Kia Sportage – any good?

Hello

My sister is planning to buy a new or second hand car at some point – not for the next few months, so no hurry. I have trouble distinguishing between a Fiat and a BMW so I’m not much help with this subject.

She has her eye on the Sportage at the moment, so what is the collective verdict of the mighty STW hive mind? I remember reading a thread about the Nissan Juke which put me off them for life, so don’t hold back.

Usage: general getting about, biggish shopping loads, occasionally moving stuff for people, potentially having a bike rack on the back, long holiday drives, ferrying two medium size dogs about.

Area: borders

The latest ones have a whole raft of safety features that can be a bit frustrating (lane-keep assist, navigation assist, various beeping and bonging from warnings continually going off apparently). My mother in law had one (bought new last year) and has just swapped it for something else with fewer features (but, tbf, she’s getting on a bit and doesn’t really like too much tech).

I thought so from hiring one of the previous models for a week camping in Wales (hired a std size car but got ‘upgraded’). It was the hybrid petrol/electric version. It was annoyingly large on the lanes but it’s not that big compared to many SUVs now. I did turn most of the bong-bleep warning stuff off for the drive home.. I thought, like other Kias I’ve hired, it drove really well on open roads. Well balanced in corners and engaging. It suprised me, tbh I didn’t want to like it but I did, the only thing that would stop me owning one was the size/width overall. All in all from having a long period of not owning a car and hiring them 6-10x a year that if I were buying a car in the £7-15k range it would be probably a Ford or a Kia for the drive feel and value overall.

We have the new one and in contrast to the above ours – a HEV auto – I really enjoy all the Tech.   On long motorway journeys you can really just set & forget at 70mph.   All the radar cruise and lane control can be switched of if necessary.  Swapping between this and my 320d makes me very conscious of how much extra concentration I need in the beemer, it’s easy to fall out of the tiny steering habits that stop you wandering motorway lanes after the Sportage has done the work for you.    It’s a comfortable nice and very automated / simplistic place to be and seems to do most things very well, including averaging 49mpg now in mixed used at 9000 miles use (1.6 HEV).

one thing I have noticed is you can spot where costs have been saved compared to my 320d – the rear doors feel a bit light, the boot area a littl plastic compared to the front end – although this could be seen as weight saving an durability, can be a little crashy on rough pothole although there’s part of me that thinks this is the shitty Eco tyres.

As a family car we really enjoy it.

We had a hire one for about 6 weeks, it was alright.  It was probably a 2021.  The worst thing about it was that it was an SUV so there was a huge bonnet and muscular wheel arches getting in the way and blocking your view when manoeuvring, and it wasn’t as if there was a lot of space inside.  Why people would sign up for that I have no idea.

My son has one, which he drives in Vanuatu where he is working and the roads are seriously crap.  He got it secondhand and has had to replace suspension components.  There are quite a few there,  which suggests it is quite robust for the price.

We’ve got the 1.6 petrol in the previous version on a 68 plate.  Depending on what other cars you have driven you may find this underpowered.  It is however a very comfortable and pleasant place to be.

Be careful buying 2nd hand as whilst the 7 year warranty transfers to the 2nd owner the warranty on the expensive bits doesn’t unless you have FSH.  Ours currently needs a new gear box at 48K.  Ask you local Kia dealer what their waiting time is to look at the vehicle for servicing / warranty work.  We first reported the gearbox issue in Jan / Feb, they couldn’t look at it  until the end of May and have had it since then.  There’s still another vehicle ahead of ours in the queue for a new gearbox.  Thankfully we did manage to source the FSH from the previous dealer however Kia still haven’t approved the warranty claim (There is no central online servicing record for Kia).  Hoping they will or it’s thousands for a new gearbox.

Good value, lots of toys (you can decide if that’s good or bad, it’s a positive for me), reasonable economy and long warranty. I had one as a hire car for a month when my own Kia was in for warranty work (see one of my threads, but in summary, a very positive experience) and really liked it. It is big, but most SUV’s are and many see that as a positive.

I’ve got a Kia and would buy another without any hesitation.

Perhaps worth looking at the Hyundai Tuscan as well, it’s the same platform and a very similar car.

