Reader Review: 2017 Kia Sportage SX

Redesigned for 2017, the latest Kia Sportage is a sleek and attractive-looking vehicle – that’s what Calgary driver Carol van Besouw thinks after spending a week with the top-of-the-line Sportage SX Turbo.

Van Besouw put the five-passenger compact crossover utility vehicle through its paces in the city and out on the highway. She discovered plenty to like, but also found a few items to quibble about.

“I liked the design of the headlights and the foglights, they were quite unique, I thought,” van Besouw says, and continues, “I liked the fact the mirrors had integrated signal lights and the body mouldings around the wheel arches should prevent paint chips. The rims were huge, and quite nice.

“However, I would think the roof rack would be a downfall because it would be easy to damage that large glass sunroof by dropping something on it that you might be trying to load.”

Interior view of the rear seat area of a 2016 Kia Sportage driven by Carol Van Besouw
Jim Wells, Postmedia Network

Kia’s Sportage has been available in various world markets since 1993, and first appeared in Canada late in 1999. The Sportage wasn’t available here for two years, but returned as a 2005 model year vehicle in its second generation. Third-generation vehicles ran from 2010 to 2016, and Kia just released the fourth-generation Sportage as a 2017 model year CUV.

Available in base LX, middle-of-the-road EX and top-trim SX models, the first two are powered by a 2.4-litre inline-four engine, while the SX features a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine. All models use the same six-speed automatic transmission, and Kia’s all-wheel drive system is optional in the EX and LX. The AWD feature is standard in the SX.

“We drove to Drumheller in a powerful storm,” van Besouw says. “It was raining and there was a heavy wind. The Sportage remained stable, and handled well. It wasn’t noisy, and the wipers did a great job of clearing almost the entire windshield.”

Of the three driving modes, Eco, Normal and Sport, van Besouw says, “There was no oomph when driving in the Eco mode, and I spent most of my time in Normal mode.

2016 Kia Sportage
Jim Wells, Postmedia Network

“The transmission shifted very smoothly, and I worked the gears myself on the hills,” van Besouw says of the $41,420 as-tested Scarlet Red Sportage. “The car performed just fine, but I wasn’t that impressed with the fuel economy, and why just a button for the parking brake? That should be a lever so it can be used in case of emergency.”

Van Besouw spent three years as a driving instructor with the Alberta Motor Association, and she and her husband currently own a 2009 Lexus ES 350 and a 2007 Subaru Impreza. They did maintain a 2007 Kia Rondo from new, and their son now owns that vehicle with more than 270,000 kilometres on it.

“I’ve always considered Kias to be cheaper vehicles,” van Besouw admits. But she adds, “After driving this new Sportage, I’d say the company is quickly improving."

The height of the Sportage makes getting into either the driver or passenger seats an easy proposition, van Besouw thinks. Once in the 10-way power adjustable driver’s chair, van Besouw found it easy to position so she could reach the controls and the steering wheel.

“But, when I held the wheel at the proper 9 and 3 o’clock position, my right hand partially hid the speedometer, and I was forced to use the digital readout in the centre of the instrument cluster.”

2016 Kia Sportage
Jim Wells, Postmedia Network

The eight-inch touchscreen in the console includes GPS information and also displays the image from the rear camera. Not affected by bright sunlight, the screen remained clear and easy to see at all times. The dashboard itself was a dull black finish and didn’t reflect in the windshield.

“The interior finishes all felt durable, but the perforated leather on the heated and cooled seats seemed to trap quite a bit of lint,” van Besouw says.

When seated, van Besouw couldn’t see the edge of the hood through the windshield. She likes to know exactly where the vehicle she’s driving begins and ends, but says the front and rear proximity sensors did help. Shoulder checking wasn’t an issue as there were no rearward blind spots, but the A-pillars on either side of the windshield were “thick.”

There was plenty of room for luggage or other gear, and van Besouw says the rear seats will easily fold forward to increase cargo carrying capacity. An adult passenger sitting in the rear seat for a few hours during the trip to Drumheller did not feel worn out upon their return.

2016 Kia Sportage
Jim Wells, Postmedia Network

“Handing back the keys, my parting thoughts were the vehicle was too expensive with too many extras – but that’s just me. Somebody else might like all of the extra systems and redundant controls.

“While I wouldn’t buy one, I could easily recommend it as a family vehicle,” van Besouw concludes. “It’s very stable, and it’s also very comfortable.”

