Kia Sportage 2010 Review

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OVERVIEW
-- Flux capacity...
Kia is a brand in flux. Like its cousin Hyundai it's working its way out of a cheap and cheerful mould and aspires to be better. It's cars like the new Sportage that make this writer think the brand is very definitely on its way.

Stylish, right sized and thanks to some local tuning a not half-bad drive, the third-generation Sportage is a significantly better than the average compact softroader. If you're in the market for such a car, it should be on your shopping list. Only the badge will stop many from seriously considering this option.

But that won't be the case forever. Already the Sportage's larger SUV sibling the Sorento has attracted the right sort of attention for the brand. Later this year there's a stylish midsize sedan on the way and with new small and light cars just around the corner, Kia will have almost totally renewed its range by the end of next year...

Momentum is slow to build for car companies, but once rolling it's equally hard to stop.

One key mechanical differentiation between the Sportage and its ix35 cousin is the all-wheel-drive system the Kia uses.

The Sportage benefits from a new "intelligent active all-wheel-drive system" dubbed Dynamax. Developed by Kia and Magna Powertrain, the all-wheel-drive system is (so far) unique to Sportage and features "a continuous and fully active AWD coupling".

The system is claimed to act up to three times faster than conventional Haldex style systems and also interacts with the stability control system sensors to provide torque vectoring to increase stability in a straight line and decreases over and understeer when cornering. Dynamax also has a significantly higher thermal capacity to improve durability, says Kia.

Sportage is the first Kia model to benefit from significant local suspension testing -- a taste of things to come say Kia Motor Australia insiders. Based on the UK market's chassis tune, Australian and New Zealand-delivered Sportages promise a better balance of ride and handling, Kia claims.


PACKAGING
-- More hatch than match
Longer, wider and lower than the second-generation Sportage (by 90, 15 and 60mm respectively), the new model shares much of its structure with Hyundai's ix35. Indeed, the Sportage's wheelbase of 2640mm is identical to the Hyundai. The Sportage's front and rear tracks are wider than the ix, as is overall width -- by about 35mm.

In comparison to Subaru's sales-leading Forester, the Sportage is shorter (4440 vs 4560) but rides on a longer wheelbase (2640 vs 2615). Track is significantly wider (by around 70mm front and rear!) and the Sportage has almost 50mm less ground clearance. The Subaru is around 65mm higher overall. Given these proportions it's little wonder the Kia looks more like a big hatch than an SUV on the road.

Aimed firmly at the compact SUV segment, the Sportage is a two-row vehicle with accommodation for five. Seven seater duties within the Kia SUV lineup are handled by the Sorento.

In terms of luggage space the Sportage near matches the ix35, but both makers claim significant advantages in day-to-day capacity over the Forester. Storage stats for the rear seat in position or stowed read 740/1547 litres for the Kia, 730/1579 for the ix35 and 450/1660 for the Subi. As a Forester owner, there doesn't seem to be much in it.

The Sportage's accommodations are significantly improved on that of the last generation, however. There's well-shaped seats up front and the rear bench is better than average.

The cabin design itself is original and fresh without being too quirky. Materials seem to be a notch above what we've been used to from previous generations of compact SUVs -- not just Korean. This writer liked the trapezoidal theme to the centre stack. It reflects the now-signature notches that Kia worldwide head of design Peter Schreyer has installed on Kia's grille.

The main instruments are simple round gauges with white on black dials. Classy, easy to read and fuss free. Good stuff.

External styling is very smart and somehow less fussy in the metal. The Sportage features Kia's now-trademark Schreyer grille motif and an aggressively sporty stance that (as noted above) gives it more of a big hatch feel than offroader.

The vehicle is based on the Kia Kue concept crossover that was first displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2007.

It features a very squat glasshouse that would seem to place vision at a premium. Surprisingly, there is none of that 'looking out a slot' feel once seated in the car. Indeed sight lines are good with one exception -- straight out the rear. With a (very) high rear sill line, rear vision isn't the best. Fortunate then that top-line Sportages get both rear park sensors and a rear view camera. In the case of the latter, the image is projected in a panel on the normal centre rear view mirror.


SAFETY
-- Waiting for five stars
The conventional mix of active and passive safety technology pervades the Sportage's packaging. That's not to talk down the equipment offered -- it is in fact very well specified given its sub$26K starting price.

Stability control, all-disc antilock brakes (with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist --  which recognises an emergency stop and delivers maximum braking power) and a full armoury of airbags head up the list. Given the all-road bent of the new car, Hillstart Assist Control (HAC) and Downhill Brake Control (DBC) are also worthwhile inclusions.

Kia states: "HAC prevents slip-back and roll-forward during stop-start driving on inclines with the manual transmission, while DBC ensures safer travel down the steepest slopes by maintaining a steady 8km/h speed."  As noted above reversing sensors and a rear camera are available on higher-spec Sportage models. It would be nice to see the camera standard across the range.

The other omission that will concern some is the fact that at launch no integrated Bluetooth package is available. It'll arrive from October 2010 build onwards, but with the high rate of mobile phone usage these days, this is a safety faux pas.

Kia says the Sportage has been designed to score a 5-Star rating in Euro and Australian crash tests with results expected in the fourth quarter, 2010.

