2007 Kia Sportage Reviews

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 1996, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2016 Kia Sportage as a used buy

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the used 1996-2014 Kia Sportage.

Kia has lifted its game amazingly in the last five years with new models like the KM Sportage.

Most of the time it was the front wheels doing all the driving, it was only when wheel slip was detected at the front that drive was directed to the rear, up to a maximum of 50 per cent.  At its peaks the double overhead camshaft V6 engine was putting out 129 kW at 6000 revs and 241 Nm at 4000 revs.The suspension was independent at both ends, the brakes were disc all round and supported by ABS, and the steering was power-assisted rack- and-pinion.The Sportage had a host of standard features, including air, remote central locking, immobiliser, power mirrors and windows, six-speaker CD sound system, fog lamps and 16-inch alloy wheels.In the shopAs the quality of Korean cars has improved so too has their reliability, and carsGuide receives little in the way of complaint about Korean cars in general, and the Kia Sportage in particular.  Owners appear content with their cars and little of a serious nature goes wrong with them.When checking a car for purchase make the usual checks for crash repairs, make sure it's been regularly serviced, and inspect the underbody for signs of extensive offroad use.  Sportage owners are unlikely to have driven their cars offroad, but it's worth taking the time to check underneath.On the roadThe KM Sportage, while not sporty, was a decent driving car with secure handling and a comfortable ride on most surfaces.  While the V6 engine was a good performer, the overall performance was dulled a little by the wide spread of ratios of auto 'box.In a crashThe Sportage suffered from the same dull dynamics most, if not all, SUVs suffered from. The handling was secure without being sporting, but that came with the SUV territory.Standard ABS and traction control, and all-wheel drive helped on the active safety front, while dual front airbags and seatbelt pretensioners gave decent crash protection.At the pumpKia's lab rats claimed an average fuel consumption of 10 L/100 km for the KM Sportage, 13.0 L/100 km when driven in town, and 8.2 L/100 km when outside the city limits.  Road testers of the time of the Sportage's launch reported an average of 11.5 L/100 km in real world driving conditions.Look forPleasant SUV styling . Lots of standard gear . Decent performance . Secure handling . Comfortable ride . Improved build quality . Robust and reliable . Value-for-moneyThe bottom lineWell-built, reliable, comfortable wagon should be on family shopping lists.Rating75/100

There are now a couple of ways into the Sportage, the soft-roader compact from Kia.The latest of these Korean wagons offers two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive versions plus the choice of petrol or diesel engines for the four-wheel drive machines. And these revamped packages have some style and value appeal in a crowded part of the market.More than 1.5 million Sportages have been sold worldwide since the launch in 1992; 16,000 of those have been sold into Australia since 1997.But while the original machines were more a rival to Suzuki's four-wheel drive Vitaras, the new generation has eschewed the two-speed transfer box and full chassis. So today's Kia Sportages are more a competitor for the likes of Honda's CR-V, more the soft-road option where it once had some off-road 'heritage.'Around here the turbocharged, diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive version with six-speed manual is considered the best, and most versatile, of today's Sportages.But even that machine, held in first gear, runs a bit too quick for any semi-serious paddock crawling; it likes its engine revs and the gearing is a bit tall so for meandering through serious ruts a bit of clutch-slip may be neededThat's a pity because the original Sportage; with its low range was handy enough for a small four-wheel drive.No, this diesel-engined Sportage prefers more open, faster country; dirt, tar or sand.Indeed, the 2-litre Sportage EX CRDi wagon is a compact flyer and much fun to push along through the traffic, down a country road or over a mountain range.It is forever willing; with maximum power of 103kW arriving at 4000rpm and best torque of 304Nm at 1800rpm it works almost like a small petrol motor; second gear starts are out. And this CRDi is available only with the six-speed manual, which helps contribute to the engine's driveability.Kia's been in the diesel-engine business for some time (primarily on commercial vehicle applications) so have a reasonable head start on some others when it comes to producing refined oil-burners for passenger cars.This one is a little gem and features common rail direct injection plus variable geometry turbocharger where the vanes close a little to increase exhaust pressure, and then more turbo boost, at lower speeds.The torque is available from 1800rpm through to 2500rpm so there's a fair bit of flexibility here. Kia claim it should deliver 7.1l/100km but pushing it around can see that consumption run out closer to 9l/100km.And all this is done with a fair degree of fun, especially at a starting price of $32,490 for a machine of some sophistication.Ride comfort is good and this diesel four-wheel drive Sportage has a decent amount or road balance and grip to match that engine's eagerness.These days the four-wheel drive versions run front-drive until the electronics detect wheel slip and send up to 50 per cent of drive to the rear. For rough-roading at speeds up to 30 km/h the Kia system can be locked in 50:50 four-wheel drive with a dashboard switch.The current generation Sportage is maybe not as distinctive as the first. Most automotive stylists (leaving aside the Chrysler boys and girls for the moment) appear to have taken on this ubiquitous look for the compact SUV class and the Kia effort is more of the same (even if some of those lines toward the rear are contradictory).So after all that fun and excitement, the two-wheel drive LX version with two litre engine and the optional four-speed automatic was not quite the same.This Sportage wagon is happy enough doing the shopping chores, not so much the tourer.Pushed around, the front-drive Kia tends to understeer and kneel at the front in corners; the diesel version appeared to be better-balanced at the front; perhaps the extra weight of the diesel helps here. And with the petrol engine the automatic transmission takes the shine off most press-on drives.It is a compact, well-kitted machine. All Sportages arrive with today's usual list of airconditioning, power windows and mirrors plus ABS for the four-wheel disc brakes plus driver and passenger front airbags.The cabins are well-sorted with no real ergonomic complaints. The rear seats are reasonable for this size and style of vehicle where there is a decent amount of rear cargo area.But while that diesel, four-wheel drive version of the Kia Sportage has some value virtues, the two-wheel drive Sportage may not find as much custom.