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Kia Is Looking To Hydrogen For Future Cars

Not all automakers are big fans of electrification. Kia is joining the ranks of companies like Toyota that are looking to hydrogen fuel-cell technology as a way we all get around in the future.

During a recent interview with Auto Express, chief engineer Albert Biermann emphasized that Kia will keep supporting the Soul EV, even though it won’t be working on a future “Tesla fighter” model. Instead, look for a fuel cell Kia production car in about two years, which could use the second-gen Hyundai fuel-cell powertrain tech.

This might make electric car fans laugh or shake their heads sadly. The current trends in the market point toward electricity as the future fuel of choice for vehicles. It’s important to note that Toyota isn’t exactly jumping on the EV bandwagon, throwing its support behind hydrogen fuel cells, and that’s a big deal.

Kia does sell some hybrid cars. There’s a hybrid version of the Optima, and the Niro hybrid is set to launch late in 2016. Eventually, Kia plans to develop a new EV, but it wants to focus on a fuel-cell model first as a way of covering bases. So Kia isn’t exactly abandoning electrification, it’s just really pushing forward on hydrogen more for right now.

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Kia Motors America Celebrates Record High In Certified Pre-Owned Sales

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a record-setting month of new-vehicle sales in July, Kia's commitment to affordable excellence extends to pre-owned vehicles, too, as the Korean brand celebrates an all-time sales high in the CPO segment this summer.

Autodata's July CPO retail sales report confirms that when it comes to pre-owned vehicles, Kia is one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry, with an impressive three percent market share in Certified Pre-Owned sales for the month of July. Following an all-time high in June, July marks Kia's second-strongest month in CPO sales ever. With gains of over 20 percent in both months over the same periods last year, these consecutive sales records give the automaker major reason to celebrate its CPO segment this summer.

Kia's sales boost is reflective of an overall industry trend, with CPO sales on the rise in a major way. Previously dominated almost exclusively by the luxury market, leasing is now more widely available across all brands. As vehicles come off lease, they create a substantial pool of late-model, low-mileage cars that can be remarketed as Certified Pre-Owned. "With household budgets squeezed, CPO vehicles represent a great opportunity for consumers, especially Kia customers who place such emphasis on affordability and value," said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at AutoTrader.

KMA's rigorous CPO program accepts only Kia vehicles that are five years or newer with fewer than 60,000 miles on the odometer and every vehicle undergoes a meticulous 150-point Quality Assurance inspection by certified Kia technicians. CPO vehicles also come with Kia's industry-leading 10-year /100,000-mile powertrain warranty[2] and 12-month /12,000 mile-Platinum Coverage. Whether it's the iconic Soul, the standout Sportage, or the midsize Optima sedan that drivers desire, customers get a great price matched with guaranteed quality, bypassing the stress, risk and uncertainty that typically comes with buying a used car.

There's no slowdown in sight for the Certified Pre-Owned market. In 2015, total CPO sales across all brands hit a high of 2.6 million vehicles, while Kia has seen double-digit gains in CPO sales (12 percent from January to April) as more vehicles come off-lease. "CPO sales growth will skyrocket in the near future, approaching three million in the next couple of years and surpassing four million by the end of the decade," predicted Krebs. "A robust CPO program will be critical to automakers and their dealers to build sales and customer loyalty, and maintain strong residual values for leasing customers and buyers trading in their vehicles."

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Honey, I shrunk the Sportage: Kia to leap into the compact crossover segment

Kia wants a slice of the lucrative compact crossover segment. The South Korean firm has all but confirmed that it’s busily developing an entry-level soft-roader built on the same platform as the next-gen Rio that’s set to make its debut next year.

Visually, the crossover will stay true to Kia’s current design language with styling cues such as the company’s trademarked “tiger nose” grille, swept-back headlights, and a tall belt line. Its cabin will offer seating for up to five passengers, like the Rio’s, but it will boast a higher seating position, more space for the rear occupants, and a bigger trunk.

The Rio on stilts will launch with a gasoline-burning, four-cylinder engine. Front-wheel drive will be the only configuration available because sales figures show that buyers in the market for a compact crossover are rarely interested in all-wheel drive. A four-banger, an automatic transmission, and front-wheel drive sounds like par for the course in the segment, but Kia has another trick up its sleeve.

British magazine Auto Express has learned that the crossover could get a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain a little later in its production run. The electric bits and pieces — including a compact electric motor integrated into a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission — will be borrowed from the brand new 2017 Niro (pictured), but the 1.6-liter will be replaced by something smaller.

