Kia Sportage 2023 Problems

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.

The Kia Sportage SX starts at $35,000 in manual form and $37,000 for the automatic variant. The better equipped, more powerful GT-Line petrol version is available only as an automatic and costs $49,370. Those prices do not include on-road costs which will vary from state to state and even region to region.

The current Sportage was launched in 2021, so we can possibly expect a mild facelift sometime in the 2023 calendar year. But being such a new design, the upgrades are not likely to be major ones, so there’s no reason to hold off buying now or when supply allows.

Kia introduced the fifth-generation Sportage in 2021, so there won't be any wholesale changes to the car for a while yet. Kia – like most car-makers – is constantly fine-tuning specifications of its vehicles, so there may be a mild facelift of the car due in 2023 or soon thereafter, but it's unlikely to involve much in the way of engineering.

The biggest news for the Sportage range in 2023 is likely to be the introduction of a hybrid model. Kia isn't saying when that will be, however, and it could even be 2024 before we see it. The other new Sportage variant is likely to be a plug-in hybrid version which has been slated for the North American market, but not confirmed for Australia. Yet.