The Australian market for anything that remotely resembles an SUV is booming, with sales up 10.9 per cent on last year.And the compact segment of that class is almost double that with a 18.6 per cent increase and the likelihood of more than 90,000 sales by the end of the year.So it’s no wonder Kia has been concentrating on plugging the holes in its SUV line-up.That's why Kia has released diesel and V6 petrol variants of their mid-sized Sorento, and they’ve followed that up this week with the launch of two new variants of the compact Sportage – a two-wheel drive four-cylinder petrol and a turbodiesel.The pair will flank the V6 petrol Sportage that has been in the market here since 2005, but has notched up sales of about 1000 a year since it arrived.Kia Australia’s director of sales and marketing, Bill Gillespie, says the company is being conservative about sales forecasts for the two new Sportages, but believes 160 diesels will leave the showroom by the end of the year, and about 500 in 2008.The manual-only CRDi has the V6’s electronic 4WD mated to a common-rail direct-injection engine with variable geometry turbocharger, which adjusts boost to give more torque at low revs and more power as the revs climb. The $32,490 price equips you with single CD audio that can play MP3 discs, airconditioning, cloth trim with leather on the steering wheel and shifter, power windows and mirrors, 16-inch alloy wheels with full-size spare, rear cargo cover, cruise control, twin front airbags and anti-skid brakes. It also includes ESP as standard, and a $3000 premium gets you the Limited pack that adds side and curtain airbags, leather upholstery and sunroof.The front-biased 4WD system automatically engages when sensors detect a loss of traction to the front wheels, sending up to 50 per cent of the torque to the rear. But the system can also be locked into 4WD via a dash button, with the torque sent to the back then gradually decreasing after your speed hits 30km/h until at 40km/h you’re back in front-wheel mode.Like the V6, the newcomer can handle a braked towing capacity of 1500kgs.The appearance of the Sportage is largely unchanged, except that some of the V6 and diesel paint choices offer colour-matched bumpers and side sills, and there has been a minor brush-up in the cabins.Despite being classed as a compact, the SUV offers plenty of room except for longer-legged rear seat passengers. Cargo space is fine for a couple of large suitcases even without any of the seats being folded, but with all except the driver’s down you can increase the capacity from 667 litres to a hungry 1886. There’s the extra utility of the passenger seat having a hard 'table’ back when you fold it, so there’s no worry about a long object piercing the upholstery.The Sportage hasn’t been crash-tested here, but Kia expects it to achieve the same five-star rating it was awarded in American tests, although those were down on a model with standard side curtain airbags.The 2.0-litre diesel fared much better all round. With 103kW at 4000rpm and 304Nm on offer between 1800-2500rpm, it took a more workmanlike approach to hills.The engine has a top speed of 176km/h, and with a completely unscientific timing method, we estimated it takes more than 12 seconds to get up to 100km/h, but the payoff is in a fuel figure of 7.1L/100km.The compliant suspension was excellent over rougher roads and even smoothed over some very threatening potholes, while the all-wheel drive system helped in heading the SUV where you pointed it.A bit of mock rally assault on a twisting bush track and a short stint through soft deep sand proved no problem, as long as we kept the revs up in the diesel’s torque comfort zone to feed the turbo.But while the 195mm ground clearance and the undercarriage geometry, a breakover angle of 18.8 degrees and approach and departure of 10 more, were useful off the bitumen, venturing too far into the wild would probably be asking for trouble.And the 4WD system’s electronic sensors became confused for the occasional second, seemingly shutting off when it couldn’t quite work out what was happening underneath the wheels.But that was under the most challenging stretch of wet ruts and potholes we threw at the Sportage, and while most of them are unlikely to see that sort of action, the combination of capable engine, reasonable equipment and affordable price makes it a decent proposition. 

