Kia Sportage 2017: a pleasant surprise with great value
I must admit that I have been, in the past, a car snob when it came to Hyundai and Kia. I believed the old thinking that Kia and Hyundai surely makes cheap cars that fall apart.
I’m standing here before you to tell you that I stand corrected. And I'm feeling pretty sheepish about it.
For the last week, I have been driving a 2017 Kia Sportage (a big thank you to DriveShop for the loaner!). My husband and son and I drove up to Dallas for the DFW Auto show, and I found that the Kia of today is not the Kia of ten years ago. Or, at least, perhaps the perception is changing. In fact, while I was at the auto show, my family toured around Dallas in it, and two people at two different venues asked my husband if the Kia was his and remarked that it was a sharp-looking vehicle.
Did you know that Kia offers a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the drivetrain? Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, promotes the same service for their cars, and I spoke with a Hyundai representative at the show in Dallas. He said to me, “If we thought the cars would break down before 100,000 miles, we could never offer this kind of warranty. It would cost us a fortune. We believe in our cars and they have proven themselves over time.”
Good point. He also reminded me that back in the 80s, Toyota was considered a cheap Japanese car and many people maligned it as a throwaway car. With a market share of 15%* (just behind Ford and GM) in the U.S. and luxury brand Lexus in its wheelhouse, Toyota is no longer considered to be the generic brand. Perhaps Hyundai and Kia are the Toyota of the 21st century.
The Sportage, considered a Crossover Utility Vehicle, or CUV, weighs more than 3700 pounds, giving it plenty of sticking power taking curvy roads. It's comfortable and the navigation stands up to just about anything on the market.
The lowdown on the stats, for gearheads like me:
MSRP: From $22,990
MPG: Up to 22 city / 29 highway
Horsepower: 181 to 240 hp
Towing capacity: 2,000 lbs
Engine: 2.0 L 4-cylinder, 2.4 L 4-cylinder
Here’s what I like about the Sportage:
* Zippy acceleration and smooth braking.
* Paddle shifters - I haven’t really needed to use them, but they’re fun to play with. I can squint my eyes and pretend I’m in a Ferrari when I’m flipping the paddles.
* Plenty of head room and leg room in the front and the back.
* Simple, intuitive controls.
* Super easy to park in just about any space.
* Excellent camera views and collision warnings.
* Seat warmers AND coolers (perfect for Texas summers)
* Spectacular panoramic sunroof.
Here’s what I’d like for Kia to consider revising and/or improving:
* The driver can choose from three drive modes: Normal, Eco, and Turbo. They rotate through the cycle with the push of a button, and if you want to switch to Turbo, for instance, it could be two pushes of a button instead of one. That might seem minor, but when you need Turbo mode, I find you generally need it fast.
* The doors unlock as soon as the driver puts the car in park. As a cautious woman, I prefer to have full control over the locks, in case I am in a situation in which I feel uncomfortable and need for the locks to stay engaged.
* Conversely, I would like for the car to unlock the driver door when I approach the vehicle with the keys in proximity. The SUV I drive now does that, but the Sportage requires pushing the button on the driver-side handle to unlock. This may be a personal preference, or what I’m used to.
* I had to review the manual to figure out how to use the middle seat belt, and ended up putting the car seat on the driver’s side instead. The safest part of the car for a child – well, for anyone, I suppose – is in the middle of the car, and it’s a little more difficult to place the seat in the center.
Overall, I had a lot of fun driving this car. Certainly, much more fun than I expected, and in this price range, a very good value. I had a chance to drive Kia's luxury sedan, the K900 (made famous by the endorsement of Labron James, who bought one with his own money and then agreed to be a spokesperson for it), which starts at $50K+. Now THAT car is sweet. More on that one later.
More details on the Kia Sportage at Car and Driver.
* All photos from Kia.com, because they are better photographers than I am.
* From TheTruthAboutCars.com
I’m standing here before you to tell you that I stand corrected. And I'm feeling pretty sheepish about it.
For the last week, I have been driving a 2017 Kia Sportage (a big thank you to DriveShop for the loaner!). My husband and son and I drove up to Dallas for the DFW Auto show, and I found that the Kia of today is not the Kia of ten years ago. Or, at least, perhaps the perception is changing. In fact, while I was at the auto show, my family toured around Dallas in it, and two people at two different venues asked my husband if the Kia was his and remarked that it was a sharp-looking vehicle.
Did you know that Kia offers a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the drivetrain? Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, promotes the same service for their cars, and I spoke with a Hyundai representative at the show in Dallas. He said to me, “If we thought the cars would break down before 100,000 miles, we could never offer this kind of warranty. It would cost us a fortune. We believe in our cars and they have proven themselves over time.”
Good point. He also reminded me that back in the 80s, Toyota was considered a cheap Japanese car and many people maligned it as a throwaway car. With a market share of 15%* (just behind Ford and GM) in the U.S. and luxury brand Lexus in its wheelhouse, Toyota is no longer considered to be the generic brand. Perhaps Hyundai and Kia are the Toyota of the 21st century.
The Sportage, considered a Crossover Utility Vehicle, or CUV, weighs more than 3700 pounds, giving it plenty of sticking power taking curvy roads. It's comfortable and the navigation stands up to just about anything on the market.
The lowdown on the stats, for gearheads like me:
MSRP: From $22,990
MPG: Up to 22 city / 29 highway
Horsepower: 181 to 240 hp
Towing capacity: 2,000 lbs
Engine: 2.0 L 4-cylinder, 2.4 L 4-cylinder
Here’s what I like about the Sportage:
* Zippy acceleration and smooth braking.
* Paddle shifters - I haven’t really needed to use them, but they’re fun to play with. I can squint my eyes and pretend I’m in a Ferrari when I’m flipping the paddles.
* Plenty of head room and leg room in the front and the back.
* Simple, intuitive controls.
* Super easy to park in just about any space.
* Excellent camera views and collision warnings.
* Seat warmers AND coolers (perfect for Texas summers)
* Spectacular panoramic sunroof.
Here’s what I’d like for Kia to consider revising and/or improving:
* The driver can choose from three drive modes: Normal, Eco, and Turbo. They rotate through the cycle with the push of a button, and if you want to switch to Turbo, for instance, it could be two pushes of a button instead of one. That might seem minor, but when you need Turbo mode, I find you generally need it fast.
* The doors unlock as soon as the driver puts the car in park. As a cautious woman, I prefer to have full control over the locks, in case I am in a situation in which I feel uncomfortable and need for the locks to stay engaged.
* Conversely, I would like for the car to unlock the driver door when I approach the vehicle with the keys in proximity. The SUV I drive now does that, but the Sportage requires pushing the button on the driver-side handle to unlock. This may be a personal preference, or what I’m used to.
* I had to review the manual to figure out how to use the middle seat belt, and ended up putting the car seat on the driver’s side instead. The safest part of the car for a child – well, for anyone, I suppose – is in the middle of the car, and it’s a little more difficult to place the seat in the center.
Overall, I had a lot of fun driving this car. Certainly, much more fun than I expected, and in this price range, a very good value. I had a chance to drive Kia's luxury sedan, the K900 (made famous by the endorsement of Labron James, who bought one with his own money and then agreed to be a spokesperson for it), which starts at $50K+. Now THAT car is sweet. More on that one later.
More details on the Kia Sportage at Car and Driver.
* All photos from Kia.com, because they are better photographers than I am.
* From TheTruthAboutCars.com