Saturday, March 7, 2015

Kia Sportage LX Diesel 4x4 Is Easy to Like

Last year Kia updated its popular Sportage range by introducing a new 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine but that isn't the subject here.

For the company also released an entry version of its 4WD diesel Sportage, known as the LX Diesel which sells for $44,240, complete with five-year/100,000km warranty.

For those wanting a decent, spacious, well designed SUV with reasonable specification this is worth a look. But don't overlook the LX Urban petrol at $10k less.
NEW FRONT-END – It’s the bits upfront that have changed
Tom Gasnier/Fairfax NZ

If you dig diesels, this one isn't hard to like.

So it only spins to around 4000rpm but it has grunt galore from 1500rpm, and with a six-speed auto there seems to be a gear for every occasion. Yes, there's turbo lag, but it's momentary. The 2.0-litre R-Series diesel is good for 135kW but also produces just shy of 400Nm of torque, from 1800 to 2500rpm so it's right in the zone for regular everyday driving. That makes it quite frugal, registering low eights for fuel consumption in the city, not much above the quoted average of 7.2L/100km.

This time it seemed a bit quicker than when we last drove it, the 0-100 time a snappy 8.5sec (down from 8.8 previously). It has enough urge for easy overtaking too, with a best 80-120km/h time of 6.3sec. This is much quicker than the old petrol engine, though we'd imagine the new direct injection unit gives the diesel a run for its money. A braked towing figure of 1600kg seems conservative.

A few other changes have been made to enhance the refinement of the Sportage drive. Key to these are mounting bushes for the front subframe, more rigid transmission attachment and a laminated soundproof windscreen.

Subtle styling tweaks externally include a refashioned grille, fresh alloy designs (17-inch) and a new fin roof antenna. Moving inside, there are new finishes, including increased use of soft touch plastics and new trim. Added features include interior mood lighting, rain-sensing wipers and automatic light control. It looks and feels well built too, out of Kia's new factory in Slovakia.

How did we find it? A hoot.

The muscular engine is its most characterful aspect while the rest is at least reasonable. The engineering tweaks have made the Sportage quieter, and we had trouble achieving dB readings of much over 70 on our test roads. Even the engine sound is muted. Ride quality is equally agreeable, the tall shoulders of the Optimo rubber contributing, as does suspension tweaking for "local" conditions in Australia.

Up our test hill the Sportage performed passably, and is reasonably agile providing you don't push too hard and trigger ESP. There's no FlexSteer here – that's on the Limited – but we found the electric steering decent. The weighting is good, feedback perceptible and it even turns quite keenly.

Practically speaking, the luggage space is not enormous because of a high floor but Kia quotes 564-1353L. We imagine that's to the roofline.

There's a lot of competition in this space, the key rival being CX-5. The Kia is about as quick, and costs about $3000 less, even if it isn't as well equipped (manual air, no sat nav) as the Mazda GSX. However, the range begins at $34,240 for the LX Urban 2WD petrol variant whereas CX-5 starts at just under $40k and it's the petrol LX is where we'd be looking first.

The Stats

Model Kia Sportage LX Diesel 4x4

Price $44,240

Engine 1995cc IL4, TDI, 135kW@4000rpm, 392Nm@1800-2500rpm

Transmission 6-speed auto, all-wheel drive

Vitals 0-100km/h 8.5sec, 7.2L/100km, 189g/km, 1664kg

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