Kia Sportage

Medium SUVs are the harshest battleground for new car buyers in Australia. Trent Nikolic finds out if the Kia Sportage SX is the sweet spot in the range.

What's it like to 'own' the 2022 Drive Car of the Year? We took 'ownership' of a Kia Sportage SX to find out.

The Toyota RAV4 sales favourite squares-up against the 2022 Drive Car of the Year, the Kia Sportage

Eleven popular Medium SUVs go under the microscope to find out which one is the best for Australian new car buyers.

Kia Australia is finally preparing to take on the top-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with a petrol-electric version of the Sportage.

Prices across six Kia models have risen for the new year – with the Stinger sedan hit with the largest increase of all.

The number of Kia cars which can catch fire – even when parked – due to a faulty braking system has increased, and now includes more than 12,000 examples of the Sportage SUV.

The top of the Australian new-car sales charts is dominated by fleet vehicles. But what are the favourite choices when it comes to private buyers?

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Some buyers prioritise safety, some want the most spacious, and others want the sharpest medium SUV for keen drivers.

The Sportage has very good performance and economy with the diesel engine. Read the owner review.

The Kia Sportage is a handsome, reliable and well thought out car. We picket up our new Kia after having eleven and half months of absolute pain and horror with our Haval H6 Lux. It was love at first sight when we picked up our new Kia, the presentation of the vehicle, quality of the build and smooth handling helped form an instant bond with this car. This was a very different feel and connection that we had with our Haval eleven months earlier. Kai has developed a vehicle that is comfortable and reliable. This is clearly demonstrated by the smooth drive on local road snd highways. The Sportage handles extremely well around corners and in the wet, the lane assist feature helps you take corners with ease. It is notable that the suspension has been finally tuned to local conditions which assist with the overall comfort of this car. Even with its 2.0 engine the Sportage is able to pick up speed quite easily when needed with little effort. Inside the New Sportage there is a fresh look to the dash and entertainment systems. The dash and features have been laid out in a way to give it a premium feel and make the systems easy to use while driving. The new larger and flat screen in this car helps prevent reflection from the sun and make it easy to see and navigate in bright conditions. The Sli variant also comes with electronic handbrake. The only notable downsides to the New Kia Sportage Sli is the lack of blind sport warning and no wireless charging in this variant. These two features would help the Sportage compete in the medium SUV market. Blind sport warning is almost seen as a basic inclusion these days, however Kia only offer it in the top of the range GT variant. I highly recommend this car to anyone who is looking for a medium SUV. Kai has provided an awesome product which is jam-packed of safety, entertainment and comfort features. Top these features off with the 7 year warranty and roadside assistance - you can't go wrong.

