Kia's focus on distinctive styling shows through with the 2011 Sportage SX.
When it first appeared last year, the Kia Sportage crossover got generally good marks – and plenty of attention to its distinctive design. The Korean maker has made a high priority of styling, as models like the all-new Optima demonstrate, and so, the Sportage took a distinctive route one might call the antithesis of the “cute-ute” styling repeated, as nauseum, by so many competitors.
That doesn’t mean it’s got a face only an owner could love. This is no Pontiac Aztek. The 2011 Sportage looks nice, whether parked or driving up in your rearview mirror.
Add to that a comfortable interior, excellent overall packaging and utility and with a substantial amount of standard equipment at a highly competitive price point and what you get is a surprisingly solid offering making its push into one of the most hotly contested segments in the car business.
There was one frequent complaint raised, or at least whispered, by the car jocks who thought it was a bit under-powered out there on the great American highway.
Not anymore. The new Kia Sportage SX blows away the perception that the vehicle’s innards are somehow compromised. Indeed, the turbocharged SX blows the doors off most of the cute utes without sacrificing the features that the Korean carmaker first introduced last year.
The 2011 Kia Sportage SX delivers 256 horsepower - 80 more than the base ute.
The Sportage SX’s turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four pounds out 256 horsepower and 264 foot pounds of torque, compared with 176 hp and 168 lb-ft for the base Kia ute’s 2.4-liter I-4. After a day of driving we found that to be all the power required to get the SX up to speed on the freeway or get around a long line of pokey drivers — if you’re willing to chance getting run down by the local highway patrol.
It’s also quick off the line from a standing start and the South Korean designed turbo has almost moved turbo lag into the realm of urban. if there was any, it certainly wasn’t detectable while I was behind the wheel.
Even so, Kia rates the front-drive version of Sportage SX at 27 miles per gallon highway. And our own fuel economy with the all-wheel-drive model was better than 25 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving.
No cute-ute this.
The Sportage still has a couple of other weaknesses. I found it a bit noisy and the steering wasn’t as taught as one would have liked.
But the road and tire noise wasn’t overwhelming and the tunes on the radio were certainly audible without cranking up sound all the way to the top level.
Engineers are always quick to note that the steering feel is quite subjective and Kia’s representatives pointed out the Sportage’s steering wasn’t designed to be perfectly centered but gently tug to the right or left depending on the slant of the roadway.
Kia delivers a comfortable, reasonably well-equipped interior with the 2011 Sportage SX.
Sounds like a convenient excuse to us. We’d certainly prefer a more linear and on-center feel than constantly having to work to keep the ute in its lane.
The brakes and suspension on the Sportage SX are excellent, however.
Sportage was well-equipped from the start with four-wheel-disc brakes, a traction control system, an independent front and rear suspension and electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion steering as well as a competent six-speed automatic transmission.
The 2011 Kia Sportage SX comes equipped with 18-inch tires but the all-wheel-drive system was optional, as were the electrically-heated, body-colored side mirrors, smart key, panoramic sunroof, and AM/FM head unit necessary for the navigation system and back-up camera.
The added power resolves most - but not -- the complaints about the 2011 Kia Sportage.
The leather seats, while they will probably be standard inventory at most dealers around the country, are technically an option as are the heated and cooled seats and back up sensors.
However, the up-level SX packages are going right across the Kia line so expect the company to experiment a little with the option packages going forward.
The 2011 Sportage SX front-wheel-drive version reaches market with a starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, or MSRP, of $25,795. The AWD package will cost another $1,595, with destination charges of $695.