2022 Kia Sportage Buyers guide

If you’re shopping for a mid-size SUV, you are far from alone. This is the type of vehicle that more Australians buy than any other. Of the 1.1 million new cars, utes, vans and trucks sold in Australia every year, one in six is a mid-size SUV like the Kia Sportage or Toyota RAV4 or Mitsubishi Outlander.

We could go on and list the 20 different vehicles vying for your attention in this category, and the hundreds of permutations therein, but we won’t. 

Instead we’ll tell you that the Kia Sportage won the 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV category, and therefore is our pick of the bunch. 

The Sportage overcame one of the strongest fields we’ve seen in recent history to beat last year’s champion, the Toyota RAV4, and another all-new rival, the Mitsubishi Outlander. 

The Sportage’s sharp new styling certainly makes for a good first impression, but it’s what’s under the skin that powered the Sportage to victory.

For starters, the Kia Sportage has grown in size this time around. It’s 175mm longer and rides on an 85mm longer wheelbase, which means it has more useable space inside, particularly in the back seats and cargo bay.

The cabin is a very classy affair, from the affordable Sportage S ($35,690 drive-away with automatic) to the affluent Sportage GT-Line ($54,990 drive-away at the time of testing). This is one area where Kia has stepped its game up the most, making the Sportage interior a more desirable place to be than the once unbeatable Toyota RAV4. Technology integration and effectiveness are also markedly better than before, and arguably best-in-class in terms of visual impressiveness and ease of use.

OUR PICK: Kia Sportage SX diesel auto, $42,400 plus ORC

Navigating the 11-variant Kia Sportage range can be challenging, but we’re here to help. 

There’s no denying that the most expensive GT-Line gets all the goodies, but even the base Sportage S is generously equipped, boasting a touchscreen entertainment system, wireless smartphone connectivity, LED headlights and tail-lights, alloy wheels and a full-size spare. 

A full suite of active safety technology is also standard, including autonomous emergency braking with junction support, lane-follow assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. 

Variants with automatic transmissions also have adaptive cruise control, an electric parking brake, and the ability for the blind-spot and rear cross-traffic systems to brake for obstacles rather than just detect them.

The next step to whittle down the options is to ignore the entry-level ‘S’ specification because even though it gets all the active and passive safety features of the more expensive variants, it misses out on a few important creature comforts. 

Step up to the SX and you get soft-touch armrests, rain-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate control, satellite navigation, wired apple carplay and digital radio -- and a 12.3-inch central touchscreen which controls many of those features.

We’d also look beyond the three petrol engines in favour of the 2,0-litre turbodiesel, because its torquey nature makes it an easier and more relaxed powertrain around town, and it has the muscle when you need to accelerate quickly. The fact that it has the best combined fuel economy of the lot is an added bonus. Plus it comes standard with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

That’s why the Kia Sportage SX is, in our opinion, the pick of the range when it comes to the winner of the 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV.

Read more about 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV Award

Read about all other 2022 Drive Car of the Year categories and winners

Buying now? View new Kia Sportage models in stock