SPY PICS: A funkier Sportage?

From a cheap and cheerful alternative to Japanese small SUVs in the mid 1990s to a far more refined, shared development with Hyundai in more recent times, Kia's Sportage is on the brink of its third iteration and things look good for the second-string Korean brand.

The next Sportage will take Kia's corporate identity a step further into more youthful territory and is reportedly due some time in 2010. Again, the Sportage will share its basic structure with the Hyundai Tucson that is also due to move into its next generation.

In line with the company's funkier new image as exemplified by the new Soul model revealed locally at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show, the next Sportage -- reportedly known as the SL series -- will be more stylish and more appealing to younger buyers.

Undoubtedly it draws inspiration from the KND-4 three-door concept shown at the 2007 Seoul motor show -- with the volume turned down.

The five-door car recently seen testing in a Scandinavian deep freeze by the Carparazzi team shows a de rigueur high window line and a decidedly soft, rounded shape that is more sedan/hatch than functional SUV. Short front and rear overhangs and a raised ground clearance show a degree of off-roading will be catered for, however.

The story goes that the new Sportage will utilise the new, Kia/Hyundai developed 135kW four-cylinder turbodiesel, hooking up to either a manual six-speed gearbox or a new, also jointly-developed, six-speed auto. Both engine/ transmission combinations will undoubtedly find their way into Hyundais also.

There will be a range of new four-cylinder petrol engines too, although reports vary on a V6. Some sources suggest more environmentally responsible, four cylinder power only will be on offer.

It is expected the new Sportage will go on sale in Korea in early 2010 so it would be reasonable to anticipate an Australian arrival some time later in the same year.

The Sportage has bubbled along at the bottom end of the local small SUV market but spiked upwards in 2008 with total sales of 1711 -- still well below the segment average even if Kia were one of the few brands to record a sales increase. Things aren't looking so flash year-to-date in 2009 though, so a new, far funkier Sportage could well be good news for Kia.

-- with Carparazzi