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
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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