Kia Sportage 2012 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of national recalls, with models from Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia, Land Rover and Ram impacted.

A recall on Hyundai vehicles earlier in January has now roped in models from stablemate Kia, with a notice being issued for the Sportage and Soul SUVs. The safety recall is for a defect that means the tensioning cable in the seatbelt assembly has not been properly crimped, raising a risk the cable could break and not allow the seatbelts to pretension and fully restrain the wearers in an accident. A total of 2941 vehicles are affected -- 2704 Sportage and 237 Soul -- with build dates between August 23, 2011 and March 31, 2012, and on-sale dates between September 10, 2011 and December 31, 2012. The list of VIN numbers for the Soul can be found here and the VIN numbers for the Sportage can be found here. The VIN number for your vehicle is located on the build plate in the engine bay.The Hyundai recall affected 6552 of their popular ix35 SUV, and a spokesman at the time said the seatbelts would still protect wearers in an accident, but would simply not be able to deploy the pretensioning function that automatically tightens them. "It is only on the driver's seatbelt. We've had one incident in Australia and it was an non-injury incident," Kia Australia general manager of public relations, Kevin Hepworth says.Owners can contact their closest Kia dealer for an inspection and rectification if needed, with the fix estimated to take up to an hour of the customer's time. however Kevin says  

Kia has updated its stylish Sportage small/medium SUV range, launching the Series II model 2.5 years into the current generation’s model life. The Series II sees Australian-spec Sportages now sourced from Kia’s Slovakian factory, unlike previous Korean-built versions. Kia Australia’s COO Tony Barlow explains the shift to European manufacture as curing the previous Australian-market supply shortages for the Sportage. “The opportunity to have consistent supply by taking production from Europe makes perfect sense and will benefit customers and dealers alike.” The previous Si, SLi, and Platinum spec levels continue with Series II, and benefit from range-wide subtle revisions, including Series II badging, HID headlamps, static cornering lamps, taillight-integrated rear foglamps, de-icing windscreen wipers, and a reprofiled lower rear bumper. On the inside, trim materials have been revised, with partial leather added to Si and SLi variants, and a new stitch pattern and colour for the leather-clad Platinum. A central locking button is now located on both driver and passenger door trims, along with a now-lockable glovebox, digital clock added to the audio display,  Active ECO button on diesels for the first time, and the A/C now has seven distinct ventilation modes. The 122kW/197Nm 2.0 litre petrol engine is now available on all models, and the 135kW/392Nm 2.0 litre turbodiesel remains available on SLi and Platinum variants. The previous 130kW/227Nm 2.4 litre petrol option has been discontinued. The Si continues to be available in two-wheel-drive only, as with the all-wheel-drive only SLi and Platinum grades. The Si also remains available in either 5-speed manual or ($2000 optional) 6-speed auto, while the SLi and Platinum are 6-speed auto only. List prices have dropped on all Sportage variants, with the manual SI now starting at $25,490 (plus $2000 for auto), representing a $1500 saving on the outgoing model. The petrol SLi is now priced at $31,990 (down $1000), and the petrol Platinum is now $36,490 (down $1500). The 2.0 litre diesel/6-speed auto drivetrain is available on SLi and Platinum models for an extra $3,500 (up $500), but their $35,490 and $39,990 list prices are down $500 and $1000 respectively. Satnav remains a $1500 option on SLi models (standard on Platinum), and metallic paint costs a further $520 on all variants. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn    

As the eldest in our family, I was a bit like Hyundai. I had some good ideas, and I got there first, but Keith always managed to take what I'd begun and improve things.When I started as a paperboy I was happy to clear around $20 a week, but he lifted that to more than $40 on the same route and put it all in the bank. No frippery or splashing on motor magazines, that's for sure. He was also way better at anything practical, tougher on a football field, and first to head out from home.Just last week I was driving the new Hyundai Sante Fe and was impressed by the design, space, quality and seven-seater practicality. The steering felt wonky and the ride was floppy, but all-in-all it was a very impressive thing. This week I'm in the latest Kia Sorento and almost the same as the Sante Fe - no surprise there, since they're among the Hyundai-Kia clone cars - but a bit better.I think the driver's seat sits way too high for comfort and control, but the Sorento's suspension is massively better and the steering is good. It also feels more 'together' and a little quieter, and the extra refinement in the Sorento means I will always recommend it ahead of the Santa Fe.It's much the same as the Kia Sportage, which I prefer over the Hyundai ix35, the Kia Rio that trumps the Hyundai i20 - and currently holds the Carsguide Car of the Year crown - and the mid-sized Optima which is way better than either the i40 or i45 from Hyundai.Look at the sales figures this year and Hyundai is up by 4.9 per cent over 2011, holding fourth in the charts. Kia is only 11th, but its numbers are up by 26.9 per cent. Kia has the obvious advantage of building up from the basics set by Hyundai in everything from cabin size to engines, but it scores with the styling work by design ace Peter Schreyer and it also has Aussie suspension guru Graeme Gambold on the books.The Schreyer-Gambold double-punch lands every time, which could partly explain a major change at Hyundai that put former Holden marketing boss John Elsworth into the driving seat this week. He's going to lead a more locally-focussed management team tasked to deliver what Australians want in their cars, while holding the prices and value at the level Australians expect from Korean.'He could do a lot worse than to take a look, and a drive, in something with a Keith - sorry, Kia - badge. 

...and was ahead of Mazda's CXers and even the Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35.But now it's only built in left-hand drive and sold in the USA with an Acura badge instead of a Honda tag. Call Honda now if you want to push for a return.