This was the right cross Kia should have led with when it introduced the new generation Sportage, since it exemplifies the message Kia is wanting to send regarding its new product lines.
The last Kia we drove – the 2022 Carnival, and indeed the Sorento before that – came across as outstanding vehicles.
We were running out of superlatives for the Kia brand then and now along comes the top-of-the-range X-Line diesel Sportage and…well, we’re almost at a loss for words…
The Korean prowess with designing super smooth diesel engines is now almost a by-word in the auto industry and Kia’s 4 cylinder, 2-litre turbo diesel matched to the slick e-shift 8-speed rotary dial transmission, emphasises the point.
So quiet on the inside, it makes you wonder if you have a diesel engine there at all, but the pull away power – torque – is a dead giveaway as is the end of trip fuel consumption figures with Kia’s litre per 100km being an excellent average since we saw minor variation on either side.
Sportage continues to sit well among its peers in this sense physically as well. Tucked in neatly between Seltos and Sorento, it does afford the opportunity for excellent internal dimensions, with comfortable – genuine leather – seating for five, with power adjustment, heating and ventilation for front seats – with 543 to 1829 litres of boot space for all the requisite toys a getaway SUV is required to carry.
The front office is very definitely driver biased in terms of its screens and controls, though the twin 12.3” touchscreens are large enough when put side by side that the left seater feels their position was included in the cabin design.
They can amuse themselves by altering the in-cabin mood lighting or adjusting the sound from the Harman Kardon Premium system found in the X-Line and its stablemate, the Deluxe model, both of which carry 8 speakers as opposed to the regular 6.
At this point, Sportage had not been run through the ANCAP testing programme, but a 5 star is expected, given the long and distinguished list of safety features and the rest of the product range ticks the boxes consistently.
Given the Sportage is an All-Wheel-Drive in this instance and has the electronic drive select feature of all the Sportage models for varying tractive surface control, we thought it best to find some suitably challenging roads and put the Sportage through its paces on roads we would expect to see them travelling on.
Sadly, snow is rare in Auckland this time of year and deadlines precluded a trip to Ruapehu, however, we did find adequate tarmac, badly maintained and unpredictable tarmac, gravel (small and large) a little bit of sand and a lot of livestock muck surface treatment (can we export this? Ed.).
Throughout all, the Sportage delivered the same message: torque is the answer to everything, with sure-footed and confident drive characteristics demonstrated at every opportunity.
The mid-sized SUV from Kia is – if you can get your head around this – brilliant in its capability without being glaringly outstanding in any given aspect -- except for the sound of silence from that sweet oil burning engine. In summary, Sportage is excellent, and there’s no surprise about that.
Some may be thinking “but why does the best one have to be a diesel?” Stop whining about it, go for a spin and let the X-Line Sportage show you why (happily for true drivers) the ICE Age ain’t over yet.
SPECIFICATIONS
Kia Sportage X-LINE DIESEL AWD
BODY TYPE
5-door SUV
DRIVE
All wheel/ e-shift 8-speed auto
ENGINE TYPE
4-cylinder, CRDi diesel
ENGINE CAPACITY
1998cc
MAX POWER
137kW
MAX TORQUE
416Nm
L/100KM (COMBINED)
6.3
CO2 EMISSIONS
181 g/km
ANCAP RATING
Not tested (expected 5 star)
PRICE
$62,990 (list)
