Kia Sportage 2014 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.

Kia's announcement of an Australian-first seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty could benefit buyers of others brands as they try to match it.One of Australia's fastest growing car brands, Korean company Kia, is about to upset its big name rivals by announcing a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, the longest in Australian automotive history. Kia’s sister brand Hyundai was the first company to offer a five-year, 130,000km warranty in Australia 15 years ago -- in 1999 -- as a response to quality concerns over a bungled safety recall the year before.Hyundai then increased its warranty coverage to five years and unlimited kilometres in 2006.RELATED: Small car price war about to heat upFrench car maker Citroen then raised the bar in March this year, offering new-car buyers an unprecedented six-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.Kia's new benchmark of a seven year, unlimited kilometre warranty will put the market leaders under increasing pressure given brands such as Toyota, Holden, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Subaru, Honda, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz only offer three years coverage. It means buyers of most mainstream brands will eventually be the winners as they try to raise their level of warranty coverage to either match or get closer to Kia's seven-year stretch. But none are yet to react.The longer warranty period will likely boost the resale value of Kia cars at trade-in time because used-car buyers will get the balance of the new-car warranty.Most new cars are sold after four years, according to industry figures. This means a typical secondhand Kia would give used car buyers three years of factory-backed protection against faults.The Kia warranty is part of the company's ambitious sales push in Australia after a decade of weak results.Kia is just outside the top 10 sellers but its sister brand Hyundai -- which sells, in effect, the same cars under the skin but with different body styles and different branding -- is in the top four.It is the largest gap between the two jointly owned companies in the world.Kia recently poached Hyundai Australia's sales and marketing boss Damien Meredith to head the Kia division locally and this is his first step towards doubling sales within four years."This is a watershed moment," said Mr Meredith. "Kia customers now have a peace of mind that can't be matched in the Australian new car market."The deal includes free roadside assistance for seven years -- if the car is serviced at a Kia dealer once a year.Kia has also extended its capped price servicing program to seven years -- one of the longest in the car business -- and that prices of routine maintenance will remain the same as before."The two year increase in warranty, capped-price servicing and roadside assist is absolutely transparent and we will not be asking our customers to dip into their pockets to fund the extra benefits," said Mr Meredith.

Kia launches new value-packed Sportage Si Premium.Kia wants to keep Sportage on the boil, so it has introduced a revised version this week to help fend off its compact SUV competition. They have put a greater focus on 2WD and added a new in-betweenie “twobie" called the Si Premium ($29,990).It gets plenty of kit including a six-speed auto as standard, 17-inch alloys, auto headlights, roof rails, reverse camera, leather/cloth seats, LED driving lights and lumbar support.Pretty much all the goodies most Sportage buyers look for on top of the other stuff are standard equipment such as Bluetooth phone/audio, cruise, climate control, glass tint, trip computer, auto wipers and keyless entry.This time around there's a revised 122kW/205Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine with direct fuel injection and variable cam timing. Fuel consumption is an official 8.4L/100km combined.Drive goes to the front wheels. Noise and vibration has been reduced and the gearbox revised.There's a different grille, tail lights, wheels, and aerial (shark fin). Inside, there are more soft touch surfaces, a new instrument cluster and a larger info screen.

New Honda Jazz sets new benchmark for rear view cameras: $14,990.

Kia upgrades compact Sportage SUV, adds higher-spec 2WD version.Kia has rolled out a mid-life upgrade for the popular Sportage SUV, adding increased efficiency and refinement throughout the range, plus a new sub-$30K Premium spec 2WD model to appeal to value-seekers.The upgrades throughout the range include improvements to the 2.0-litre petrol engine, which retains 122kW of power, but lifts torque from 197Nm to 205Nm. The diesel option remains unchanged, but upgrades to the petrol engine means fuel economy has been improved.  The 2WD manual now consumes 8.2L/100km on a mixed cycle, while the automatic uses 8.4L/100km. Opt for the all-wheel drive model and expect to use 8.6L/100km – down from 8.8L/100km.Visually, the new model can be identified by its new grille and tail lights, softer touch plastics in the dashboard and door trims, and a new range of alloy wheels. AWD models also gain a shark-fin aerial and an instrument cluster incorporating a 4.2-inch colour screen.Refinement is also improved through better resistance to noise and vibrations. A new bush-mounted front chassis assembly,new symmetrical drive shafts and new supports for the transmission, reduce vibrations and resonance. A new windscreen has also been designed to reduce wind noise on the highway.Entry level models get a transmission upgrade to a new 6 speed unit in the manual. New 16 inch alloy wheels including spare wheel, and rear parking sensors and a new front console storage box take the new entry level Sportage Si 2WD manual to $25,990 – a $500 increase over the outgoing model. The automatic model, which now includes trailer stability control, is now $28,190 – a $700 increase from the superseded model.The new $29,990 Si Premium model tops the 2WD range, and is only available with the 6 speed automatic. It adds 17 inch alloy rims, mirror mounted indicators, roof bars, LED running lights and automatic headlights to the entry level Si model. Inside, part cloth, part leather upholstery, driver's lumbar support and a reversing camera further separate the new model from the Si 2WD automatic.Buyers wanting extra traction will continue to choose between the AWD SLi and Platinum models, which are available in petrol or diesel, with a 6 speed automatic only. SLi modelsnow gain satellite navigation, a 7 speaker stereo, front parking sensors, and the shark fin antenna and new instrument clusterwith 4.2-inch colour screen. However, a $2800 and $2300 price increase over outgoing petrol and diesel models respectively, take the SLi to $34,990 for the petrol and $37,790 for the diesel, which now includes an ECO driving mode too.The range topping Platinum builds on the outgoing model's standard equipment and adds new 18 inch rims and driver's electric seat, plus the shark fin aerial and 4.2-inch colour screen. As a result, a price increase of $1800 and $1500 applies, over petrol and diesel outgoing models respectively. This takes the Sportage AWD Platinum to $38,390 for the petrol and $41,390 for the diesel.

