First UK drive: the new Kia Sportage, so cool

That looks like a car I might actually buy…

It is. This is the new Kia Sportage – Kia’s latest attempt at nicking sales from the seemingly unstoppable Nissan Qashqai.

Tell me about it.

This one’s a ‘GT-Line’. Akin to M Sport or AMG Line – i.e. some of the looks, none of the performance – it adds a flat-bottomed steering wheel, fancy alloys and stainless steel pedals among other things.

As you’d expect, many engines are available. We went for the mid-power 2.0-litre diesel, which has 134bhp, a six-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive. 0-62mph takes 10.1 seconds and the top speed is 114mph. Kia claims 54.3mpg (stick to motorways and you’ll get close) and 139g/km of CO2.

I’m not sure I like the way it looks…

Give it time. We weren’t completely sold on the front-end when we first saw it at last year’s Frankfurt motor show, but it’s a grower. Unqualified as we are to issue style advice, the Sportage definitely ranks among the more interesting looking crossovers. And for some that might appeal, especially over the kinda anonymous Qashqai, one of which you’ll see every two minutes if you reside in the UK. 

What’s it like inside?

Broadly very nice, especially with the finely appointed seats of GT-Line trim, and some smart ergonomics, the result of opting for sense over style when it comes to laying out buttons.

But there are odd little annoyances, such as inconveinetly placed cupholders if you’ve got the manual gearbox, and the really curious Windows 98-like jingle the car plays whenever you get in and out. A bit like the ‘Power, Beauty, Soul’ that appears when you start up an Aston, it’s no doubt to forge Kia some identity. But you can turn it off, and you should.

Meanwhile, use the car’s sat nav and its overbearing traffic alerts might just convince you to resort to tacking your phone to the dash and using that instead. These are minor complaints, we admit. But it’s a competitive class, and everything adds up.

And the rest?

There’s ample space for people and things – the boot is handily bigger than a Qashqai’s – and it actually looks pretty smart. Where it falls down is in the quality of some of the materials. They’re mostly fine, but you’ll soon see where Kia’s saved money.  

How does it drive?

Quite well. Like the Qashqai and related Hyundai Tucson, it’s not the last word in dynamism, but that’s ok. There’s plenty of grip, particularly from if you’ve gone for four-wheel drive, and the 2.0-litre diesel tested here is both punchy and refined enough to fade away comfortably into the background. Our chief complaint is the ride, which is most definitely on the wrong side of firm. Chances are it’s a bit tamer on smaller wheels.

Go on then, how much?

For this one? £25,850, but you can spend upwards of £31k, or as little as £18k.

Ultimately, we reckon the Qashqai’s a more well-rounded thing, but we’d quite happily recommend the Sportage nonetheless. It’s still class-competitive. Maybe spec smaller wheels to better the ride, but all told, it’s a nice thing.

The last Sportage was a sales success – accounting for more than a quarter of all Kias sold in Europe last year – and this new one is already doing rather well. Last month it was among the UK’s top ten best sellers.