Car production is finally acknowledging what has been obvious for some time, very few offroaders actually head offroad.“We are seeing a shift in the market (towards the two-wheel drive softroader configuration),” Kia Australia’s director of sales and marketing, Bill Gillespie, says.“They’re very popular in the United States, and you’ll see more here in the future.”Kia has just added to the offerings here with the launch of a 2WD variant of the Sportage that – with the accompany new diesel version – flanks the the V6 petrol Sportage that has been on the market here since 2005At $24,990 for the base model, the 2WD Sportage matches the price of the similar Hyundai City Tucson, which is no surprise since they are sisters under the skin, but will compete well on price with 2WD versions of the Toyota Kluger and Hyundai Santa Fe, which are up to $10,000 more.That entry price puts you in the manual LX, with a $2000 premium for the auto. At that level you get single CD audio that can play MP3 discs, airconditioning, cloth trim with leather on the steering wheel and shifter, power windows and mirrors, 16” alloy wheels with full-size spare, rear cargo cover, cruise control, twin front airbags and anti-skid brakes. For another $1600 on the auto there is an option pack with electronic stability program (ESP) and side and curtain airbags.The appearance of the Sportage is largely unchanged, except that some of the V6 and diesel paint choices offer colour-matched bumpers and side sills, and there has been a minor brush-up in the cabins.Despite being classed as a compact, the SUV offers plenty of room except for longer-legged rear seat passengers. Cargo space is fine for a couple of large suitcases even without any of the seats being folded, but with all except the driver’s down you can increase the capacity from 667 litres to a hungry 1886. There’s the extra utility of the passenger seat having a hard `table’ back when you fold it, so there’s no worry about a long object piercing the upholstery.The Sportage hasn’t been crash-tested here, but Kia expects it to achieve the same five-star rating it was awarded in American tests, although those were down on a model with standard side curtain airbags.There’s no denying the 2WD Sportage will be happiest around the city or in calm highway cruising.Its 2.0-litre engine, borrowed from the small Cerato and 2WD Tucson, develops 104kW of power at 6000rpm and 184Nm of torque at a fairly high 4500prm. Kia says this gives it a top speed of 179km/h and gets it to 100km/h in 10.4 seconds with the manual version, but it actually felt a bit more than that, while the auto version seemed slower again.It was content to trundle around town and cruise along with the highway flow, but overtaking and a run through the hills had it grumbling even in the lower gears at times.The lack of any meaningful torque at the lower end of the rev range meant you had to keep the engine stirred up to get through the chore of steep slopes.And it didn’t take too much of that before we lost any chance of approaching Kia’s fuel economy figure of 8.2L/100km, although this looked like being achievable while we were in town and on the highway.The compliant suspension was excellent over rougher roads and even smoothed over some very threatening potholes, but the system allowed the Sportage to wallow around corners, where the front-wheel drive also threw up considerable understeer, especially during acceleration out of the curve.It didn’t help that the steering felt spongy, although some of the response could well have been muffled by the tread of the Hankook tyres.The Australian market for anything that remotely resembles an SUV is booming, with sales up 10.9 per cent on last year.And the compact segment of that class is almost double that with a 18.6 per cent increase and the likelihood of more than 90,000 sales by the end of the year.The current V6 Sportage has been notching up sales of about 1000 a year since it arrived in 2005, and while Kia is being conservative about sales forecasts for the two new Sportages, it believes the 2WD should go out the door at the rate of about 150 per month or 1800 next year in total.