There are exciting new releases planned across the board; from budget hatches to practical SUVs, to exotic supercars. We’ve broken them down into segments and likely price categories to help you. We've based our price estimations on the current market, but some estimations could change in the future, and some model ranges span across price categories, so be sure to check our other stories...New cars for 2014 | less than $20,000New cars for 2014 | $40,000-$59,000New cars for 2014 | $59,000-$100,000New cars for 2014 | over $100,000 LIGHT CARSAlfa-Romeo MiTo: The Mini Cooper-rivalling MiTo hatch is due for a refresh in January. Tweaked styling is expected, along with updated features and sharpened pricing in line with other recent Fiat Chrysler Australia pricetag shuffles. (Approximately 25,000-30,000)Honda City and Jazz: Honda’s slow-selling City compact sedan is due to be replaced by an all-new model in the second quarter of 2014, leading the also-new third-generation Jazz compact hatch which is expected in around June. The new Jazz will benefit from a new dual-clutch auto transmission, and a new hybrid variant is expected to dip well below the current petrol-electric model’s 4.5L/100km combined figure. (Approximately $16,000-23,000)Kia Rio: Also due for a refresh in the third quarter is the Kia Rio light hatch and sedan range, with the stylish model likely to score visual tweaks and value gains to keep up with more recent competition. (Approximately $15,000-22,000)Mini Cooper: Mini will bring the all-new third-generation ‘new Mini’ Cooper to our shores from May, with the entry models using a new 1.5-litre three cylinder turbo petrol or diesel engine, and the hot Cooper S to step up to a new 2.0-litre turbo petrol from the same family The three-door hatch will be the only bodystyle to lob in 2014, with convertible and a new five-door hatch (at least) to follow later. (Approximately $31,000-$46,000)Volkswagen Polo: Volkswagen’s Polo light hatch range is also due for a mid-cycle refresh in the second half of the year, with revised styling, plus efficiency and technology trickle-down from the Mk7 Golf likely. Approximately $17,000-29,000)SMALL CARSAlfa Romeo Giulietta: Following on from its pricing shuffle in 2013, the small Giulietta hatch range also due for a mid-cycle refresh later in 2014. Approximately 24,000-40,000)Hyundai Elantra: Hyundai will revise its Elantra sedan in January, with freshened styling and a new local suspension tune expected to be the main changes. (Approximately $20,990-$30,190)Kia Pro_cee'd GT: Kia will bring the Pro_cee’d GT down under in March, with the new hot hatch set to go head to head with its mechanical sibling the Hyundai Veloster SR Turbo. (Approximately $30,000)Kia Soul: Also expected in March is a heavily revised version of the trendy Soul small hatch, with rejigged styling, upgraded underpinnings and petrol and diesel drivetrains. (Approximately $21,000-$30,000)Mazda3: Mazda will renew its assault on the Australian sales charts in January, with the arrival of the new third-generation 3 sedan and hatch models. The new 3 will be available with 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre versions of Mazda’s SkyActiv petrol engine from launch, with diesel versions set to follow later. (Approximately $20,000-35,000)Nissan Pulsar SSS sedan: In the third quarter, Nissan will break with Pulsar SSS tradition by adding a sedan version of the hot turbocharged model, with Mazda’s SP25 sedan its only logical rival. (Approximately $31,000)Peugeot 308: Peugeot’s headline act for 2014 will be the new 308 small hatch, with the lighter and more efficient model arriving before the end of the year to target Volkswagen’s Golf head-on. (Approximately $25,000-$40,000)Proton Suprima S: Proton will launch the Preve sedan-based Suprima S small hatch in January, in $21,790 (drive away) GX and $26,590 (drive away) GXR spec levels. Available with a CVT auto initially, both versions will use a 103kW/250Nm 1.6 litre petrol turbo. Cheaper $19,790 (GX) and $24,590 (GXR) six –speed manual versions will arrive later in the year. (Approximately $19,790-$24,590)Proton Preve: In the second quarter, ther Malaysian brand will add a five-speed manual version of the Preve GXR sedan, which is expected to undercut the existing CVT auto version by $2000 with a $20,990 drive away pricetag. A more upmarket Preve LE is expected at around the same time, and likely to be priced around the $25,000 mark.Renault Megane: Also due around June is a mid-cycle refresh for the Megane coupe, cabriolet, and wagon models. (Approximately $20,000-$50,000)Skoda Rapid Spaceback: Skoda will introduce the much anticipated Rapid Spaceback in the second quarter, with the new hatch to sit beneath the recently launched Octavia Liftback and wagon. (Approximately from $20,000)Toyota Corolla sedan: Toyota’s grasp on the Australian market is set to be