I’ve been driving the all-new Kia Sportage for more than a week now and it’s hard not to be impressed. Just as the larger Sorento is a massive departure from what’s gone before, so its baby brother is also a real step forward. For the Korean company that used to be a ‘budget’ choice for drivers who just wanted something to get them from A to B, these are seriously good cars. If you take corporate fleet sales out of the equation, Kia is the UK’s fastest growing car brand and it’s ahead of the pack because it’s selling excellent products.
So to the Sportage; if you’re looking for a stylish, well-built and well-specced compact SUV at the moment, you’d be a fool not to consider it. There’s a number of things I really like about it. The exterior design is modern without being too fussy and the two-tone wheels look very smart. There’s real attention to detail, too. Check out the subtle kink in the top edge of the windscreen. Every other vehicle on the road just has a straight line there.
These cars are what Kia is calling the First Edition models, a limited run of 2.0-litre diesel all-wheel drive cars with extra kit on them. They’re priced at £20,777 and all the customer needs to do it pick whether they want manual or automatic, and which of five colours they fancy. I quite like this burnt orange but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. More options, including smaller engines and two-wheel drive, will come later in the year.
Kia continues to impress with every new model, and with replacements for the Rio and Picanto due within 12 months, its status as a serious UK player is only going to grow.
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