We’ve got the level 2 spec MY21

Lots of stuff: heated seats, decent infotainment screen, satnav, etc.

1.6 petrol, which is IME under-powered and not particularly frugal (computer says 37mpg) but mainly short journeys with some longer runs. Definitely feel the lack of power in hilly areas, esp. N.Wales ^^

Comfortable place to be, rear seat backs adjust for rake, enough leg room for 6’+

I got a 23 model and very pleased so far. As already said… a very comfortable place to spend some time, good for long journeys – we’ve done two longish journeys to southwest France and back. Fully loaded with stuff for the house plus bikes on the rack on the back (removable towball). Can get full fat ebike in the back if front wheel removed. Got a full length boot protector type thing which gets used quite regularly.

Lots of bells and whistles, some I like others I don’t…. turn off some of them.  Handling pretty good… just very comfortable all round

On the subject of parts, the reason we had a hire one for 6 weeks was that was how long it took for Hyundai to get a part for our Ioniq.  I assumed this was due to chip shortages at the time, but apparently this is always the case with Kia/Hyundai group cars, it’s entirely normal to wait weeks and months for parts, even commonly failing ones.

In contrast, I ask Mercedes for an obscure part for my 10 year old car and they say ‘I’m terribly sorry sir that’s going to have to come from Germany and it won’t be here til the day after tomorrow’.

Borrowed the previous version one for a while whilst waiting for mine to be delivered so have experience of both models. The older one was a more basic spec but pleasant enough, 1.6 I think but plenty powerful enough although fuel economy was around 36 mph. The current one is the top spec self charging variant (the full hybrid was not available). It’s averaged 41 mph (we live somewhere very hilly), easily does 46 mph on long motorway journeys. I thought the self charging was a gimmick but it does boost power significantly and improve fuel economy. As above very high tech but once you are used to it it’s very easy to drive, all round cameras, adaptive cruise control, 2 levels of lane assist and reads sped signs. It’s been a shock driving a manual Fiat 500 X with no reversing sensors around the mountains if Crete for the last week!

Only niggles are the USB port is flaky so Android auto drops out constantly but the on board sat nav is good. Only other complaints are the DAB reception us pants and the automatic windscreen wipers are very random compared to our old VW. Overall though I do like it.

My dad has the new one. Very impressive tech and quite luxurious inside. It is a big car though and not a practical shape, so right on trend with the current SUVs.

I’ve got a 24 plate “3” model. As someone who does a lot of miles for work and needed a family car for carting around wife, 2 year old and Labrador it’s absolutely brilliant. Alls the toys are great and MPG sits around 48.

there a few idiosyncrasies with the tech here and there but nothing frustrating. The smart cruise kicks in a little too early for my liking so I prefer to use the speed limiter on motorway journeys instead

Thanks everyone, this is all useful. The Sportage sounds like it’s a decent enough car.

The Nissan Juke thread was full go comment like:

“I call it the Nissan Joke”

“Our family call it the Junk”

“My car has been stolen! And it’s on fire! Now it’s heading towards that cliff! …still could be worse, It could be a Nissan Juke”

In the absence of  such comments I reckon it must be ok.

Drove quite a few Juke and Sportage, the manual Juke is a fun drive, but the looks are, well, let’s just say it’s something only a mother could love…

The auto ones are just horrid! The revs just keep getting higher and higher, and eventually it decides to shift down at about 6.5k, I think it uses one of those weird rubber band ’boxes, nasty thing whatever.

The Sportage I really liked, I thought the styling was fairly clean without any unfortunate gimmicks, like those stupidly huge headlight/spotlight things the Juke has, well fitted out interior, again without too many electronic gimmicks like touchscreens for everything including checking your makeup, although that may have changed, I haven’t seen inside one for a couple of years.
I seriously considered buying one, but settled on the EcoSport, basically because it’s smaller and more compact, it’s mostly analogue, apart from the infotainment screen, and it’s got a heated screen, not that that is so important anymore, ‘cos I’m not leaving for work at 05.45 on winter mornings, and coming home at 18.30 on winter evenings any more!

