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.
It’s likely that the twin 12.3-inch screens are going to become standard, and there’s a new 10-inch head-up display too. We might’ve expected a climate control panel between the screens, like in the EV9 and EV3, but that remains as a bar underneath the screen.
The climate bar also works as the touchscreen shortcut bar, getting you to main functions such as the navigation and media playback. This has been something that’s caused a little contention with some drivers, but Kia says it’s now easier to use.
There’s also a 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.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the petrol Sportage retains a manual gearbox, with a seven-speed automatic gearbox an option. The automatic-only hybrid engine, meanwhile, is offered with all-wheel drive if you pay extra.
We would expect the Sportage plug-in hybrid to return, although it’s not available at the moment.
Prices and specs will be revealed in the coming months, but we don’t anticipate a big shift over the current car – which starts at a whisker over £30,000 and tops out at around £46,000.
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.
