KIA

ANY SPORTAGE QUESTIONS? 4x4 buyers have never had so much choice but in this densely populated sector, is there still space for Kia’s inconspicuous Sportage? Steve Walker reports.

Close your eyes and try for a moment to picture the Kia Sportage. Tough isn’t it? I write about cars for a living and my recall is patchy. It’s like trying to remember how an old song goes with a different track playing in the background. Try as I might, I keep coming up with either a previous generation Toyota RAV-4 or a Suzuki Grand Vitara. The Sportage itself slips from the memory as if it were coated with so much Teflon. In a bid to make the Sportage more memorable, Kia went back to the drawing board and returned with the current facelifted version.

The underpinnings of the Sportage are the same as those of Hyundai’s Tucson 4x4 which is no great handicap. In fact, the Kia inherited a decent tarmac biased chassis with either two-wheel-drive or part time four-wheel-drive and some modest off road ability - a perfect set-up, in other words, for the target market. Kia’s credibility when it comes to building 4x4s has been boosted enormously by the excellent Sorento family 4x4 and the smaller Sportage augments this reputation. It’s a vehicle with a very different focus to its predecessor. That car was surprisingly capable off-road but felt unsophisticated on it. The current car is at its best on the tarmac with a modicum of ruggedness thrown in for light off-road jaunts, which is just how British buyers like their compact 4x4s. With tweaks to the styling introduced on the latest car, it looks well capable of making an impact. Power is supplied by one of two engines – a 2.0-litre petrol unit or a 2.0-litre CRDi diesel. Of these units, the petrol has fractionally more horsepower with 140bhp to the CRDi’s 138bhp but it’s the oil-burner that feels more forceful with 305Nm of torque between 1,800rpm and 2,500rpm. This slug of pulling power arrives all at once so smoothness and flexibility aren’t particular strong points of the CRDi engine but it feels significantly more muscular than the petrol which delivers 184Nm at 4,500rpm. The 0-60mph times say it all with 13.8s and 11.3s managed by the diesel and petrol respectively. The diesel is available with an automatic gearbox.

"Low pricing and generous specifications have got Kia where it is today"

