For 2017, the Kia Sportage, the brand's fourth-generation model, gets a significant exterior and interior facelift.
As Kia’s reputation among consumers and the automotive world in general has continued to grow, one of the vehicle’s that has served as the anchor of its product line is the Sportage. The fourth-generation model gets a facelift for 2017 as Kia hopes its rock steady performance continues.
The latest version of the Kia Sportage is the product of the intense competition among carmakers from every corner of the globe for a share of the huge and growing market for compact crossovers, which trumps even new technology as defining the current state of the automotive market.
Kia also has proven adept at overcoming learning from its mistakes. The knowledge gleaned from previous models is clearly evident in the 2017 Sportage, which comes with a much more refined interior, better ride and handling, and technology that enhances the vehicle’s overall operation.
On the outside, the Sportage, which was designed in Germany and refined in South Korea in keeping with Kia’s efforts to reinforce the company’s reputation for innovative design drawn from around the globe, displays plenty of European influence.
The exterior isn’t particularly flashy, but it has an underlying confidence and assurance that gives the vehicle a presence both on the road and when it’s standing still. The overhangs have been shortened to give the Sportage a more balanced appearance, which is enhanced by the larger wheels. Seventeen-inch wheels are standard, but 19-inch wheels are available.
The next-generation Sportage is the first one to come out of the automaker's new design studios in Frankfurt, Germany.
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The new Sportage is carefully tailored at the corners and the front fascia. While presenting a clearly defined face, the automaker has moved away from the overly aggressive appearance up front that has been something of a characteristic of Asian car design in recent years.
Kia hasn’t forsaken its roots as a brand offering exceptional value, but the value proposition has been stretched to include standard LED daytime running lights, which also serves to enhance the exterior appearance.
On the inside, the European influence of the design studio is also apparent as the interior has been simplified with the lateral design of the dashboard that divides it into two clear zones and turns the new color touchscreen toward the driver. The interior is also enriched with better materials. Kia has moved away from the overly plastic-looking interiors that diminished its vehicles in the past.
The interior jewelry has been minimized, but the cleaner layout means enhances the comfort of anyone driving the car or riding as a passenger. At the same time, considering the prices for the Sportage start at $22,990, plus $895 for transportation, it still seems a good value.
While I found that road and tire noise did penetrate the cabin during the test drive, the cabin was certainly quiet enough to listen to music or carry on a conversation. Moreover, the noise was minimized so it didn’t add to the driver’s fatigue, which is a plus in a smaller vehicle.
Overall, I found the ride and handling of the Sportage quite competent. The improvements to both the front and rear suspension of the 2017 Kia Sportage were clearly evident during the test drive and represented a clear improvement over its predecessor.
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The new Kia Sportage features upgraded materials, including more soft-touch plastics as well as enjoying infotainment improvements.
The new 2017 Sportage with its stiffer underlying chassis handled curves, rough pavement and varied road surfaces with a great deal of ease and Sportage also felt like it was under control never wobbling off course.
The improvements in the Sportage’s lateral stability were also enhanced by the redesign of the steering system, which has more live feel thanks to moving to a 32-bit steering ECU to control the electric power assist system or EPAS in the vehicle. It had been only 16 bits in the old Sportage.
The new Sportage also has been outfitted with “advanced driver assistance” features, such as blind-spot detection, lane departure warnings and emergency braking. Checking on the emergency braking system is something of challenge during a standard test drive, but the blind spot detection system was very effective and placement on the car was easy to see and decipher.
The lower-priced LX an EX versions of the Kia Sportage use a 2.4-liter engine that produces 181 horsepower and 175 lb.-ft. of torque and is also retuned for more efficiency, which is rated at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.
The 2.0-liter inline-four turbo found on the FWD SX Turbo makes 240 horsepower or 237 hp on the optional all-wheel-drive version and 260-foot pounds of torque and while the six-speed transmission seemed to labor at times the power did well when asked to perform on the freeway or a hill.
Small utility vehicles are very appealing because of their overall versatility, which has been enhanced in the 2017 Sportage with the additional of more interior space, which also comes with advanced driver assistance, features, enhanced connectivity as well and the addition of Android Auto and Apple Car Play.
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The vehicle’s overall driving dynamics have been improved impressively and the value proposition, while stretched since the all-in price for a fully equipped Sportage with all-wheel-drive is now $34,000, is still basically intact because the a well-equipped, front-wheel-drive version with ADAS will sell for around $25,000, which really is very good for a solid vehicle with impressive capability.