Every car company has several different models available, but naturally there is always a best seller. With Kia there is no disputing their ‘numero uno,’ it’s the impressive Sportage, which accounts for around 40% of their total sales. The Sportage has sold over 18,000 units since it was launched in Ireland in 1993.
After several weeks of driving Hybrid and fully electric cars, last week I was back ‘sucking diesel’ as I drove the fifth generation of the Sportage. And after a lot of automatic versions, the Sportage came with a 1.6-litre diesel manual six-speed gearbox.
You might have read that diesel is on ‘Death Row,’ but there are still many Irish drivers who like diesel and not just farmers.
At the launch of the fifth generation of the Sportage in January, Kia MD Ronan Flood said he expects that the new version of the car will attract many more new customers to the Kia brand. Kia, who are gradually growing their share of the Irish market, expect to sell 2,800 versions of their Sportage this year.
There is a healthy rivalry between Kia and its sister company from South Korea Hyundai. The Sportage is built on the same platform as Hyundai’s Tucson, which is also selling very well.
Kia say that their Sportage is designed for Europe and built with ideal dimensions and proportions for European roads. Talking of roads, Ronan Flood encouraged us to drive a dark road at night to really appreciate the new headlights in the car. I took his advice and the lights were very impressive.
I liked the high seating position in the Sportage as it gives you a good view of the road ahead. Unusual to see two USB C-port charge-points on the side of the front seats which can be used by back seat passengers. For the driver and front seat passenger there is a regular USB port, a C-port and the old-style cigarette-lighter type charger.
The dash is well laid out with an information cluster dominating. It’s similar to the electric EV6 I drove a few weeks back. This time round I got an old-fashioned style clock on the dash and the electronic handbrake is located to the right of the steering wheel.
I normally like a button to control the volume for the radio, but there are several slave controls on the steering wheel and it’s from there I controlled the radio volume.
The interior is very spacious and the boot is huge, but no spare wheel. So once again the advice is to haggle for a spare, if buying new.
I drove a white version and it certainly look very smart as I got what I thought were some nice pictures near the Jervis Street Car Park on Dublin’s northside. But after a few days of heavy rain the car probably needed a wash.
Prices start at €34,300, while the 1.6-litre diesel GT-line version I drove will cost you €43,000. Road tax is €210. The 1.6-litre diesel engine was certainly frugal. You would know that it’s diesel when you start the engine, but I couldn’t honestly say it was noisy. Also available in Hybrid and Mild Hybrid.
We get so used to saying it, but Kia still offer a seven-year guarantee. I’m not mad about their new logo, but I think I will probably get used to it.