Show the Sportage a straight, well-surfaced road and it serves up a good standard of ride comfort and refinement. In the past, the problems tended to start when the going got twisty or the surface deteriorated. The recent facelift aimed to address this however and the current models feature revised dampers as well as a tweaked power steering system. The ride has grown firmer and that helps the Sportage resist body roll when cornered vigorously it’s also less liable to become unsettled over bumps in the road. The more accurate steering makes it easier to position the car too but the driving experience still lacks the polish of the best compact off-roaders. The 16" brake discs produce secure stopping power and the part-time 4x4 system produces an abundance of grip in the wet. The exterior styling is neat without offering too much in the way of signature detail. The chunky wheelarches give the car a rather over-inflated look but the overall effect is not unpleasant. It just blends into the background a little. The latest cars can be identified by their single bar through the grille plus the reshaped headlamps and bumper but it’s still nothing very dramatic. Inside, the seating was remodelled to give increased comfort and the indicator stalk is now where it should be, on the left side of the steering column. The Sportage was launched before the cee’d redefined the standard of build quality we could expect from Kia but it’s still acceptably solid. Low grade plastics let the side down in places but the controls are very straight-forward to use. The Sportage adopts a few MPV-style practicality features. The rear seat cushion and the backrest are a case in point, adopting Kia’s ‘Fold and Dive’ system. Whilst it may sound like a tactic taught by Argentinean football coaches, it is in fact a method of creating a spacious, square-sided and completely flat cargo area. The front passenger seat backrest can also be folded flat to house extra long loads and at the back there’s even a flip-up rear window which means that items can be dropped into the luggage area without having to open the tailgate. Not that opening the tailgate is overly difficult. Unlike many compact 4x4s, the Sportage is big enough to keep the spare wheel in its proper place – under the luggage bay floor – instead of mounting it on the rear tailgate. This means that the tailgate is pleasantly light to open and doesn’t whistle at motorway speeds – a problem that afflicts cars with hatch mounted spares. On the right of the steering wheel assembly are the switches for the four-wheel drive system but only if you’ve gone for one of the four-wheel-drive models. The entry-level Sportage derivatives use a conventional 2WD set-up and even the more expensive 4x4 versions send power exclusively to the front wheels until slippage is detected. Then power can be redirected aft to maximise grip. Pricewise, the Sportage significantly undercuts the Hyundai Tucson that it shares its underpinnings with. The line-up opens with the XE which still has 16" alloy wheels, a CD stereo, remote central locking, air-conditioning, front, side and curtain airbags, the 60/40 split rear seats and ABS with EBD. Next comes the XS and the range-topper is the four-wheel-drive only TITAN. At this level, you get ESP, an electric sunroof, heated seats, privacy glass and 17-inch Rimfire alloy wheels. Prices start at £13,995 for the XE 2WD and the TITAN 4WD model with the diesel engine is still only £19,195. The compact 4x4 sector has exploded of late with virtually every mainstream manufacturer having cobbled together an entrant of some description. Despite the improvements made, the Sportage still campaigns at the lower end of this market offering value for money and lots of equipment in a competently engineered package. With most of the entrants into this sector aiming quite a bit higher than the Sportage, it could easily carve out a profitable niche for itself by undercutting the major players and appealing to family buyers on a budget. Sportage diesel buyers expecting to recoup the extra outlay they’ve made to upgrade from the 2.0-litre petrol engine through lower fuel costs are likely to be disappointed. There’s actually very little difference between the two powerplants in terms of economy. A four-wheel-drive petrol model will return around 34.4mpg and an equivalent diesel manages 39.8mpg. Pair the diesel with its optional automatic gearbox and the difference is less than 1mpg. Emissions too are broadly similar with 194g/km from the 4WD petrol car and 187g/km from the diesel. On the used market, its low key image and the glut of compact 4x4 alternatives doesn’t help the Sportage hang onto its value but Kia’s excellent warranty package will help in the short to medium term. Buyers get full cover for seven-years or 100,000 miles. It’s about as good as the industry can offer and puts mainstream rivals like Ford and Vauxhall in the shade. This promise of trouble free motoring will be enough to tip the balance for many potential customers. Making an impact in today’s overcrowded compact 4x4 sector is always going to be difficult but Kia’s Sportage goes about the task in an unassuming way and deserves some success. Low pricing and generous specifications have got Kia where it is today and the Sportage combines these reliable basics with a practical interior to make itself a sound choice for family buyers. The engine range is workmanlike with none of its constituent units rising above the mediocre but revisions have enhanced the driving experience and the Sportage does a passable impression of comfort and refinement without embarrassing itself through the corners. With other mainstream compact 4x4s growing progressively bigger and more expensive, the Kia Sportage has remained close to its roots at the lower end of the market sector. Even the latest facelift has done little to enliven its appearance but the Kia appeals on a different level to the fashionable offerings at the opposite end of the compact 4x4 spectrum and there’s something to be said for keeping things low key in the current anti-4x4 climate. With its industry-leading warranty and strong value proposition, the Sportage is an uncomplicated sort. It should prove that there’s a ready market out there for an average compact 4x4 at an eye-catching price.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Kia Sportage range PRICES: £13,995-£19,195 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-11 CO2 EMISSIONS: 187-210g/km PERFORMANCE: [2.0 CRDi 2WD] 0-60mph 15.1s / Max Speed 108mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 CRDi 2WD] (Combined) 35.3mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front side and curtain airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4325/1840/1730mm

ENTRY LEVEL EXCELLENCE If You’re After A Budget 4x4 And Want The Security Of A New Purchase, Look No Further Than Kia’s Sportage 2.0-Litre. Andy Enright Reports…

Few things are cut and dried when it comes to purchasing new cars. Here’s one that is. If you want a compact 4x4, and don’t want to spend a lot of money, either buy secondhand or buy a Kia Sportage 2.0-litre model. As one of the least expensive contemporary 4x4s it’s possible to buy, the Sportage offers a modern and smartly styled compact sports utility that’s slick enough to pass muster.

