Kia Sportage review

The Kia Sportage is a bit like a Smeg fridge, in the way that it’s an essential part of a family home that has been styled to make it seem more trendy. You may be considering the Sportage if you’re also looking at family SUVs, such as the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Qashqai.

You’re certainly not likely to lose the Sportage in a supermarket car park. The boomerang-style LED running lights up front and the big “tiger nose” grille give it presence that is only really matched by the Hyundai Tucson. The rear of the car also gets some funky-looking LED lights and the whole car is covered in bold creases and angles. It certainly stands out, but we’ll let you draw your own conclusions on the styling.

The interior is slightly more subdued, but not in a bad way. The materials in your direct eyeline are soft touch and there are plenty of metallic details around the place to liven it up, although it’s not quite as snazzy as a Peugeot 3008’s cabin. If you look lower down you’ll find some harder plastics, but this isn’t uncommon for cars in this class and overall the build quality is solid.

Hidden in the huge panel on the dash you’ll find two 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment and drivers display. Both are easy to use and customise as you’d like, however the climate control can be fiddly. There are touch sensitive shortcut buttons below the main display, but these can be tricky to figure out on the move.

At least space is plentiful. Up front, both the driver and passenger will have plenty of room. Rear seat passengers shouldn’t have any complaints either, as there is adequate knee and head room. Fitting a child seat won’t throw up any challenges as the rear doors open nice and wide and it has impressive space in the boot, with it only lagging behind the Hyundai Tucson.

The Kia Sportage may not be the most comfortable family SUV on the market, but it’s spacious, well-equipped and makes a great all-rounder.

Out on the road, the Sportage is easy to drive. The forward visibility is good and the light steering makes low-speed manoeuvres a breeze. It feels secure on a twisty road and it doesn’t roll too much in the bends, but if it’s fun you’re looking for then check out the Ford Kuga. It’s relaxing on the motorway, even though the ride is a little on the firm side and it can feel a little unsettled over bumps.

The Kia Sportage is available with a range of engines including petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options. The petrol and diesel models can be paired to either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed automatic, while the hybrids are automatic only. If you go for the standard hybrid model, it has plenty of punch for overtaking and the petrol engine cuts in and out smoothly as it switches to and from electric power. The pricier plug-in hybrid, meanwhile, can manage an impressive real-world electric range of about 40 miles – which is fantastic if you want to save a bit of money at the fuel pumps and on company car tax.

There’s plenty of safety kit on board, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. There is also something called Blind Spot Collision Avoidance, which can detect if you’re turning into the path of a car and automatically steer to try and avoid an incident. All this makes it very safe, however sometimes the systems can be a little bit sensitive and unnecessarily cut in too readily.

This aside however, the Kia Sportage would make a great addition to any family’s driveway thanks to its practicality, technology and unique styling. It’s just a shame that the ride is a bit firmer than some would like.

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