Kia Sportage Pricing and Specs

The 2021 Sportage range covers a variety of towing capacities depending on what engine and transmission are fitted and whether the example in question features all-wheel-drive or front-wheel-drive.

So, in no particular order, the Sportage with front-wheel-drive can tow up to 1600kg with a braked trailer, the AWD petrol can tow 1500kg, the AWD diesel has a towing maximum of 1900kg and the facelifted 1.6-litre petrol with the dual-clutch transmission can cope with 1650kg (all with the same braked trailer).

With a trailer with no brakes, the maximum towing capacity for any 2021 Kia Sportage is 750kg.

The allowable maximum tow-ball weight for the Sportage will have been calculated by Kia using all the available information from the car's weight distribution to the spring rates, the ride height and wheelbase measurements and even the way the rear structure of the car is physically constructed. So that's what you should stick to and, yes, 100kg is the official tow-ball weight for this vehicle.

The theory that holds that tow-ball weight should be 10 per cent of the towed weight (while the reality for a lot of makes and models) is really just that; a theory, a rule of thumb, and definitely not a hard and fast rule. As such, there's nothing to force car-makers to stick to it. Which is why Kia hasn't for the Sportage.

There's another school of thought in other countries that the tow-ball weight should actually be closer to five per cent of the towed mass, at which point the Kia's limit starts to make more sense.

This situation will turn out very differently depending on whether the car is still under Kia's factory warranty, or an aftermarket warranty sold by the dealership when the car was bought by your daughter. It will also depend on whether the cracked transmission case was due to a flaw or something thrown up off the road (which would count as accidental, not warranty, damage).

Kia extended its factory warranty to new, privately-owned cars on October 1, 2014. Which means the car in question was covered to that extent. With that in mind, the car should, indeed, be covered by Kia's factory warranty (until next year) so there should be no quibbling about a failure like this one that has had nothing to do with the way the car has been used or serviced. My experience is that Kia is pretty good at this stuff, figuring that its long-term reputation is more valuable than fixing an – often – rare fault. And even though your daughter was not the first owner of the car, the factory warranty is transferable to subsequent owners. Provided, that is, that the car has been serviced and maintained correctly.

If, however, the car is covered only by the aftermarket warranty, then you'll be in for a huge fight as these aftermarket warranties are rarely worth the paper they're printed on. The fine-print is full of clauses and conditions that allows the car dealer to wriggle out of their responsibility, and we simply don't recommend these warranties under any circumstances.

As for the fault itself, it's pretty rare to hear about something like a transmission case fracturing. Perhaps there was a manufacturing or casting flaw in that particular unit that has taken its time to surface and cause the failure. As for what you should do, the answer is simple: Take it back to the dealership you bought it from and make sure it's fixed properly according to the terms of Kia's own warranty. Don't be afraid to be a bit patient, and always give the dealership (or Kia) every chance to put things right before you instigating legal action or contacting the ACCC.

If Kia expresses any doubt over what caused the failure, an independent inspection (perhaps by the NRMA) will be able to determine what caused the casing to fracture and, therefore, whether it's a warranty or insurance job.