Kia Sportage SLi 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $35,490
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Satellite navigation ($1500); metallic paint ($520)
Crash rating: Five-star
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.2
CO2 emissions (g/km): 189
Also consider: Mazda CX-5 Maxx Sport ($39,470); Mitsubishi ASX ($31,990); Volkswagen Tiguan 103TDI ($38,480). All prices quoted are diesel auto AWD.

Kia’s brand stocks have shot up since its design makeover under the stewardship of influential German designer Peter Schreyer – the hand behind Audi’s TT and other VW Group cars.

Once its generation-Schreyer vehicles came on stream in 2010, Hyundai’s formerly dowdy understudy re-emerged like some urchin sibling discovered in a mall by a modelling agent. It’s since built a reputation on handsome, nicely built fare that punches above its price on equipment and drive quality.

The Series II Sportage reveals the lightest of touches by the midlife facelift surgeons. The only exterior changes are subtle revisions to the taillight clusters and a lowered rear bumper.

But there are some more important differences beyond. A price cut, for a start – $500 on our mid-spec SLi tester; $1000-1500 on base SL and top-shelf Platinum specs.

Automatic diesel variants like our tester now get a switchable Active ECO mode, which attenuates engine performance in the name of economy. All three variants now get static cornering and rear foglights, the mid-spec SLi and the top-shelf Platinum get front wiper de-icers and the latter adds an HID headlight upgrade and seat warming front and rear.

Some of this equipment alludes to another difference: Kia now sources the Sportage from eastern Europe (Slovakia), rather than Korea. This makes virtually no difference to the car itself, but greatly improves consistency of supply.

Interior upgrades are subtle: more soft-touch plastics, minor HVAC improvements, revised leather seat stitching and colours, remodelled head restraints, a central locking button added to the front passenger door and a lockable glove box.

And all on top of a generous kit list. The SLi gets 17-inch alloys, rear parking beepers and camera, electro-dimmed rear-view mirror, auto sensors for headlights and wipers, heated folding wing mirrors and dual-zone climate control. For the record, the audio system’s good too, with CD/MP3, Bluetooth, iPod, USB and auxiliary inputs and steering wheel controls.

The Sportage interior remains on par with its class, above in places. In keeping with its high-waisted exterior look, you sit lowish inside, but the driver’s seat and steering wheel adjust through all the necessary planes for pretty much anyone to get comfy quickly.

Cockpit ergonomics are well sorted, resulting in an easy car to get in and drive from the outset. Our only bother was in Bluetooth pairing – it didn’t come easy with either of two Samsung S3s.

Cargo space starts at a decent 740 litres, extending to 1547 with the 60:40 split-fold rear seat down.

Nic-nac storage is good, a place for your sunnies, four cupholders, door pockets big enough for drink bottles all round and underfloor space around the standard full-sized alloy spare. Nice touches include glove-box cooling and pull-out sun-visor extensions for when they’re on the side windows.

The safety suite’s enough to earn the Sportage five ANCAP stars: six airbags, the normal brake and chassis electronics plus a hill-start helper.

The drive remains largely unchanged, although the 2.0 R oiler’s Active ECO mode helps rein in fuel consumption three points from the outgoing diesel auto to 7.2L/100km on the combined cycle. There’s a commensurate drop in CO2 emissions, from 198 to 189g/km. These aren’t best in class, but they keep the Sportage mid-field and pull it into line for Euro 5 compliance.

In normal driving, without thought for keeping consumption down, we achieved 9.5L/100km around town and 7.1 on a sometimes vigorous freeway run.

Switching it to ECO and slowing down a bit had a dramatic effect: 4.0L/100km on a late night, largely uninterrupted 60km/h urban drive, rising to 6.2 at a steady 80 kays. While it’s noticeable, it helps that the ECO calibration doesn’t dull things so much as to discourage its use.

Performance otherwise is lively. After a little lag, the 135kW diesel delivers an impressive whack off the mark. Peak torque of 392Nm comes up from 1800-2500rpm, but there’s no shortage of accelerative muscle into higher revs.

It’s not the quietest engine in the world up there, but keep down in its torque band and the flexibility’s there for no-fuss overtaking in fourth and fifth and gobbling up highway miles in sixth.

Past a couple of hardish stops to prove they worked under duress on dry tar, we didn’t put the brakes to any major test. The pedal doesn’t have the most refined feel underfoot, but the anchors do their job with plenty of margin for hardship.

Chassis and suspension are well sorted for a vehicle in this league. Kia’s local engineers have found a happy spring/damper marriage, keeping things firm enough on tar to push around a bit while absorbing the worst of the rough. There’s enough give under there for a decent time on some pretty rough dirt, with switchable hill descent control to help out.

On tar, the Sportage sits nice and flat through corners. The electric steering turns in tidily and sticks with the program through a kickdown exit, but goes pitifully numb back around 12 o’clock.

The other grumble is a nervy, intrusive stability control package. It left me wondering if it might one day defeat its own purpose when some P-plate figjam switches it off with a few mates onboard.

But that’s it. The Sportage was the first of the Schreyer-generation Kias to grab the brand the attention it gets now. It remains one of the more distinctive (alright, better) looking cars in its segment.

No longer just cheap and cheerful, this Kia presents established players like Toyota’s RAV4 and top-of-the-pops Mazda’s CX-5 with quite a challenge, not just on value but on outright competence.


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