2019 Kia Sportage
Much like the Nissan Qashqai, the Kia Sportage is something of a knee-jerk choice when it comes to family cars. Both cars offer you plenty of space and lots of kit and at a price you won’t struggle to justify.
The trim structure in the Sportage is easy enough to comprehend. You simply get 1, 2, 4, Edition 25, GT Line and finally the range topping GT Line S. You might expect the powerful all-wheel drive diesel in the sporty GT Line to be the most popular amongst car buyers but you’d be mistaken. It is in fact the 1.6 litre petrol in the 2 level trim. Why are we telling you this? Well, for a start there’s nothing in this car that suggests that you’re sitting in the second from bottom of the trim line. You get sat nav, climate control and even a little screen that sits in between the dials that plays a funny sound when you get in and out. You even get a reversing camera. Ok, this car isn’t trimmed like your average Bentley but on the other hand it doesn’t look offensively cheap either. The dashboard top is a bit shiny and there a plethora of blank plastic around the buttons but otherwise it’s not too bad at all. There’s a huge range of driving positions available depending on whether you want to be drop-down low or right up on your high-horse. All in all, you can quite easily imagine yourself going into a Kia dealership and saying to yourself, yeah this will do nicely, why bother spending more?
Around at the back you’ll find that the rear doors are large enough to make it easy getting in and out. Once you’re sitting in the back of the Sportage you’ll discover that you have an enormous amount of space even with the driver seat set as far back as it can go. You can also fit three adults across the back though the shoulder room might be a bit tight. The only negative thing we can say about the rear is that the door bins are not very big and the seats pockets aren’t anything to sing about either. There are also no USB sockets at the back so you’re kids are going to struggle to keep their gadgets charged on those long journeys. You can easily avoid this issue altogether by opting for the 4 or GT Line S spec or just making your kids read a good book.
Not only is the Sportage’s boot a good size but Kia also gives you the option of a flat-load floor or maximum load height. Unfortunately, the steeply angled plastic wheel intrusions are going to easily collect scratches if you’re not careful. One thing that’s quite good is the sheer ferocity in which the rear seats fold and as such giving you a flat load floor. The only problem is that they’re obviously powered by an enormous spring so getting them back up again can be quite arduous.
Four things you should know before buying a Kia Sportage
1. Kia’s warranty is one of the longest in the business offering buyers 7 years and 100,000 miles of worry-free motoring. It’s even transferrable when the time comes to sell the car.
2. Even the base sec cars come with lots of standard equipment including a 7-inch touchscreen display with Apple Car Play and Android Auto connectivity. You also get a reversing camera and alloy wheels.
3. Recessed storage in the boot can be used to store the tonneau cover to top it rattling around a common problem in so many other cars.
4. The tubocharged 1.6 litre petrol engine may sound small but it is in fact the fastest accelerating Sportage available hitting 0-62 miles per hour (mph) in 8.8 seconds.
Rather unusually nowadays the 1.6 litre petrol engine in the Sportage doesn’t have a turbo fitted. This means that the power delivery is quite relaxed to say the least. It just doesn’t pick up as well as you’d hope and needs an awful amount of revs in order to make decent progress. The other problem with this is that if you do give it a load of revs then it gets very noisy indeed and you don’t get a lot of acceleration to show for it. The good news is that this car is a lot quieter at low revs than a comparative diesel engine. This unit is also cheaper to run than the turbocharged 1.6 litre petrol by using less fuel and less CO2. Also, its service intervals are twice as long so in a lot of ways it’s a much smarter choice. Diesel power, particularly the 48 volt mild hybrid engine, offers considerably more flexibility but you need to bear in mind that it will cost you way more to buy in the first place.
While the Sportage is no SEAT Ateca you may be surprised to hear that it is actually pretty fun to drive. Even with the two-wheel-drive configuration you’ll find that there’s plenty of grip and there’s far less body-roll than you’d expect in a car of this seize. If you opt for a trim with 17-inch alloys wheels then you’ll find that they suit the car really well both in terms of style and in terms of the way that the car rides. Ok, there’s a bit of jigglyness that you wouldn’t get in a hatchback but overall the Sportage is comfortably and supportively sprung.
While it won’t appeal to everybody, the naturally aspirated 1.6 litre petrol engine is arguably the greatest all-rounder of the range and certainly the best choice if you’re on a budget. However, if you’re a company car driver then you’re going to be better suited to the 1.6 or 2.0 litre diesel. For those of you that are looking for the ultimate in Sportage performance then you should head straight to the 1.6 litre turbo with all-wheel-drive in GT Line trim.
In summary, if you’re looking for a car that drives like a hatchback but is equally comfortable when loaded up with your mountain bike then the Kia Sportage is certainly worth considering. The 2019 Kia Sportage was never going to be the most exciting car on the market but it’s a very practical car. This practicality is its main purpose and we’d have to say it serves it pretty well. If you’re on the lookout for used Kia Sportage cars for sale then head to DesperateSeller.co.uk where we have one of the widest selections available.
