I first encountered the Kia Sportage when I was offered one as an upgrade at an Enterprise car hire desk in Dublin Airport. Not knowing quite what a Sportage was – Kia were still very-much a new brand back then – I took the plunge, paid the fee, and was then handed the keys to a car, that at that time I, or few others I suspect, knew little about.
Upon locating said Sportage in the car park, I was left wondering if I’d done the right thing. Was a slightly ungainly looking Korean built SUV (We called also them Crossovers back then) really considered to be an upgrade over one of Vauxhall’s fleet favourites? Or was this just Irish humour at its best? It turned out I needn’t have worried. Despite my initial misgivings the Sportage proved itself to be well equipped, capacious, and more than up to the task of cruising quietly, despite atrocious weather, towards the south of the Emerald Isle.
Not long after driving the next generation of the Sportage I wrote “As an alternative to the more established family transport it makes a lot of sense. Faced with the choice of one these or just another dull hatchback for nearly the same money, which one would you rather spend time in?”
Whether or not anyone actually reads any of what I write I’m never sure. But you never know, maybe there’s something in it. Hatchback sales have certainly given way to SUVs. And the Sportage is now Kia’s UK, European and global best-seller. In both 2024, and 2025 it was the best-selling SUV in the UK; it was in fact, the second-best selling car in the UK in 2025. Worldwide, Kia have sold over seven million of them.
The Sportage you see before you is the recently face-lifted fifth generation model. Quite a handsome thing, isn’t it? There’s a new front bumper featuring an enlarged ‘tiger nose’ grille – a trademark Kia design feature if ever there was one – in addition to much groovier looking daytime, Star Map, running lights that help differentiate this latest Sportage from what went before. You get a choice of new alloy wheel designs, some new side mouldings, and at the back Kia have subtly redesigned the taillights and rear bumper. Everything has been done to help establish Kia’s “opposites united” design philosophy and thus create a stronger family resemblance between Kia’s EV offerings and its internal combustion range.
Speaking of engines… The Sportage can be had as good old-fashioned petrol, a hybrid, or a plug-in hybrid. Nevertheless, all are based upon the Kia’s 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol unit. The diesel was phased-out (in the UK at least) in 2023.
The non-electrically assisted 147bhp petrol is available with a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed automatic. 0-62mph is said to be attainable 9.7 seconds, so too nigh-on 40mpg. Hybrid Sportages now boast 235bhp. 0-62mph takes 8.1 seconds for the all-wheel drive versions, or 7.9 seconds if front-wheel drive only. Kia quote 50mpg for front-wheel drive as opposed to 44mpg for those with the promise extra grip. As for the plug-in hybrid, that’s got 261bhp, a 13.8kWh battery, and a 43 mile electric only range.
It’s the non-hybrid petrol we have here, with the auto ‘box, in mid-spec GT-Line trim. That means it’s got 18 inch rims, sportier styling, heated front and rear seats, and leather (or least, pleather) and suede upholstery. Space inside is generous, as is the boot (587 litres), and you’ve got to hand to Kia, this interior feels pretty plush. The Sportage gains the 12.3in wide-aspect touchscreen as seen in the EV9, EV4, Sorento, etc. with over-the-air software updates, ChatGPT AI assistant, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. On the whole it’s a pretty intuitive interface to navigate your way through, plus a line of shortcut keys (the function of which can be switched to become heating and ventilation controls) makes the more day-to-day stuff – radio station, temperature settings and the like – far easy to adjust than the usual poke and hope touchscreen norm we’ve sadly now become all-too accustom to.
There’s a familiarity to the way the Sportage drives too. Think, comfort rather than sporty; refinement rather than racy. No mid-size SUV at this level will ever be what you’d call agile, or entertaining. The 1.6 petrol can feel a little strained if asked to work hard, and the automatic gearbox can feel as if it’s struggling to keep up sometimes – the hybrid, I suspect, with its extra oomph might feel a little less flustered – but as a daily driver doing the commute or the school run, the Sportage’s overall ease of use makes it easy to see why it’s a family favourite. There’s the odd thump from those larger wheels on broken surfaces but it’s nothing worse than you’d expect from so many other of the Sportage’s class mates.
And there lies this evening’s conundrum; the Sportage has, bizarrely, proved quite a difficult vehicle to review. Like so many of the others in its class it doesn’t do any one thing remarkably well and neither does it do any one thing remarkably badly. And thus, I suspect, lies its charm. Kia keep tweaking the Sportage just enough to maintain its position as a best seller. It may be hard to write about, but spend a few days with one and it’s very easy to see why so many still find it so appealing.
Kia Sportage 1.6 ‘GT-Line’ FWD 7DCT
Engine: 1,598cc 4Cyl, 16V turbo, petrol
Transmission: 7-speed DCT (dual clutch) automatic, Front-wheel drive
Power: 147bhp @6,000pm
Torque: 184 lbft @4,000rpm
0-62mph: 9.4 Sec
Max Speed: 119 mph
CO2: 1162 g/km
MPG: 39.8 combined
Price: from £35,085
Many thanks to Chloe at KIA’s UK press office for the loan of the SPORTAGE 
@bird_liam
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