I purchased the Sportage in late 2011 to replace my very unreliable (after warranty expiration) 2006 Ford Focus. Living on a dirt road that often has minor flooding, I needed something with a little more ground clearance. Of all the available SUV’s available at the time in my 30-35k price range, the Sportage, in my eyes was the best looking creature by far. The 5 year warranty also had me, especially after the Focus’s 3 year job. The test drive, on admittedly smooth blacktop, was all good and the 2.4 petrol engine was peppy enough for my requirements. The diesel had a long waiting list at the time. Inside: I liked the simplicity of the interior and the many hard plastic surfaces were easy to clean. Especially in the dusty environ I live. The seats can become a little hard on a long journey. The material quality would have to be the best of any car I have owned. I’m now 53 and have had plenty of cars over the years. The material is stain proof and easy to wipe over with a bit of warm soapy water if you spill something on them. Inside is pretty dark and gloomy though. Everything is a shade of black/grey. Much like everything else at the time. Reliability: this is the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, bar none. Nothing has broken in the near 7 rears of ownership and 140,000klm. With the exception of a very sloppy service from the local Kia dealer, where the Oil Plug was not tightened and left a pool of oil on my driveway. Thankfully I noticed before driving off again as the whole lot had been drained. The road I live on is quite rough and the car is still rattle free. Quite the opposite to the Focus, where all sorts of plastic trim started coming loose. Fuel economy isnt really a strong point on short trips or in city traffic. The consumption can blow out to around 12litres per 100k. Out on the highway on a long trip, the economy is around 7litres per 100k. If towing anything with more weight more than a 6x4 box trailer filled with empty cardboard boxes, the Econony can blow right out on the highway to 15litres per 100k. I helped my son move from MACKAY, Qld down to SEQ and had an 8x4 trailer with his meagre possessions and the eco year was 17litres per 100k. I had to fill up 3 times in 1000k. That was a real eye opener! Ride and handling is good on most blacktop. The steering can load up with fast direction changes to the point where it feels like there is no power assistance. Swerving to avoid a roof is a good case in point. The ride itself can rattle my dentures if the road is a little corrugated, like mine frequently is. I had the 18” wheel and tyre combo from The Platinum spec Sportage fitted with the lower profile tyres, So that could be partly to blame. The later model update had the Aussie tuned suspension which was a huge improvement. The engine and transmission combo is pretty good. It certainly isn’t going to win any red light drags, but that isn’t its design brief. The 6 speed auto transmission is smooth and adapts pretty well to your driving style. There is a lingering weirdness to the transmission that has never been able to be replicate when in for a service. It occasionally feels like it disengages momentarily as the engine almost hits the rev limiter and then it re engages. It is a rare occurrence and buggered if I know what causes it. Neither do the service techs. Overall the car has been exactly what I needed at the time. I would have upgraded to the newer Sportage when it was released, but I still can’t come to terms with the bug eyed front end. Since the car now has a few scratches caused by others and the new shine has worn off, I have taken it places it was never really designed for. Rutted off road tracks, Boggy red and black soil and, touchwood, I haven’t been stuck. The AWD can be locked when going less than 30klm/h, but mostly it is intuitive enough to know when to kick in. I have decided I want to do some more off road adventuring and rather than take the risk of getting stuck, I will be looking to replace it with a proper 4WD in the near future. For reliable ownership, I would give it a 9/10. The only point drop is the haunted transmission.

HAVING THE SPORTAGE FOR A FEW WEEKS I AM SO FAR VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE VALUE FOR MONEY ASPECT. THE LONG LIST OF FEATURES ON THE PLATINUM SERIES HAS IMPRESSED EVERYBODY WHO HAVE SEEN THE VEHICLE. PARTICULARLY THE SAFETY FEATURES ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE AND QUALITY OF FINISH IS A TESTAMOUNT TO KIA' COMMITTMENT TO BRING GOOD VALUE VEHICLES TO BUYERS. A REAL HIT WITH FRIENDS HAVE BEEN THE COOLED SEATS, A REAL BONUS FOR LEATHER IN OUR HOT CLIMATE. ANOTHER GREAT FEATURE IS THE AUTOMATIC SELF OPENIG TAILGATE THAT MY WIFE FINDS PARTICULARLY USEFULL AS PREVIOUSLY SHE HAS FOUND PREVIOUS WAGONS TOO HEAVY TO MANAGE. SO FAR I HAVE FOUND THE SPORTAGE SMOOTH AND EASY TO DRIVE. PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED WITH THE RIDE FROM THE 19" WHEELS AND LOW PROFILE TYRES EXPECTING THEM TO BE BUMPY. FUEL ECONOMY I HAVE TO BE AS GOOD AS CLAIMED IF NOT BETTER. AS FOR RELIABILITY THI IS OUR FOURTH KIA IN THE FAMILY AND ARE HAPPY WITH THE BRAND. THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE IS THAT THE WIRELESS MOBILE CHARGING HAS NOT WORKED ON ANY MODELS I HAVE SO FAR TRIED. I DO MISS MY CD PLAYER FROM PREVIOUS KIA , OLD FASHIONED PERHAPS BUT A LOT OF BUYERS IN THAT BRACKET FEEL THE SAME. THE CONTROLS ARE EASY TO USE EXCEPT I FIND THE SAT NAV SCREEN A BIT OF A STRETCH FROM DRIVING POSITION. THE INFO SCREEN IN DASH IS VERY GOOD BUT WOULD PREFER A DIGITAL READOUT OF INSTANT FUEL ECONOMY. OF COURSE THE 7 YEAR WARRANTY IS A DEAL CLOSER.