The yet-unnamed crossover will reportedly land a few months after the Rio, which is tentatively scheduled to debut during next year’s edition of the Geneva Auto Show. That means the soft-roader could break cover at the 2017 edition of the New York Auto Show, and go on sale shortly after in time for the 2018 model year. Pricing will start in the vicinity of $20,000, which will put it in the same price bracket as the Nissan Juke, the Jeep Renegade/Fiat 500X cousins, and the Honda HR-V.

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Kia Motors America Announces Record July Sales

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the best first half performance in company history, Kia Motors America (KMA) today reported best-ever July sales of 59,969 units, up 6.5 percent over the same period last year. The brand's sixth monthly sales record in seven months included:

• The highest July sales totals for the Forte family of compact cars and Sportage compact CUV in company history
• Double digit increases for Rio, Forte, Sportage and Sedona over July 2015

"Showroom traffic and sales have shot up over the last six weeks since J.D. Power recognized Kia as the highest scoring nameplate in the industry for initial quality and bestowed four APEAL awards to our world-class offerings in some of the largest and most competitive segments," said Michael Sprague, chief operating officer and EVP, KMA. "With the market cooling and customers looking for smart choices, these recent accolades reflect the satisfaction of our owners – many of whom are new to the Kia brand – and help strengthen our position as so much more than simply a value leader."

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Kia GT RWD Four-Door Coupe To Launch Six Years After Concept's 2011 Debut

Next year, the production-variant of Kia's 2011 GT concept car will hit the market and offer a package previously unseen from the carmaker.

Some five years in the making, the road-going Kia GT is expected to remain true to the formula of the concept. That means it will retain the four-door coupe-like design and be available exclusively with rear-wheel drive, promising much better dynamics than Kia's other rear-wheel model, the K900 sedan.

While some had hoped the concept would in fact spawn a true two-door coupe, Hyundai-Kia design boss Peter Schreyer said that there simply isn't enough demand for the company to produce such a model.

“I think that acceptance or demand for two-door models has changed. I think it’s more towards four-door coupés or saloons, or coupé-like saloons, if that’s what you want to call them. Two-door coupés are a little bit on the decline. It would be nice to make a new coupé, but if there is no demand, what’s the point?” he said.

When it reaches the market as Kia's range-topping model, the GT will be available with a plethora of different engines. One of those is expected to be a derivative of the 315 hp turbocharged four-banger that debuted within the GT4 Stinger concept. Elsewhere we're expecting to see a 2.2-liter diesel with 197 hp and a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 squeezing out 380 hp in standard guise. With some tweaking, power from this engine could exceed the 425 hp of the BMW M4.

The car's name remains somewhat of a mystery. It certainly won't be called the GT but with a launch next year, we won't have to wait too long to find out.

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Short Report: 2016 Kia Optima SX is an impressive all-rounder in the midsize family sedan class

When I started working in the auto industry back in 2000, Kia was antithetical to quality and reliability. Despite low prices and, starting at around the same time, an industry-leading warranty, consumers told me that buying a Kia made them nervous, that choosing one represented a risk, and that the issues they expected to crop up would create inconvenience.

Plus, back then, Kias weren’t exactly easy on the eyes.

But now, in 2016, the times they have a-changed, and Kia has become a brand to watch. Just ask LeBron James. While the King himself does not drive a 2016 Kia Optima, the nearly loaded SX model that I tested commands attention even without his endorsement. It’s sharp looking, fun to drive, and feature-for-feature is one of the best-priced midsize sedans out there.

A family car with attitude...

With Kia’s signature tiger-nose grille, the Optima SX looks like it’s ready to pounce, without being overly aggressive. The grille has elegance, wrapping gently into crisp bi-Xenon HID headlights. A sloping roofline means the car looks pulled taut, ready to perform. It’s an athlete on the starting line, or as the case may be, a family car with some attitude.

My test model, the SX Turbo with Premium Technology Package, came well equipped, as it should for a sticker price of $35,315. The SX’s black leather interior, accented with red stitching, looks sporty, upscale, and especially sharp with the Remington red exterior. The dash has what I would call a traditional, if somewhat old-school, look. It screams of a German design influence: simple, with clean lines and nicely integrated materials.

Unfortunately, some of the interior details looked or felt cheap, not quite matching the Optima’s upscale look.

