The Kia Sportage is the 2022 Drive Car of the Year; here’s why!

If you think the Kia Sportage mid-size SUV won the 2022 Drive Car of the Year award because it shines brightly in a few important areas, you’d be wrong. The Sportage won because it is the strongest performer across a breadth of criteria, all of which matter to Australian new car buyers.

Put simply, the Sportage won not because it was the fastest or the most efficient, nor because it was the most practical or most dynamic. It won because no other vehicle combines all these capabilities into the one package like the Sportage does.

Let’s take a closer look to understand what that means.

Fuel efficiency is a hot topic right now, and rightly so. Every litre of fuel a vehicle consumes begins as crude oil. So the less fuel we use the less oil that needs to be extracted.

One of the most efficient mid-size SUVs in Australia is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. This vehicle, which is roughly the same size as the Sportage, has a petrol engine combined with an electric motor that delivers class-leading fuel efficiency.

Kia Australia is working on bringing a Sportage with a hybrid powertrain to Australia that eclipses the Toyota in terms of technology and performance.

The Kia Sportage PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) pairs a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 44kW electric motor, yielding 195kW and 350Nm - well in excess of the RAV4.

European details of this Kia Sportage PHEV were released in February, promising an electric-only 78km emission-free driving range, plus an impressive 1.1L/100km fuel efficiency. Again, figures the RAV4 cannot match.

When the Sportage PHEV is operating as a closed-loop hybrid, fuel consumption tests in Korea suggest that it is 0.4L/100km more efficient than the RAV4 which in Australia carries a 4.7L/100km claim.

If you can’t wait for the Sportage PHEV to get to Australia, Kia offers a turbodiesel Sportage right now that consumes just 6.3L/100km while producing 137kW and 416Nm. Those outputs endow the Sportage with effortless real-world performance, and a fuel economy that costs less than a bottle of wine more each month to feed.

Another area where the Kia Sportage impressed the Drive Car of the Year judges was in its interior presentation and practicality. In terms of the former, the Sportage’s sweeping dashboard-mounted digital display which incorporates two high-resolution 12.3-inch screens really sets the scene.

This cutting-edge display combines with an adaptive touch bar below which adjusts its buttons to match the infotainment screen mode, giving the Sportage a control centre to rival some of the best from Audi, a company long considered the benchmark for cabin fit and finish.

Actually, while we’re talking about Audi - a brand respected for its cabin quality and high levels of luxury and technology, it’s interesting to compare the Kia Sportage GT-Line with the similarly sized Audi Q5 SUV 40 TDi. Even though the Sportage is $20,000 cheaper, it more than has the Audi’s measure in terms of features and equipment.

Both have eight airbags and a swag of active safety systems, but only the Kia comes standard with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot active assist, reversing collision mitigation, speed zone reminder with roadsign recognition, and a fully automated parking assist with remote control and front-facing parking camera.

Inside, only the Sportage offers heated and ventilated front seats, front seat position memory, a sliding second row, head-up display for the driver, and rear-seat occupancy warning.

The Q5 is a very good car, but in terms of value the Sportage has it well and truly licked.

As for practicality, the leader in the mid-size SUV class is the Mitsubishi Outlander, whose seven-seat configuration is not matched by the Sportage. But, when you consider just how often those seats are actually occupied and the limited comfort they offer - they are little better than occasional seats for smaller children - the Outlander’s advantage is whittled down considerably.

With the third row of seats occupied, the Outlander has very little room left for luggage - 183L is barely enough for a couple of airplane cabin bags. Even when the seats are folded flat, the Outlander’s 478L cargo area is no match for the Sportage's big boot (543L).

So, while it’s fair to say the Sportage does not offer even occasional seven-seat capability, it’s also fair to say that the Outlander’s perceived advantage in this area is seldom used and comes with compromises. 

That’s a short explanation of why we say that the 2022 Kia Sportage did not win Drive Car of the Year because it is better than all its rivals in all areas. In any given area - except perhaps safety and value - it is possible to find another car that can match the Sportage.

But, when you combine all of the Sportage’s credentials together in the one vehicle, there is no other vehicle that can match it.

Safety, practicality, presentation, value - the Sportage sets new benchmarks in these areas for the price.

Powertrain performance, efficiency, driving dynamics and ride quality - the Sportage is unquestionably the best vehicle in its class when measured against those dynamic metrics as a whole.

And that is why it is, in our opinion, the best mid-size SUV in Australia right now.