WTK: New Kia Sportage

[333halfevil]

Hey tuners, I'm looking for some reviews on the new Kia Sportage.

[gooner]

I had my fully loaded sportage 15 months now.
Equipment level was good - I love the built in reversing camera and built in bass speaker.
Performance and Handling is very good. Very Comfortable vehicle to drive. Its a new vehicle so no reliability issues as yet.
The only problem I had was the steering wheel started to get dark on the top and bottom (not where my hands touch). I called the dealing, brought the vehicle in to show the service manager and I got a new steering wheel in 2-3 weeks. The service from the dealer has been fantastic so far.

[333halfevil]

Thanks for the info. Do you have the gas or diesel? If gas, what type of mileage do you get?

[gooner]

I have gas. To be honest I can't be exact on the mileage but it's not good (I will pay attention and give you some exact figures).

I do quite a bit of driving - it takes just over $200 to fill up (premium) and sometimes I fill up twice a week which is a killer but as I said I drive quite a bit.

I did try super a few weeks ago - all was well for a few days, then the car started acting strange - sometimes it felt as if it was missing gears and over revving. Then it started jerking when accelerating, thats when I went back to the expensive stuff.

[damieG82]

gooner, I'd say you probably got bad gas period, and it has nothing to do with it being super vs premium.

We have ours for 11 months now with no issues to speak of. Runs exclusively on super (owner's manual advises RON91 gas or higher, so local super at RON92 is perfect) and never had any of the issues expressed above. They all come from the showroom with a tank of super anyway.

Mileage is excellent imo... almost 400kms on a full tank (which has 58 litres capacity). Econoboxes with 1.6 engines and 55 litre tanks do about the same. Ours doesnt have the reverse cam, just factory parking sensors, and it works out just fine since there's no protruding hatch-mounted spare wheel. Seats are very comfy, suspension firm but compliant, handling is decent, though I find the factory Kumho's to be a little short on grip for spirited driving (we plan to switch to Dueler HT's when the stocks ones need changing). Sound system is excellent, lighting also excellent (lets just say its high beams get any vehicle out of your way with no fuss)

My only complaint would be related to the steering wheel issue. I too have noticed that the bright interior trim is painted, but for some reason they didnt put any protective coating on it, making it susceptible to damage and fading. Noticing that, we're very careful not to touch the bright work (luckily they're in positions that you dont have to touch it for everyday and customary use, ie you have to deliberately want to touch it). So far no fading or anything with it... still looks mint almost a year on.

I've noticed the 2012's appear to be ever so slightly different... I see all models are coming with the LED daytime running lights (ours didnt), and the lower grade model now has 16" alloys (ours came with much better looking 17")

All in all, i highly recommend it