How do you facelift something as bold as the Kia Sportage?
Luckily for Kia, since the Sportage came out, it’s come up with bold designs for the EV9, EV3 and even for the Picanto city car. So the new Sportage follows the lead of those cars, with a striking new front end.
Kia’s managed a neat trick, simplifying the front of the car while adding drama. The vertical headlight clusters are a big part of the new design, and they’re joined by LED daytime running light strips that look a bit like floppy lamp-posts to us.
The main grille is wide and deep, and the whole look gives the Sportage a bit more 4x4 clout. Other styling changes include tweaked brake light clusters and a fresh set of alloy wheel designs.
New Kia Sportage prices and specifications
Kia has trimmed down its trim levels – its mildly confusing five-tier lineup has been reduced to three. A new Pure model kicks things off at £30,885, while GT-Line is £2,500 more at £33,385 and top-spec GT-Line S starts at £40,285.
Pure includes 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats, LED headlights, a reversing camera and all-round parking sensors, keyless start and auto wipers. A manual gearbox is exclusively offered on Pure trim, although you'll have to put up with normal cruise control if you're happy to shift your own gears; automatic cars get adaptive cruise control.
On the flip side, the hybrid engine is now offered on the Pure version; previously it was reserved for higher-spec cars. As a hybrid, the Pure starts at £34,425.
Mid-range GT-Line – responsible for nearly half of all UK sales – gets larger wheels and sportier styling, with black trim and privacy glass. There's also a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, rear USB sockets and upholstery trimmed in suede and leather.
Moving up to the GT-Line S brings upgraded headlights, a panoramic sunroof, cooled front seats with electric adjustment, a powered tailgate, heated outer rear seats, park assist, extra driver assistance features, a Harman Kardon sound system, wireless phone charging and a head-up display. We had thought that the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster would become standard, but it's only on GT-Line S – other specs get analogue dials with an info screen between them.
A new Feature-on-Demand platform that lets you add arcade games, video streaming services and new themes to the native infotainment system. If you’d rather use your own apps, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are wireless as standard.
A digital key lets you use your phone as the key, and share access with family and friends.
At launch, the Sportage will be available with petrol and petrol-hybrid engines. Both use a 1.6-litre engine, but the hybrid also gets a small battery and electric motor. The petrol offers 150hp, whereas the hybrid has 239hp.
The Sportage plug-in hybrid is returning at a later date.
Kia’s changes don’t seem revolutionary, so why not check out used Kia Sportages for sale at Motorpoint with thousands of pounds off the list price? Or read our Kia Sportage review.