For example, the side mirror controls seemed misaligned in my test car. The print on the infotainment system’s hard keys also seemed like it would not wear well over time. Small details. More concerning is that the more I drove on the rough city streets of Los Angeles, the more rattles I heard.

Maybe it’s due to lingering bias, but I couldn’t help but wonder: How will this car hold up in the long run? On the other hand, while I was in possession of the Optima J.D. Power released its 2016 Initial Quality Study (IQS), where Kia topped the list of brands for quality, making it the first non-luxury brand to do so in 27 years. Maybe it’s time I squash that old bias, once and for all?

...amped up by a long list of luxury car details

The number of features on my test model blew me away. The 12-way power adjustable driver’s seat with 4-way lumbar was impressive enough, but add to this an 8-way power adjustable passenger seat with 2-way lumbar, and Kia is beating some of the luxury competitors at their own game. You might be surprised to know that a height adjustable passenger seat, powered or otherwise, is not a given, even for a luxury brand.

Other upgraded features included memory for the driver’s seating position, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, automatic power-folding side mirrors, a Harman Kardon premium surround sound audio system, and a 360-degree Surround View Monitor, which is a savior in tight parking situations. And that’s just the start...

Impressive user-friendly technology...

The layout of the Infotainment system is intuitive. The clearly labeled hard keys can be used to toggle between functions, but I did not use them because I preferred the large 8-inch touch screen, which proved responsive and easy to use. My only complaint is that the virtual “home” button could be larger and easier to spot.

Kia’s voice recognition technology worked surprisingly well. The system recognized most of what I said, even if it was rather slow to respond. Still, I would rather have a slow system that understands me than a fast system that keeps saying, “Pardon?” until I’m ready to throw something at the screen.

As this review was written, only Android Auto smartphone projection technology is offered on the 2016 Optima. I’m a Mac girl, but I did not miss Apple CarPlay because the vehicle’s Your Voice (UVO) infotainment system proved sufficient for my purposes. I did, however, engage Siri Eyes Free for one key function: voice texting.

...combined with a full suite of driver assistance features

The SX Turbo’s Technology Package includes many driver assistance features, and they are impressive. For example, the Advanced Smart Cruise Control’s braking and accelerating was seamless and subtle. The blind spot warning system was alert, expertly picking up cars and motorcycles zipping past, and the lane departure warning system was responsive almost to a fault, especially on winding roads. Thank goodness for the “off” button.

However, just as I was getting giddy about their capabilities, I had a quibble with the forward collision warning system’s alerts, which were so subtle I almost missed them. I know the point of this technology is to assist you and not to jar you with too many ringing bells and flashing lights. Still, if the warnings are so subtle to not grab your attention when distracted, how are they ultimately going to prevent accidents?

A little stutter when stepping on the gas...

The Optima SX is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that delivers 245 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. While the engine is plenty powerful, I found the 6-speed automatic transmission to shift roughly, especially in stop-and-go-traffic, or to delay shifts, such as when punching it to get out of another driver’s way. Part of the hesitation I felt could be attributed to turbo lag, which was barely noticeable. Typically, when accelerating hard in a straight line, it didn’t take much to get this midsize sedan moving.

...but capable and enjoyable the more it’s driven

On open roads, the more I drove the SX, the more I liked it. It feels like a big car, but when pushed, it’s surprisingly agile, capable and fun in many driving conditions.

Steering is precise if a bit heavy, and I didn’t feel much body roll when taking canyon curves, even if I did slide around in my seat a bit. The Optima SX may not be exactly what I would call a true “sport sedan,” but it certainly pumps up the excitement more than is expected from a front-wheel-drive sedan that is racking up accolades as a top choice among “family cars.”

There are certainly plenty of family car seekers who still want to enjoy their drive, and the Optima SX delivers, with reasonable gas mileage. The EPA rating in combined driving is 25 mpg, which is exactly what I observed on my test drive loop.

The 2016 Kia Optima SX is no bench warmer

In the midsize sedan segment, there are many strong players. The Optima SX is no equivalent to LeBron James, though I’m not sure any of Optima’s direct competitors are either. Instead, consider this Kia to be an incredible supporting player like Tristan Thompson. He looks like he’s happy to be in the game, plays hard and does his job consistently, and brings genuine value to the team.

The 2016 Kia Optima SX is no different. It looks sporty without being flashy, provides consistently solid performance and handling, and offers a ton of value in its class. It is the automotive equivalent of a pro athlete who can hang with the stars, and it is certainly worthy of your attention.

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