Kia Sportage Road Test

Kia Sportage

The seats in the test car were clad in black leather and the door panels were of a heavy knit fabric, which insulates and adds to the up-market feel. The chunky, multi-functional and tilt-adjustable, steering wheel sits nicely in the hands and gives an impression of solidity.

Although, the fascia is made from a plastic material - soft-touch in some areas - it doesn’t look or feel tacky. The centre console has a silvered surround that matches the grab-handle above the small glove box and the window buttons on the door armrest. Again, it has the potential to look ‘cheap’ but doesn’t.

Set within the centre console of the XE, is the audio system, comprising a CD/radio with MP3 compatibility and an auxiliary port along with 4 speakers. The XS has the same system but with two extra speakers, as does the TITAN and there isn’t an option to upgrade further. In fact, there isn’t an option list, at all, so what you see is what you get.

And you get quite a lot. The XE gives you all-round electric windows, air-conditioning, electric door mirrors, driver’s seat adjustment, lumbar support, a central armrest and six airbags.

The XS adds full climate control, cruise control, the leather upholstery, auto headlights, heated door mirrors, wiper de-icer for frosty mornings and a very useful cargo net with hooks.

Going for the top-notch TITAN specifies such goodies as 17-inch alloys, privacy glass, heated front seats, electric sunroof, electrochromatic rear-view mirror and the aforementioned, ESP. By way of illustration, the Sportage has just been voted ‘Best Value SUV’ by Planet 4x4, for the second year running.

Kia Sportage