The carmaker says the all-new body features a much greater proportion of high strength and extra-high strength steels than the previous model. Kia states: "Structural improvements include stronger and straighter longitudinal side members in the engine bay floor; an enhanced B-Pillar design that links to upper and lower cross-members to form an internal rollover hoop; reinforced floor members in the trunk floor and a rerouted and better protected fuel filler pipe".

The Sportage's stability control system incorporates roll mitigation strategies, but if the worst happens a new rollover sensor triggers side airbags, curtain airbags and seatbelt pretensioners.


COMPETITORS
-- Target rich
Sportage is a new price leader in the compact segment but presents as a much classier product than the car it replaces. This is a win for consumers and must worry the burgeoning number of manufacturers who are looking to this segment for more sales.

It is a crowded space dominated by the Subaru Forester but also a happy hunting ground for Honda (CRV), Nissan (X-TRAIL and Dualis), Mazda (CX-7), Hyundai (ix35) and others.

Though the entry-level pricing is up $1000 from the second-generation Sportage LX the new Si replaces, so too are equipment levels. Indeed, though it undercuts Hyundai's ix35 and stated rivals such as Nissan Dualis and Holden's Captiva 5, the base model third-generation Sportage is comprehensively equipped.

Head up through the SLi and Platinum variants and the value equation degrades just a little, but it's still an attractive package.

Kia is aiming to sell around 300 Sportages per month Down Under -- we think the car will do better... Though the sales split will favour the 2WD Si, company insiders say that they are confident top-of-the-range Platinum diesels will also be in high demand.


ON THE ROAD
-- Target rich
Possessed of an uncommonly resolved balance of ride and handling, Sportage is one of the best mannered compact SUVs on the road today. Given that its cousin under the skin, Hyundai's ix35 isn't nearly as forgiving over bumps or as wieldy in the corners, Kia's claim that it has found an optimum suspension setting for local roads seems to hold water.

The chassis tune is on the sporty end of the SUV spectrum but on the mix of roads around Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island it was never harsh or crashy. Over broken bitumen, and rutted and corrugated gravel roads it was very well behaved.

The Sportage's steering will be heavier than some SUV buyers are used to, but the weighting adds a sense of security on road. Like most new cars, the tiller is still light on feel... There's not a lot of tactility about it.

You sit at a typically elevated SUV H-point, but there's a feeling of coziness within its rather narrow glasshouse. That said there's no shortage of headroom -- even with the Platinum's standard panoramic sunroof. And there are no real issues with sightlines -- forward at least. The A-pillars read well but to the rear the C-pillars and high tailgate glazing mean the in-mirror reversing camera really is a must.

Our time behind the wheel was restricted to a top-of-the-range turbodiesel Platinum. But reports are this is the pick of the bunch -- the R series diesel and six-speed auto combining well.

This is a most undiesel-like powerplant -- at least in Sportage trim. There's no huge surge of torque in the midrange (an opinion those jumping from the 2.0-litre petrol might argue) but equally it's lag-free and responsive in most conditions.

Mechanical noise levels inside the cabin are very low. It took a look at the tacho to determine we were matched with a diesel at first... And a look at the CRDi badge on the tailgate to be absolutely certain. Outside there's more recognisable diesel rattle but it's never offensive.

Though Kia makes some claims toward the Sportage's fuel efficiency in terms of the compact SUV class, in reality the diesel's not the most frugal out there.

Over a range of mountain roads we averaged around 12L/100km. This dropped to mid-8.0s as the terrain flattened. Though this is better than most petrol softroaders it's far from cutting edge in diesel terms. Volkswagen's Tiguan offers similar or better on-road performance but would easily slip into the low-7.0 or high 6.0s in the same highway going.

It's tough to argue about the value story of the range-topping Sportage though. The cabin has a youthful exuberance to its dash and trim treatment but includes classy features like the clear white on black gauges. Heated seats were welcome at the top of the Cardrona Range where on the road to the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground the temperature dropped to zero.

In bright sunshine we enjoyed window-down driving, sharp cold air and warm butts as we drove the awesome switchback road that tragically claimed the life of Kiwi rally ace Possum Bourne a few years back.

The all-wheel drive Sportage acquitted itself well. Though the stability control chimed in early, with it all switched off the car was very hard to upset, proving well balanced and predictable.

Colleagues report the front-wheel drive 2.0-litre Si model wasn't quite as happy on the same stretch of road. Given the lion's share of Si models will live urban lives exclusively this shouldn't be a huge issue.

The only issue we had with the Platinum was a long brake pedal on the descent from SHPG. This was more indicative of poor initial conditioning of the brakes on the near-new pre-production cars than any real fault with the set up. Once we let them cool a little they came back as good as new and didn't prove a problem again.

A quick venture of the road into fresh snow showed the car's not short of grip but it is not possessed of a lot of ground clearance. Our progress was stopped short when the Sportage beached just a couple of metres away from the hard stuff. If you're planning any light duty offroad work or sand and the like, this is worth remembering. You might not have a friendly Kia support team on hand to pull you out.

But it's on the road that the new Kia will win friends and thanks to its smart uniquely hatch-like styling, influence people.

Kia says the Sportage is a watershed car for the brand and we're inclined to agree. It's not perfect, but it presents a more compelling argument than its Hyundai counterpart or indeed, any vehicle to wear the Kia badge before it.

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