There are some less expensive 4x4s than the Kia, but these are based on rather ageing platforms and are a good deal less sophisticated. The Sportage is based on the same chassis as the Hyundai Tucson, yet crucially undercuts the Hyundai by a few hundred pounds. This is significant, as in many respects, it’s Hyundai putting a toe in the water and assessing whether they can charge a few hundred pounds extra for some perceived badge equity. My advice would be to show Hyundai what they can do with this venture and stick with the Kia. It’s materially no inferior to the Tucson and offers the same advantages and shortcomings. Somewhat improbably, the Hyundai Elantra hatchback provides the underpinnings for both the Sportage and the Tucson. This should also give you a clue as to why the Sportage rides so well on road. The suspension set up is a good deal more sophisticated than the rather rudimentary configurations found on many small 4x4s and offers car-like levels of comfort. In the latest models revised dampers have addressed the problem of body-roll in corners with some success while a more accurate powersteering system has sharpened responses. The part time four-wheel drive system does just enough to offer a degree of off road capability yet doesn’t mean the car is encumbered by heavy duty hardware that’s very rarely used. The 4WD Sportage actually operates in front-wheel drive mode most of the time and most will find the 2.0-litre petrol engine more than adequate. If you decide you don’t need four driven wheels at all, you can always opt for a 2WD model that ditches the off-road mechanicals. With 140bhp on tap, the engine uses continuously variable valve timing and thrives on revs. Peak power arrives at a very high 6,000rpm and the modest 184Nm peak torque arrives at 4,500rpm. This should tell you a couple of things. Firstly, that this petrol engine isn’t great at the sort of low-down lugging required of ‘serious’ off roaders and secondly that if you want to get anywhere quickly, you’ll need to work the engine to do so. Engine refinement isn’t the best, but the good news is that the powerplant sounds reasonably purposeful. It’s also surprisingly brisk in a straight line, the Sportage getting to 60mph in 10.4 seconds and running on to a top speed of 111mph. The styling is reasonably contemporary and certainly isn’t going to look out of place amongst a gaggle of Toyota RAV4s and Honda CRVs. Three equipment levels are available as is an automatic transmission option. Buyers choose between the 2WD XE and 4WD XR specs for £13,995 and £14,995 respectively.

"The Sportage is modern in both execution and philosophy"

The Sportage also adopts a few MPV-style practicality features. The rear seat cushion and the backrest are a case in point, adopting Kia’s ‘Fold and Dive’ system. Whilst it may sound like a tactic taught by Argentinean football coaches, it is in fact a method of creating a spacious, square-sided and completely flat cargo area. The front passenger seat backrest can also be folded flat to house extra long loads and at the back there’s even a flip-up rear window which means that items can be dropped into the luggage area without having to open the tailgate. Not that opening the tailgate is overly difficult. Unlike many compact 4x4s, the Sportage is big enough to keep the spare wheel in its proper place – under the luggage bay floor – instead of mounting it on the rear tailgate. This means that the tailgate is pleasantly light to open and doesn’t whistle at motorway speeds – a problem that afflicts cars with hatch mounted spares. Inside, the seating was remodelled to give increased comfort and the indicator stalk is now where it should be, on the left side of the steering column. The Sportage was launched before the cee’d redefined the standard of build quality we could expect from Kia but it’s still acceptably solid. Low grade plastics let the side down in places but the controls are very straight-forward to use. On the right of the steering wheel assembly are the switches for the four-wheel drive system but only if you’ve gone for the four-wheel-drive model. The entry-level Sportage derivative uses a conventional 2WD set-up and even the more expensive 4x4 version sends power exclusively to the front wheels until slippage is detected. Then power can be redirected aft to maximise grip. The exterior styling is neat without offering too much in the way of signature detail. The chunky wheelarches give the car a rather over-inflated look but the overall effect is not unpleasant. It just blends into the background a little. The latest cars can be identified by their single bar through the grille plus the reshaped headlamps and bumper but it’s still nothing very dramatic. Offering a car that looks not unlike many rivals costing thousands of pounds more may indeed be a wise move. The only change I’d consider would be the fitment of wider wheels to fill out those chunky arches a little more convincingly. The Sportage 2.0-litre shows this model in its best light underlining its low pricing and generous equipment levels. Although higher mileage drivers may prefer to save for the 2.0-litre diesel model the fuel economy advantage is not as great as you might imagine, for most customers this petrol engine will be more than adequate. Buying a modern compact 4x4 needn’t mean mortgaging yourself to the hilt any more.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Kia Sportage 2.0 petrol range PRICES: £13,995-£14,995 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 10 CO2 EMISSIONS: 190-194g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 10.4s / Max Speed 111mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Combined) (2WD) 35.3mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4325/1840/1730mm

KILLS BILLS Logic dictates that the smart money buys diesel these days but does buying a budget diesel 4x4 stack up? Andy Enright takes a look at Kia’s Sportage 2.0-litre diesel

As a schoolboy, there were few words I dreaded more than "Get your pen, pencil and ruler out for mathematics." Maths was a definite blind spot for me, largely due to a teacher who was utterly unenthusiastic and the fact that I spent two years sitting next to the class clown. Fortunately only a very basic level of arithmetical prowess is required to figure out whether the Kia Sportage 2.0-litre diesel makes a very wise buy.

