Decent, unflashy, good value and with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty, Kia has proved that if you build a better mousetrap, they will come.
But it’s also been a fact that not all the Sportage models have been either attractive or particularly good to drive. So how much will this fifth-generation version, which goes on sale this month, change that?
On appearance, I’ll leave that to you, but it’s certainly not going to frighten the horses, especially in the all-too-popular grey paint alternatives. As if to dissuade the public from choosing alternative colours, swanky metallic paints are one of the few optional extras, priced at £650. If you should be so bold as to want a two-tone paint job, that’ll cost you an extra £800 – no wonder the world’s a grey place.
There are five trim alternatives and six drivetrain choices, including diesel and petrol in non-hybrid and mild hybrid forms. There’s a full petrol hybrid and later this year a petrol plug-in hybrid, which will appeal to fleets and those who purchase through a company. Transmissions include a six-speed manual, a seven-speed dual clutch and a six-speed torque-converter automatic and there’s front and four-wheel drive options.
Prices start at £26,745 for the base model 2, rising through £29,745 for the GT-Line, £30,945 for the 3, £36,445 for the 4 and with the top GT-Line S starting at £38,445. It’s complicated, but as one Kia executive put it, if you want to sell in such numbers you need to offer all the derivatives – and diesel is still important in the UK for anyone who tows.
Our test car was near to the most popular UK model, a 1.6 GT-Line full hybrid with a six-speed automatic gearbox and front-wheel drive.
