2022 Kia Sportage channels inner EV6: New Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander rival shows off bold styling

Kia has teased the fifth-generation Sportage mid-size SUV for the first time, revealing three darkened renderings of its bold design.

The South Korean brand has confirmed the new Sportage will be fully revealed in July, while its Australian launch is currently scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, likely in October.

In the meantime, two of the three darkened renderings of the mid-size SUV show it will be the second model to adopt Kia’s latest Opposites United design language, following the all-electric EV6.

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But the Sportage’s exterior isn’t that surprising given the number of spy shots and videos that have been published for months now and lead to high-quality renderings.

Either way, the styling is a massive departure from the fourth-generation model, and that theme also extends to the interior, as hinted at by the other darkened rendering.

2022 Kia Sportage

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2022 Kia Sportage

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Yep, the mid-size SUV is getting a Mercedes-Benz-style ‘single display panel’ for the central touchscreen and the digital instrument cluster. In fact, its version is curved.

Kia senior vice-president and head of global design centre Karim Habib said: “Taking inspiration from an ethos we created where nature meets technology, the all-new Sportage challenges the norm with an adventurous and contemporary exterior and a carefully conceived, beautifully detailed interior.

“With the all-new Sportage, we were fully focused on challenging ourselves and pushing our fifth-generation SUV to a new level.”

As reported, while the fresh Sportage is related to the recently released fourth-generation Hyundai Tucson mid-size SUV, it won’t completely follow in its tyre tracks.

For example, ‘self-charging’ and plug-in hybrid versions of the Tucson are available in some markets, but the upcoming Sportage won’t have such variants, which would put in the same conversation as the best-selling Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV.

Instead, the only hybrid version of the next Sportage will be of the mild variety, and it will be built in Slovakia for Europe, a market with strict emissions regulations, unlike Australia.

Local examples of the new Mazda CX-5, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander rival will be sourced from South Korea, but it’s not yet known if the model will use carryover naturally aspirated petrol and turbocharged diesel four-cylinder engines Down Under, so stay tuned.

For reference, the existing Sportage is priced from $29,490 (manual S petrol) to $48,990 plus on-road costs (automatic GT-Line diesel).