Kia Sportage Problems

The news from Kia Australia's spokesman Kevin Hepworth is not what you want to hear: "That is a North American engine only. No plans for Australia." Sorry.

The Kia Sorento, our Car of the Year in 2015, gets The Tick from me. It has everything you want and need and is a good drive, with a seven-year warranty. If it's out of your price range, go for the smaller Kia Sportage.

The Mazda is an excellent choice but also test drive the Sportage. Buy a fully loaded car for the safety gear but sunroofs and big alloys aren’t worthwhile. A pre-registered 2015 car with low kilometres is a smart way to buy.

We contacted Kia and it seems there are a couple of possible things you could do, but they need more information to identify the type of key your car uses. They recommended that you contact their customer assistance service on 131 542 and they will be happy to assist you.

Suzuki is a classy brand and the Grand Vitara gets The Tick, even if I'm not a fan of the constantly variable transmission.

The only reason to go European with that budget is to buy a badge, as the Asian cars do the job and are surprisingly classy with great warranty. Once again, I'd send you first to Kia to check out the Sportage.

The Tucson gets The Tick from me and rates above the X-Trail, but my first choice is the all-new Kia Sportage.

Both get The Tick from me but I rate the Sportage as best in the compact SUV class today and that means it would be my pick. As for the ride, you are being misled — I find it's a great drive in all conditions thanks to local tuning by suspension guru Graeme Gambold.

Both are very good cars, they're well designed, well built and reliable. The Outback is the more fuel-efficient of the two, but it has a CVT auto where as the Sportage has a conventional automatic. You should drive the Outback to see if you like the CVT before making your final decision. Clearly the more frequent servicing of the Subaru means its running costs are slightly higher, and the shorter warranty could have an impact later on. It's a line-ball decision, but for mine I would probably go for the Kia.

You left out my choice, which is the Kia Sportage.