We’re thinking of getting a 2020 Sportage. Maybe turbo diesel.
Anyone got a recent model and have comment? Anyone else have advice for us? Thanks in advance. Pete
Kia Sportage SUV
LWPete on 16/10/2019 - 09:12
Comments
Hi. No not yet. Any suggestion on ranking these alternatives on value-for-$$ ?
No because everyone is different. For example some are better looking, some have nicer interiors, some have better engines, some have better technology. So its rather pointless anyone ranking these in any order as they all have pros and cons.
Go and have a look at all 5 of these and see what you think. Test drive them too.
EDIT: To help you out…. all of that size SUVs I mentioned are similar and well regarded in general. None are miles ahead or behind the others. So you cant go drastically wrong with any of them. its going to come down to personal preferences and $$$.
EDIT2: Value is a difficult thing to rank. You could simply rank them in terms of price but thats not what encompasses value is it. Value is too subjective as above.
Thanks Skramit: all helpful points! We will certainly test drive the various options, and include the new Kia Seltos on the menu. We have a newish Cerato Sport, but my wife finds it too close to the ground. Hence considering an UP-grade!
Good advice from Skarmit, but also consider why / if you need a SUV.
Most don't have any more storage / space than a hatchback, but OP may have other reasons for preferring a SUV.Most don't have any more storage / space than a hatchback
Yeah one of the most mis-understood things about these small/medium SUVs.
People think it will be a bigger car but when they get it home and realise the boot is 2/3 the size of their old hatch backs boot, instant regret!
Avoid Diesel for a city car.
They ALL come with DPF these days (Everything from 2015 onwards and many prior) which REQUIRE regular prolonged highway driving to regenerate.
If you're not doing these drives as part of your regular usage, getting a DPF cleaned or replaced is VERY expensive.I agree.
Diesel as the family shopping trolley being used for short trips is a long term nightmare.
I've got a 2018 GT Line Sportage diesel. I love the thing. It's had all of the luxury features I wanted bar adaptive cruise control and memory electric seats. It was at least $10k cheaper than any other car offering the same features. Also comes with a 7 year warranty which I find crazy good and played a large part in buying it. In 7 years, I'll be looking to upgrade so in the meantime, I don't have to worry if things break.
It's quiet, relatively good on fuel (but no the best - 750km off a tank), accelerates nicely and offers a very nice driving experience. We ended up with the diesel as it had more get up and go than the petrol model. The cabin finish is very nice as well, more inline with the Mazda IMO and was (at the time) way better than Hyundai.
The bad? some minor niggles with the auto climate control (fixed by just using manual) and that's about all I can think of.
I also really love the styling, which I understand can be polarising.
We tried all the others, as suggested by another poster and this ended up coming out on top due to warranty, features and price.
KIA deals are very open to a decent haggle, so you can often get a very good price on these as well.
I've previously owned a lexus is250 and while not as refined, to me, it offers a similar experience for cabin noise and luxury features.
My 2 cents.
Curious to know what issues you've had with the climate control? I think there was a recall on a certain a/c module so you should check that its not outstanding for yours. We got sick of it always changing recirc mode back to fresh air but found that can be turned off.
What you've said is exactly the problem I have. As soon as I press the climate button, it changes the fan settings and the recirc back to fresh. Sometimes it would even turn the aircon off. We just don't use it and have our manual settings in place. It was annoying at first, as I was used to my Lexus which got it right. Very minor quibble though.
Auto climate control will cycle the A/C on and off it its not warm enough to require A/C. But yes at least you can disable the setting where it always goes back to fresh air mode. Just look up in the manual, you have to hold one of the buttons down for about 5 seconds to turn it off. It still defaults to fresh air when you first turn Climate on, but once you switch to recirc it won't change back again.
There's also another button you hold down to stop it from automatically switching over to defog mode when it thinks it needs it.
Test drive the car as previously recommended. I have the 2018 SLi Turbo Diesel and what I like about it above the other SUVs I tested was that steering was more firm with less body roll (when cornering) compared to others I tested.
Each manufacturer is going to have a trade off on things, and it's a personal preference in terms of what you are willing to accept.
Similar to above post, love the thing subject to a few small matters:
One thing I really did like about the Sportage is that the back seats can recline. Compromise though is that the mechanism to recline is also the same one to fold the seats down, which is only accessible via the rear side doors. You can't fold the seats from the rear boot as you would typically do for other others. Again, only a small matter.
Rear boot blind/cover privacy thingy can detach as its designed to do so. It does have a place in the boot that it can be stored out of sight under the boot floor panel, however, it will only fit in the panel/holder if the spare tyre is space saver. At least for 2018 models, for SLi and GT, I think the spare tyre is full size such that the privacy screen can't be placed in its storage area when not in use.
windscreen wipers are smallish by design, such that there is a big semi-circle patch of non-wipe area just above the driver's display panel. This did initially throw me (coming from a car that had a larger wipe area) but it's something that I've gotten used to, and not something I even thought to check when testing (as it wasn't raining).
Thanks chaps for all your helpful comments!
I've got a 2016 SLi Diesel, same shape as the current model although the headlights and taillights have undergone a change plus numerous other improvements (6sp vs 8sp auto being the big one).
We've found it to be a great vehicle overall. As others have hinted at, they aren't much bigger than a hatchback but they ARE bigger. We went from a Cerato hatch and it is definitely roomier inside, just not a massive increase.
About 35k km done so far, probably 75% city driving and no DPF issues to report. Early days though. Much preferred the overall feel of the diesel compared to the 2L petrol on test drive. Didn't drive the larger petrol since we weren't in the market for a GT Line.
Have you test driven it? Did you like it?
Have you test driven it's main competition: Mazda CX5, Hyundai Tuscon, Toyota Rav4