Kia Sportage SLi 2016 Review

Kia Sportage SLi
Road Test

The new breed of Kia vehicles started to show real promise a few years ago, and now the latest generation Kia Sportage mid-sized SUV brings a new level of maturity to the segment. It represents a coming-of-age for the brand, a refined, good-looking, smart, easy-to-use vehicle that's affordable to buy and run, this one priced at $33,990. It's a little bigger now but still navigates the urban jungle with ease. The best Kia yet?

In a world of copy-cat SUVs, to stand out you need to either be freakishly good-looking or have a magnetic personality. In such a competitive SUV street you just can't afford to be middle-of-the-road… luckily the Sportage has a foot in each court.

The new front-end styling might alienate some. But it stands out, it's daring and modernistic.

There's a boldness, a self-assurance to this vehicle that flows through to its interior – and figuratively slaps you in the face upon first use! Indeed, expectations were for a competent but uninteresting vehicle, but expectations have been exceeded.

It's a confident performer that dashes around town and accomplishes tasks with a level of composure you'd expect of something far more expensive. It's functional, practical, roomy, and attractive, and it just feels good to drive.

Apart from the new design, the clearest hint of the Sportage's grown-up deportment manifests in the cabin design. It's not particularly flashy and is relatively devoid of the bold flourishes but it still looks good, but best of all it's ergonomic.

Everything feels thoroughly thought out, and all it takes is once glance at the controls and you're set. No second guessing where cruise control is, or how to change the audio setting via the tactile steering wheel switches.

It's as though Kia has mimicked the simplicity of a Toyota but ditched the cardigan, and passengers were surprised at its premium feel. "It's Korean?"

Come on guys, get with the program! The Koreans have been killing it for the last half-decade, and this is one cool caboose.

Case in the point, the contoured gear shifter. It's big and has a premium feel, more like an Audi than a Mazda and really set the interior off, drawing the eye and great to touch.

Even the seat belts are easy to pull and latch, thanks to chunky, smooth designs. Indeed this car has matured to the point where it feels it's skipped a generation. The sense of quality, from the way the auto gear shifter smoothly snicks into gears to the fleshy button presses and effortless infotainment and Bluetooth, it's hard to fault.

To be honest all the tech features in the Sportage work like they should; the Bluetooth is a breeze to connect, the satellite navigation is simple to use and the new touchscreen system in general is a winner. It looks and feels great, the interface akin to a smartphone operating system.

The only quibble I found with the car's interior systems was that putting the car in reverse cancels a phone call. Sorry, mum.

Swinging my lanky legs into the rear seats and I was pleasantly surprised with a surplus of room. Tall teenagers won't be whining about cramped legroom here, and rear vents and USB plug (with power charging) are thoughtful touches.

Boot space is pretty good for this size of vehicle, a medium SUV, at 466 litres. The cargo area features tie-down hooks for securing loads but I couldn't find the facility to flip the rear seats from the boot – side door only levers it seemed.

Incidental storage is impressive, from a pair of generous cup holders up front (that actually fit coffees and water bottles) to a big centre box and nets behind the front seats.

On that topic, the front seats are comfy, the high riding position providing a great view of the road (if you can't beat 'em – or see round them – join 'em!) and the trip computer is great. It's got a simple user interface, not too many options, yet offers lots of useful data to monitor fuel usage, distance travelled and so on.

But the Kia Sportage in this 2.0-litre petrol guise was thirsty!

Whoa, Nelly! I wasn't expecting an 11.8L/100km reading after three days of regular use (four on board for the most part), although that figure did drop to 11.2L after some freeway cruising and into the mid-10s with solo driving.

Still, with a smooth-shifting six-speed auto the expectation was to see low 10s consistently, but the claimed 7.9L/100km is a dream. And the CO2 emissions of 182g/km is ridiculously high for a modern direct-injection engine.

The car doesn't have an idle-stop system like many modern vehicles, which switches the donk off when you stationary at traffic lights or T-junctions, and would've helped its urban fuel economy.

In its defence the engine (114kW/192Nm) is feisty, giving the Sportage a character befitting its name. And it's happy to drink the cheapest 91 RON ULP.

There’s plenty of zip when needed, even when loaded to capacity with people and their belongings, and although the engine seemed to prefer high revs it gave everything when needed to pull out of an intersection or change lanes on the freeway.

And the suspension? Very impressive, with good ride comfort and steering response. Yep, the Sportage was supple over bumps but with enough balance to tackle corners at speed – and perform an emergency swerve – without feeling fidgety or nervous.

The local suspension tuning that Kia performs on all it vehicles via its small Aussie chassis team is paying dividends.

It's not easy finding fault with this car. Kia has done its research and it shows. And then there’s the extras… the road side assistance, the capped-price servicing and industry-leading seven-year warranty.

A friend who was in the market for a medium-sized SUV was tossing up between a Hyundai Tucson and a CX-5. I suggested the Sportage should be on the list and they’re now in a three-way decision tussle instead of just the two.

Is this the best Kia yet? In my opinion it is. And it deserves to be cross-shopped against the current class-leading SUVs in the segment.

2016 Kia Sportage SLi pricing and specifications:
Price: $33,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 114kW/192Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 182g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP
Also consider:
>> Mazda CX-5 (from $27,190 plus ORCs)
>> Toyota RAV4 (from $27,990 plus ORCs)
>> Hyundai Tucson (from $27,990 plus ORCs)