Let’s look at the bottom line first. The diesel Sportage range starts at £16,195 for the 2WD XE version with the automatic gearbox while the better-equipped XS variant is priced from £17,695 in 2WD automatic form. If you want a four-wheel-drive model, you’ll need to tack another £200 onto those prices and settle for a manual gearbox. As a point of reference, the 2.0-litre petrol version of the Sportage costs £13,995 in XE trim with 2WD but that model has the manual gearbox, so buying diesel is going to be at a premium. Is it worth it? That may well depend on how many miles per year you drive and how long you plan to keep the car. If, like many British motorists, you average around 12,000 miles a year and plan to keep your Sportage diesel for three years before trading it in against something else, the fuel consumption figures are interesting. A petrol Sportage XE will actually consume a similar amount of fuel to the diesel model. A small fuel saving for a bigger initial outlay may not seem particularly special, but think of it as a bonus. You see, when the time comes to sell the Sportage diesel, it’ll hold onto its value better than its petrol counterpart, and given that many owners will finance their buy with a guaranteed residual value at the end of their ownership period, the diesel version should work out the more cost effective buy. Cover more miles and the sums will swing increasingly in favour of the car that drinks from the black pump. Maths exercise over, it’s now time to look at what you’re actually getting for your money. This is a modern common rail powerplant and emissions are pegged at a very respectable 187g/km for the four-wheel drive model, not so good 210bhp for the 2WD. With four cylinders displacing 1991cc, this Euro IV-compliant 16v engine now develops 138bhp at a fairly high 4,000rpm and 305 Nm of torque. It’s good for a top speed of 110mph in the four-wheel drive guise and will cover the sprint to 60mph in 12 seconds. The engine seems to lack the midrange shove of most common-rail diesels, almost as if its turbocharger was bleeding away boost, but the flipside of this is a very pleasant linearity of feel that makes it an easy engine to live with day in, day out.

"This diesel engine doesn’t have that elastic ‘lag and surge’ characteristic that afflicts so many other such units"

A combined fuel economy figure nudging 40mpg in the four-wheel drive model is respectable going for such a spacious vehicle and even around town the 4x4 Sportage will see over 30mpg. The diesel is moderately capable off road, although anything too arduous will betray its comparative lack of wheel articulation. Even over modest obstacles, the 4x4 Sportage is prone to lifting a wheel and the four-wheel drive system isn’t quite clever enough to realise when one wheel is six inches off the ground and divert drive to the other one. Instead, it uses a more rudimentary ‘torque on demand’ system that keeps the Sportage in front wheel drive up until that moment when the front wheels’ start slipping. It then transfers a percentage of drive to the rear wheels. Unfortunately it seems a little dull witted when performing this task, allowing the car to sit spinning its front wheels impotently for a few seconds before deciding to switch to all wheel drive. The Sportage also adopts a few MPV-style practicality features. The rear seat cushion and the backrest are a case in point, adopting Kia’s ‘Fold and Dive’ system. Whilst it may sound like a tactic taught by Argentinean football coaches, it is in fact a method of creating a spacious, square-sided and completely flat cargo area. The front passenger seat backrest can also be folded flat to house extra long loads and at the back there’s even a flip-up rear window which means that items can be dropped into the luggage area without having to open the tailgate. Not that opening the tailgate is overly difficult. Unlike many compact 4x4s, the Sportage is big enough to keep the spare wheel in its proper place – under the luggage bay floor – instead of mounting it on the rear tailgate. This means that the tailgate is pleasantly light to open and doesn’t whistle at motorway speeds – a problem that afflicts cars with hatch mounted spares. Inside, the seating was remodelled to give increased comfort and the indicator stalk is now where it should be, on the left side of the steering column. The Sportage was launched before the cee’d redefined the standard of build quality we could expect from Kia but it’s still acceptably solid. Low grade plastics let the side down in places but the controls are very straight-forward to use. On the right of the steering wheel assembly are the switches for the four-wheel drive system but only if you’ve gone for one of the four-wheel-drive models. The entry-level Sportage derivatives use a conventional 2WD set-up and even the more expensive 4x4 versions send power exclusively to the front wheels until slippage is detected. Then power can be redirected aft to maximise grip. The exterior styling is neat without offering too much in the way of signature detail. The chunky wheelarches give the car a rather over-inflated look but the overall effect is not unpleasant. It just blends into the background a little. The latest cars can be identified by their single bar through the grille plus the reshaped headlamps and bumper but it’s still nothing very dramatic. Offering a car that looks not unlike many rivals costing thousands of pounds more may indeed be a wise move. The only change I’d consider would be the fitment of wider wheels to fill out those chunky arches a little more convincingly. Slapping a low sticker price on a car isn’t anything particularly clever. Being able to do so while at the same time offering a quality product is a trickier proposition. Kia have pulled that off with the Sportage 2.0 CRDi diesel. If you need a small 4x4 and are looking to use it for towing (the towing limit is now 1,800kg), light off road use or just want to keep day-to-day running costs at a manageable level, look no further.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi diesel range PRICES: £15,995-£18,995 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 9D CO2 EMISSIONS: 187-210g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph (4WD) 112s / Max Speed 110mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (4WD) - (Urban) 31.7mpg / (extra urban) 45.6mpg / (combined) 39.8mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4325/1840/1730mm

