The fourth-generation Kia Sportage has been revealed and will move upmarket to fight the Nissan Qashqai and Honda CR-V in Europe
The fourth-generation Kia Sportage has been revealed with a brand new look ahead of the car’s official public debut at this month’s Frankfurt motor show.
The new Sportage gets totally new styling at the side and rear, although the biggest changes are at the front. The headlights are no longer integrated into the grille, as they were on the third-generation Sportage, but now sit higher up on the side of the bonnet. This leaves the now familiar Kia nose, which features on the majority of the company’s range, with a stand-alone grille.
It also gets a larger lower grille, with a silver coloured kickplate on the lower edge. The foglights, which complete the front-end styling, sit in a larger cluster than before.
At the side, the Sportage retains its traditional SUV-like styling but has a marginally more raked profile than before. The wheelarches are more pronounced, while it also gets a sharp line running along the side doors.
The company says the look at rear of the car is inspired by the 2013 Kia Provo, with a strong line running horizontally across the bootlid between the two tail-light clusters. The indicator and reversing lights are much lower down than before and sit in a separate cluster on the rear bumper
The new model is also likely to get a significantly upgraded cabin over the old version. UK Kia boss Paul Philpott said this was partly as a result of feedback from owners of the current car.
“We recognise that for a more demanding audience issues such as interior quality, refinement and ride and handling are essential,” he said. “All of those aspects have been addressed. We have done this because of what our customers have told us.”
There will be one design of interior, although the size of the infotainment screen is set to differ depending on specification. It will come with a greatly reduced number of buttons on the central console. Kia has also said the cabin will feature a “rich material quality” to improve perceived quality, while it will come with technology already found elsewhere in the company’s range, such as wireless phone charging and a system that helps when reversing into traffic. Top-level trims will feature high-end audio Harman Kardon stereo systems.
Details of the full engine range are set to be announced at Frankfurt, but the Sportage is set to come with a brand new four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. Several of the units from the similarly sized Tucson, from Kia’s sister company Hyundai, are also set to be carried over, including the 113bhp 1.7-litre diesel and two versions of the 2.0-litre diesel, in 134bhp and 181bhp formats.
Paul Philpott, Kia UK President and CEO, Q&A
How much will the Sportage cost?"We will not reveal pricing or specification until closer to launch in February next year, but while we want to remain competitive in our sectors, we will have to reflect the fact that there is a lot of new technology and features in the new car – so undoubtedly there will be a premium over the outgoing model."
Are you planning to expand the Sportage into a wider family?"The compact SUV segment is growing all the time but we feel with new engines, new transmissions and a stunning new face that it will continue to grow in its marketplace. We are looking at possibilities in other parts of the growing SUV market and we will deal with those opportunities in due course."
What are the engine plans? Could there be a plug-in variant?"Our R&D team have plans to launch 22 eco-variants in our range by 2022 – so you never say never, but there will be no plug-in at launch."
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