Kia’s beloved Sportage is the latest model in its line-up to undergo some minor surgery.
On the outside not much change was needed, as Kia’s head of design, Peter Schreyer, did a proper job in the first place. The only changes, and you really have to look hard to find them, were made to the front grille, bumper and tail lamps. To complete the look, Kia designed some new 17- and 18-inch alloy wheels.
The changes to the interior are more substantial, with new materials and an all-new 4,3-inch LCD touch screen infotainment system being the most prevalent. The Sportage remains generously equipped across the range, while a new Infinity sound system is standard on all-wheel drive models.
The 2,0-litre diesel engine with 130kW and 382Nm on tap remains as is, but the old 2,0-litre petrol has been replaced with a new unit that delivers less power, but better fuel economy. The claimed combined fuel consumption figures range from 6.7 l/100m for the AWD diesel manual, to 8,9 l/100km for the petrol with a six-speed manual gearbox.
The new Sportage range kicks off with the 2,0-litre petrol FWD manual, retailing at R309 995, while the top-of-the-range 2,0-litre CRDI AWD automatic high specification sells for R408 995.
A five year/100 000km warranty and service plan are included as standard on all models.