SPORTING CHANCE Models Covered: 5dr Compact 4x4 (2.0, 2.7 petrol, 2.0 diesel [XE, XS])

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

There’s a lot to be said for the Kia Sportage. In offering the cheapest compact 4x4, Kia would appear to have cornered the market amongst budget buyers and the Sportage is a very decent car. Unfortunately, this is a market that’s notoriously badge conscious and, as Kia discovered, many customers would much rather drive a three year old Freelander than a brand spanking new Sportage. That’s as maybe but if you’re not too worried about your golf club kudos points, a used Sportage makes a very canny buy.

We were given a quick sneak preview of what to expect from the Kia Sportage when sister company Hyundai brought their version of the vehicle, the Tucson, to market a few months earlier. While being the cheapest is often advantageous, there aren’t often too many prizes for being second cheapest and the Tucson has struggled. The Sportage has fared a little better, and if you shop around you should be able to find the car in the specification and colour of your choice. What hasn’t helped the Sportage is the fact that its predecessor was so underwhelming. Perhaps Kia should have completely rebranded what is a very capable little car. The initial range offered buyers a choice between either 2.0-litre petrol or diesel powerplants, plus a 2.7-litre petrol V6. In early 2006, the diesel was upgraded to Euro IV-compliant status and power was upped to 138bhp. 2WD versions of the Sportage were introduced for the 2008 model year at the same time as a facelift brought a mild re-style to the front end, firmer suspension and sharper steering.

The underpinnings of the Sportage are the same as those of Hyundai’s Tucson 4x4, so with two companies to share the development costs, you’d expect a fairly decent result: so it’s proved. Kia’s credibility when it comes to building 4x4s was boosted enormously with the addition of the excellent Sorento and the Sportage has augmented this reputation. It’s a vehicle with a very different focus to its predecessor. That car was rather undervalued in this country but sold well in many other markets on account of its rugged off-road capability. The ‘Fulham Farmer’ focus of 4x4s in this country ensured that the old Sportage was seen as a bit of a rough and ready Far Eastern curio that didn’t have the sophistication and ride quality to cut it in a rapidly expanding market. The MK2 Sportage set out to be a lot more user-friendly, adopting a few MPV-style practicality features. The rear seat cushion and the backrest are a case in point, adopting Kia’s ‘Fold and Dive’ system. Whilst it may sound like a tactic taught by Argentinean football coaches, it is in fact a method of creating a spacious, square-sided and completely flat cargo area. The front passenger seat backrest can be folded flat to house extra long loads and at the back there’s even a flip-up rear window which means that items can be dropped into the luggage area without having to open the tailgate. Not that opening the tailgate is overly difficult. Unlike many compact 4x4s, the Sportage is big enough to keep the spare wheel in its proper place – under the luggage bay floor – instead of mounting it on the rear tailgate. This means that the tailgate is pleasantly light to open and doesn’t whistle at motorway speeds – a problem that afflicts cars with hatch mounted spares. The cabin is styled in a broadly inoffensive manner with far more attention paid to ergonomics than its rather haphazardly styled predecessor. If only Kia could have prevented themselves adding icky plastic wood to the dashboards. The MK2 Sportage’s interior waves goodbye to the acres of featureless elephant-grey plastics and instead offers a neat cluster of instruments on the centre console, mounted high so that you don’t need to go fishing about at shin level to adjust the air conditioning. On the other side of the steering wheel assembly are the switches for the four-wheel drive system and the ESP stability control while the fascia itself features a metallic bezel around the main instruments. The exterior styling is neat without offering too much in the way of signature detail. The chunky wheelarches give the car a rather over-inflated look but the overall effect is not unpleasant. It just blends into the background a little. The only change we’d suggest would be the fitment of wider wheels to fill out those chunky arches a little more convincingly.