strengthened by the arrival of a sedan version of the new Corolla in February. Both European and US versions of the new sedan have been unveiled, and the Australian model will most closely resemble the European model. (Approximately $20,000-$32,000)Volkswagen Golf wagon: Volkswagen will add a wagon bodystyle to its Mk7 Golf lineup early in 2014, mirroring the hatch with its range of petrol and diesel engines. (Approximately $27,000-37,000)FAMILY CARSFord Falcon: The once-mighty Falcon range is set to undergo its final facelift in the fourth quarter of 2014, ahead of it’s now certain doom in 2016. Minor styling revisions are expected, but the addition of Ford’s SYNC multimedia system and the return of the XR8 V8 model (as FPV is wound up) are likely to be the biggest changes. (Approximately 37,000-56,000)Kia Optima: Kia’s Optima will score a mid-cycle update in January, with revised styling inside and out, along with added features. (Approximately $30,990-$40,490)PEOPLE MOVERSCitroen C4 Grand Picasso: Citroen will replace the long-serving C4 Grand Picasso with an all-new version in the second quarter of 2014. The new model promises to continue as a stylish alternative to other seven-seat people movers with a choice of petrol or diesel drivetrains and will hopefully retain the current model’s sub-$40,000 pricing. (Approximately $37,000-$40,000)Honda Odyssey: An all-new Odyssey eight-seat people mover will follow in February, with fresh styling, improved features and safety and a more efficient drivetrain. (Approximately $35,000-$43,000)Kia Grand Carnival: Later in the year, Kia will replace the segment-champion but ageing Grand Carnival model. Improvements to safety, features, and efficiency are expected, and should be a winner if the smaller new Rondo is anything to go by. (Approximately $39,000-56,000)SUV/4WDFord EcoSport: The Blue Oval’s new EcoSport baby will complete its lineup in February, with the cheaper Trend and Ambiente spec levels joining the top-line Titanium that launched the model in December. (Approximately $20,790-27,790)Honda CR-V diesel: Honda will kick off 2014 by adding the first-ever diesel variant to the local CR-V SUV lineup in January. The 2.2 litre unit produces 110kW/350Nm, and will be available in six-speed manual or five-speed auto with all-wheel drive only. Official fuel consumption is as low as 5.8L/100km. (Approximately $35,000-$45,000)Jeep Cherokee: Jeep’s new more-civilised Cherokee SUV will arrive in the first half of 2014, with a choice of 2.4-litre petrol, 3.2-litre petrol V6, or 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines. (Approximately $28,000-$37,000)Kia Sportage: During the second quarter, Kia will grace its Sportage medium SUV with a more significant update than the minor revisions made in mid-2013 with the shift to European production. Like Optima, expect fresh interior and exterior styling and new features. (Approximately $25,000-$40,000)Kia Sorento: The final Kia model for 2014 is likely to be a significantly revamped Sorento seven-seat SUV, with a comprehensive design update inside and out to bring it in line with the fresher styling of its Hyundai Santa Fe mechanical twin. (Approximately $38,000-$51,000)Nissan X-Trail: Nissan will replace its hugely successful X-Trail medium SUV in about July, with the bigger design offering seating for seven for the first time, and improved refinement to go with its softened exterior design. (Approximately $30,000-$47,000)Nissan Qashqai: Nissan’s other significant SUV arrival for 2014 will be the Dualis-replacing Qashqai compact SUV, which will arrive in five-seat only guise in the third quarter. (Approximately $26,000-$36,000)Renault Captur: The Renault Captur will arrive mid-year, representing the French brand in the rapidly expanding compact SUV segement. The Clio-based crossover should start in the low $20,000s, and challenge the Trax, Juke, 2008, and EcoSport. (Approximately from $20,000)Skoda Yeti: Skoda’s best-selling Yeti compact SUV is also in line for a mid-cycle refresh in around June, with revised styling and features to bring it in line with the brand’s newer models. (Approximately $26,000-$38,000)Suzuki S-Cross: Suzuki’s SX4-replacing S-Cross will arrive in January, with reduced fuel consumption an increased interior space over the model it supercedes. Like the SX4, the S-Cross will continue with 2WD and AWD options, and will be priced between $22,990 and $34,990.COMMERCIAL VEHICLESFord Transit: Ford’s commercial lineup will receive a boost in January with the arrival of an all-new Transit van model, with the light-duty Transit Custom touching down ahead of the heavy-duty Transit Cargo range in April. (Approximately $36,000-$52,000)Renault Kangoo Maxi crew van: A passenger-carrying Kangoo Maxi crew van is also expected in the second quarter. (Approximately $27,000)

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