Why we’re running it: To see if the Kia Sportage still holds its own in the throng of sensible crossovers
Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Kia Sportage: Month 1
Welcoming the Sportage to the fleet - 9 November 2022
Admit it: 10 years ago, you would never have considered a Kia. Yet here we are. Kia was the biggest-selling car brand in the UK in January for the first time ever, and its sales are up 12% for the year to date in a market that’s down 8%.
In recent years, its EV range – the likes of the Kia Niro EV and Kia EV6 – have done wonders in propelling it to new heights, but the third-generation Sportage, a predecessor to this long-termer, was really the model that set the firm up for today’s phenomenal success.
Launched in 2010, that car was worlds away from the one before. It was an SUV ready for the onslaught of SUVs, when few were. It was attractive and good value and had family appeal. Such was its success that it remains Kia’s best-seller.
Now in its fifth generation, it’s not quite the good value it once was (what is?), starting at £27,750, but it still undercuts rivals (Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson for starters). Our new long-termer is quite a lot more expensive than that, at £41,800, being an all-wheel-drive hybrid in top-trim GT-Line S. We were expecting a plug-in hybrid, but they became unavailable – presumably, through the same supply and demand issues that most of the industry has – so neither we nor a buyer can currently have one.
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It's all well and good saying the 1.5kwh battery saves 20% on your fuel costs for the city driver but don't forget to handover £1,300'ish quid so as to save that £250 quid a year. Although handy for auto only drivers