It’s a sign of the times; new vehicle ranges coming here will likely arrive in staggered delivery dates for a few months yet, which will be challenging for auto distributors.

Take, for instance, the hotly anticipated fifth generation Kia Sportage, with its first to arrive model: the price leading LX Urban, which drew interest by virtue of its price rather than its spec’ level.
It would, I’m sure, have been better to launch Kia’s longest serving and most popular SUV flagship nameplate with more of a designer Calzone than a regular club sandwich.
Especially when there are some particularly tasty morsels bearing the Sportage badge headed our way: diesels, X-Lines, Deluxes, AWDs and likely a few more surprises to boot.
Still, the LX Urban model does demonstrate core elements of the Sportage, which will be seen on the rest of the range as they come into market. Indeed, the ‘drip feed’ might work out well for the Korean brand if it markets the Sportage carefully here.  
So, what does the entry level Sportage show us? For starters, this generation has a modern take on the familiar Tiger-nose grille.
More angular than before and bracketed by contemporary Boomerang framed diamond shaped light clusters, the look distinguishes the Sportage from the European-styled stretched lights which appear to wrap from the front to the side.
Gen 5 Sportage has grown and filled out in all the right places with generous dimensions comparable to Kia’s own seven-seat Sorento from 2014.
Kia’s designers have resisted the temptation to do exotic things with the sides of the vehicle.
A few subtle swage lines and muscle curves is about what you get, and you know? The vehicle looks so much the better for the design restraint.   
Round the back there has been a little designer input as well – though the jury’s still out on whether its appealing or not, but that’s a buyer’s call.  
The back end does, however, take us into the cavernous boot-space afforded by the Kia’s dimensional increases.
From 543 to 1829 litres, the Sportage’s whopping luggage capacity is representative of the in-cabin space for the vehicle occupants, probably best seen up front, where Kia’s designers have really pushed the boat out, delivering a very cohesive, driver-centric cockpit.
Yes, there are some familiar things like the T-shaped shifter for the six-speed auto, which came as something of a surprise since Kia has adopted the rotary dial for Sorento and Carnival.
The much more practical T-shifter looks a little out of place in the Sportage which Kia calls its most inspired SUV.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the T-shifter, and I love the angled infotainment touchscreen and HVAC controls.
Again however, it would have been more thrilling to find a 12.3" screen as in any of the other models, especially since the outer frame really does bring home the size of the 8" screen.
On the plus side, the air vents bracketing the dash really do give the cabin first, a good lot of air and second, a look in line with the external design elements of the nose, so ‘big ups’ there.
We’ve only got a little space left, so can only mention what we consider to be among the technical highlights, namely: tyre pressure monitoring, forward collision avoidance assistance for cars, pedestrians, cyclists and junctions, blind spot collision avoidance assist, lane keep and follow assist and trailer stability assist; well, this is a recreational vehicle after all.
Under the bonnet is a two-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, which – while capable – is about as inspiring as it sounds.
The multi-point injected engine is hard to get excited about compared to say, Kia’s 1.6 turbo or high torque common rail injected diesel found in Sportages to come, but the two-litre is a dependable engine, reflective of the fleet-friendly nature of the 2WD LX Urban model.