Kia buyers tend to be very clever with their money and Sportage customers are no exception. They will have done the mathematics and figured out that the diesel model is only really worth buying if you plan to rack up serious mileages so those that drink from the black pump will often have bigger numbers on the odometer than the 2.0-litre petrol or the very rare 2.7-litre V6. A typical opening price for a 2.0-litre CRDi XE on a 2005 05 plate will be around £8,275. £11,075 will net you a decent 2.7-litre V6 XS of the same vintage. Both the 2.0-litre engined cars are rated at Group 10 insurance with the 2.7-litre V6 getting a Group 12 bracketing.

The Sportage has been refreshingly fault-free to date, a fact reflected by Kia’s excellent showing in customer satisfaction surveys. When buying, do inspect the underside for evidence of enthusiastic off-roading. The tyres should betray no symptoms of wonky tracking and the wheel arch liners and exhausts should be in tiptop condition. The interiors don't wear as well as some rivals but other than that, you should be able to buy with confidence.

(Approx - based on a Sportage 2.7 XS) Consumables for the Sportage are reasonably priced, an air filter retailing at around £11, a fuel filter costing around £21 and an oil filter £7.50. Spark plugs are £3 each and a new cam belt adds up to approximately £60.

The 2.0-litre petrol engine represents a first step into Sportage ownership but used buyers would do better to stump up the extra for the diesel. A combined fuel economy figure nudging 40mpg is very respectable going for such a spacious vehicle and even around town the Sportage CRDi will see over 30mpg. The diesel is moderately capable off road, although anything too arduous will betray its comparative lack of wheel articulation. Even over modest obstacles, the Sportage is prone to lifting a wheel and the four-wheel drive system isn’t quite clever enough to realise when one wheel is six inches off the ground and divert drive to the other wheel. Instead it uses a more rudimentary ‘torque on demand’ system that keeps the Sportage in front wheel drive up until that moment when the front wheels’ start slipping. It then transfers a percentage of drive to the rear wheels. Unfortunately it seems a little dull witted when performing this task, allowing the car to sit spinning its front wheels impotently for a few seconds before deciding to switch to all wheel drive. The most fun powerplant is without doubt the 2.7-litre V6 petrol, possessed as it is of a magnificent metallic yowl when it’s wound up. Unfortunately you’ll need to do this fairly often to make respectable progress, with the consequent effect on fuel consumption. Coupled with the standard four speed automatic transmission, you’ll put the kickdown cable to good use if you want to undertake some overtaking. The ride on all models is surprisingly firm and on smooth surfaces, the Sportage tackles corners with some relish. Throw a bumpy B-road at it and the Kia is far less composed but nevertheless at this sort of money, it’s a pretty polished performer.

We like Kia Sportage owners. They tend not to give two hoots about what people think of the badge on their bonnet and instead buy the car for what it can do rather than what it purports to represent. A used Sportage is an excellent way of getting a thoroughly modern compact 4x4 for less than the price of a rather tatty used Freelander. It’s worth saving up a few extra pounds and going for the diesel, if only for the additional torque and easier driving style. Look out for cars that have been driven enthusiastically off road but otherwise buy with confidence. 3rd September 2008