Thursday, July 21, 2016

One Year in Kia’s Feature-Filled Compact Crossover

The outside-temperature display read a startling 118 degrees, but I couldn’t have been any cooler inside the 2017 Kia Sportage. To cope with a surprise Southern California heat wave, the Sportage did its part with air-conditioning and a feature you still don’t see much under $35,000: cooled front seats. And although it’s cool Kia offers so many features at reasonable prices, there’s a lot more to owning a car than an impressive optional and standard features list. Sportage sales surged through the first half of 2016, and I’m looking forward to determining how much sense this new-for-2017 crossover makes for consumers brave enough to walk past top-sellers such as the Toyota RAV4Honda CR-V, and Ford Escape.



The Kia makes a good first impression, its as-tested $32,595 price representing a completely loaded model before moving from the volume engine to the upgrade option. The standard naturally aspirated, 181-hp, 2.4-liter inline-four produces 175 lb-ft of torque, is mated to a six-speed automatic, and in our long-termer has a $1,500 all-wheel-drive system. Above our EX model in the Sportage line is the SX, which is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four making either 237 hp with all-wheel drive or 240 hp with front-wheel drive, plus 260 lb-ft in either configuration. EPA-rated fuel economy isn’t class-leading with either engine, even with the EPA’s new test procedures for 2017; a Sportage 2.4 AWD is rated 21/25 mpg city/highway. In the Motor Trend-exclusive Real MPG tests, our Sportage achieved a 19.4/28.5 Real MPG rating, falling below the EPA’s city estimate but exceeding the rating on the highway.

Thanks to a couple packages, our Sportage EX with all-wheel drive includes a panoramic sunroof, power-folding side-view mirrors, a power-operated front passenger seat, active safety tech that can apply the brakes to reduce the impact of an imminent collision, an 8.0-inch touchscreen display, a heated steering wheel, navigation, heated and cooled front seats, and a power-operated liftgate that opens automatically when it senses you’re carrying the key fob near the opening for a few seconds.

We’ve also got polished 18-inch wheels, leather seats, and Kia’s Drive Mode Select feature, which can vary the car’s responsiveness and the weight of the steering. What we won’t ever have is the problem of seeing the same car on every block in suburban neighborhoods across the U.S.—leave that to the RAV4 and CR-V.

Kia might still draw in customers with its generous warranties, but value is a double-edged sword with the Sportage. Unlike many competitors, Kia offers a larger five- and seven-seat crossover, the Sorento, for only a few thousand dollars more than a Sportage. We expect our 2017 Sportage EX, with its smaller size, front/rear parking sensors, and rearview camera, to be easier to park than the Sorento. Compact crossovers can also be cross-shopped against similarly priced midsize sedans, but ultimately, the Sportage competes in a segment full of options. What it can offer compact-crossover buyers is something we’ll comprehensively answer in the year ahead.

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