design links Kia’s modern signature tiger nose grille to the distinctive futuristic-styled boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights, and the striking Matrix LED head lamps, also known as intelligent front lighting system. Matrix head lamps are on the K4 & GT-line only, while the K2 and K3 trim levels make up the full line-up.

Even from its rear design, the Sportage maintains its strong road presence with a muscular swooping fastback design that flows into the rear lamps.

According to Ronan Flood, the managing director of Kia Ireland, the new Sportage has been designed, developed and honed specifically for European drivers. With over 18,000 sold here since it was first introduced, the Sportage has been Kia’s best-selling model for over 10 years, he added.

While the entry level model boasts a generous level of creature comforts and safety equipment, you’d have go for the K4 or GT-line versions to avail of the impressive, curved display that sweeps across the front of the driver’s field of view.

The high-tech 12.3-inch touchscreen and multimode touch display act as the nerve centre for driver and passenger connectivity and usability needs.

Featuring premium materials and a modern style, the nicely crafted cabin even gets more luxurious as you go up the price spectrum.

Claimed by Kia to be one of the safest vehicles in its class, the latest Sportage features the acclaimed advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology and Kia’s industry-leading forward collision-avoidance assist system with junction turning functionality (HEV only) which helps avoid collisions with oncoming cars, pedestrians and bicycles when turning left or right at junctions.

Apart from the mild and full hybrid versions that differ from a battery voltage perspective (45V 0.437kWh mild, and 270V 1.49kWh hybrid), Kia offers a highly efficient 1.6 litre clean diesel engine that is available with 113bhp and 134bhp power outputs.

For the mild hybrid diesel, a model that reduces emissions and improves fuel economy, the Korean manufacturer claims it will return 4.8 l/100km (58mpg) to 5.9 l/100km (47mpg). Fuel returns differ on all versions depending on engine and drivetrain type. AWD will feature on the 226bhp Plug-in hybrid petrol version.

The new Sportage, which comes with alloy wheel sizes that vary from 17” to 19” depending on model type, is offered with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (7DCT).

A six-speed manual transmission (MT) is also available, while a 6-speed intelligent manual transmission (iMT) is exclusive to the MHEV models.

Both the Sportage Hybrid and Sportage Plug-in Hybrid models are equipped with the latest-generation six-speed automatic transmission (6AT).

Over the course of my brief test-drive, which was on mainly regional country roads, the Sportage proved itself to be refined, stable and comfortable. While its steering and suspension system was (according to Kia) meticulously tuned to bring forth the qualities I experienced on the drive, the new Kia also debuts numerous innovative breakthroughs, such as a new electronic control suspension (ECS).

This is an SUV that shows Kia rising to new heights from the point of view of build quality, equipment and a wide range of power options.