We have the Xceed which is one size down. The beauty of those small crossovers/SUVs/whatever is the packaging. Interior space is great for their footprint, unlike equivalent estates that require more length to achieve the same volumes. Might not be a problem of course but personally I prefer a shorter car even if it means it’s higher. They are particularly useful IME when needing to stand a bike upright using the dropper to anchor it to the ceiling, which I can’t do in estates.

The beauty of those small crossovers/SUVs/whatever is the packaging. Interior space is great for their footprint, unlike equivalent estates that require more length to achieve the same volumes

Whereas I’ve found the opposite. Due to big wheels and curves etc, Crossovers are so small inside compared to outside.

Might not be a problem of course but personally I prefer a shorter car even if it means it’s higher. They are particularly useful IME when needing to stand a bike upright using the dropper to anchor it to the ceiling, which I can’t do in estates.

Also where people carriers and Berlingo shaped things win and win again.

Not Sportage but mother in law has a Kia Revo(?) can’t remember model name – small two door 1.4 normal car. It’s getting on a bit now (car and MIL!) but it’s been brilliant – she drives it to France/Spain border and back every year without issue. I keep an eye over her shoulder at servicing/maintenance at Kia main dealer and they have been really good as well.

I’d never have a Nissan anymore – they are effectively Renault nowadays and the days of Japanese engineering and reliability are long gone therefore crap.

Sitting in a race field having done London > Isle of Wight with bikes and gear in/on the Sportage.  Cruising at 70, it’s showing 49.8 mpg on a 1.6 HEV and very comfy, thankfully for the post race journey home.

we’ll have cause to play with the Hill Descent button on the steep gravel track back to the main road later.  No idea what it does yet….

The hill descent button works well in snow, used it several times last winter, really regulates your speed.

Can’t speak to long term ownership.

but did hire a Kia Sportage for 2 weeks in Iceland, during their winter. We did some serious mileage, travelling all over Iceland through some seriously crap weather, with four adult sized passengers and there were no complaints about cabin room, toys, boot space was really good and it was pretty economical. Yes it had studded tyres fitted, but seriously impressed with how it handled the awful conditions and ,made the journey enjoyable, not something I can often say about any hire car I’ve had before. So much so, one will be my wife’s next car.

I had a 2 year old at the time 2016 Sportage and absolutely hated it. Manual gears were awful. 1.6 engine felt massively underpowered.
The gearbox was the most frustrating I’ve driven and actually pushed me to going auto. I kept it for 6 months telling myself I’d get used to it….

There’s a reason you see loads of them in the Borders, inoffensive and does what it says.

My OH has one, 2018 auto 2.0d bought new, all the toys including stuff never used (like heated rear seats and panoramic opening roof.

Only reoccurring issue has been the handbrake model, on it’s 3rd or 4th now.  All covered by warranty and when it fails out of warranty it’s a £200 issue, that will last for 2 years – so in grand scheme of running a car, fair do’s.

Her’s tows a lot too, horse trailers, which it’s very good at.

The hill descent button works well in snow, used it several times last winter, really regulates your speed.

That was fun!  I wasn’t sure of the rules that engaged it – slope angle or me braking – but one engaged it just regulated the whole car down the slope without any hint of slip or slide – good to know.

Whereas I’ve found the opposite. Due to big wheels and curves etc, Crossovers are so small inside compared to outside.

I can’t remember particularly big wheels or curves robbing any interior space in our Xceed, Karok, Tiguan or 3008.

They were all space efficient for their footprint compared to hatches or estates we had, some at the same time.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/04/business/hyundai-kia-thefts-increased-10-fold/index.html#:~:text=Less%20expensive%20versions%20of%20vehicles,vehicles%20of%20a%20similar%20age.

Maybe they’ve sorted out the new ones.

Cruising at 70, it’s showing 49.8 mpg

That’s really not very good these days.

Well, 2 people, food camping gear two bikes on a trailer rack, Portsmouth, ferries, Queing, IOW and a gravel farm track in an 1.6l turbo petrol SUV?   I’d say that’s pretty good.

Ok for an SUV, but comparing a car to other cars also with poor economy.. *shrug* I’m a great cyclist for a fat middle aged bloke, yay me.