FIRST DRIVE
Kia Sportage 2.0-litre CRDi XS ME
The popularity of off-roaders is still on a high despite the doom and gloom surrounding the economy at the present time. So we here at IMN have driven the 2008 Kia Sportage – a compact 4x4 if you’re on a budget as the Korean made car comes in at under £20,000. At that price its certainly worth reading on…
On the looks front it has soft roader written all over it but with 4-wheel drive and good traction it can off-road as well as many of its rivals. At £17,695 the Sportage is much cheaper than its rivals and according to the guide-books should retain about 50% of its price after three years and 60,000miles.
Jump in and you’ll see that the Sportage has been kitted out well. It’s still not up to the interior of some of its european rivals bit it has come on leaps and bounds since it was launched in 2004. The seats are comfortable but lack sides to keep you in place when cornering. The grab handle on the passenger side of the dash was a little different – remove this and add a little colour to the dash and it would like more modern and classier.
Our Sportage came with leather trim, climate control aircon and cruise control as standard as we had the XS model on test.
There’s a reasonable amount of room in the Sportage while loading and unloading is a breeze as the car has no load lip. If you haven’t a big shop or awkward items to fit in – then you’ll love the separate opening tailgate glass a boon in crowded multi-storey car parks.
Folding the seats is a simple process, as all you have to do is pull one handle. There’s a 60:40 split and the rear bench and the base lowers as you pull the backrest forward opening up a large load space to fit in the most awkward of kit.
On the road the Kia Sportage performed well. We had the 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit which has an output of about 138bhp and there was enough power to overtake safely as it has 305Nm of torque.
Right through the gears there was plenty of pick-up but we did get irritated when in first gear – it’s ratio is just too short and becomes frustrating when in stop start motoring.
The maker claims that the compact 4x4 will get from zero to 62mph in 12 seconds and that it has a top speed of 110mph.
Engine noise was quite quiet and the power plant produces very few vibrations but there was quite a bit of wind noise - the large wing mirrors were to blame for this, a common problem for SUV’s.
You can tell that the Kia boffins has tweaked the driving dynamics of the Sportage for 2008. The steering has been weighted but it is still vague which is really frustrating and the suspension has also been re-engineered and while it will soak up all every bump you throw at it at low speed – push on and you still get pronounced body roll when driving enthusiastically.
We were pleased at the traction both on and off-raod as the torque transfer system automatically shifts from front- to four-wheel-drive when necessary, and there’s also a lock button for permanent 4WD when on the rough stuff.
The sportage should return 40mpg on the combined cycle while it emits 187g/km of CO2.
| Name: | Kia Sportage XS ME |
| Engine/power: | 2.0-litre CRDi/138bhp |
| Co2 emissions: | 187g/km |
| Combined fuel economy: | 40mpg |
IMN Verdict
The Kia Sportage coped well with all the challenges we gave it. If you don’t mind the rather bland looks and some of its driving dynamics, then make sure you have a good look. Our model cost £17,695. add that to the seven-year/100,000 mile warranty and you’ve got a ‘proper’ compact SUV on your hands
Simon McBride