Kia Sportage!

[2o6]

I'm really liking it.





http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/16/european-registry-pulls-wraps-off-2011-kia-sportage/

[Submariner]

Holy enormous C pillar Batman!

[WookieOnRitalin]

It's looks pretty damn similar to the Sorento. I do not know what the hell the difference is between the two besides a little size. Frankly, the Sorento looks better, but the Sorento officially pissed me off the other day. You cannot get Roof Rails with the upgraded audio system. WTF?

Maybe the Sportage will be different. The front of both the Sorento and Sportage are identical except it looks better executed on the Sorento. I was hoping the Sportage would be more brutish 4x4 in it's redesign, but I guess not.

Maybe the interior will save it, but I doubt it considering it is supposed to slot beneath the Sorento in price. It certainly looks better than the upcoming Tucson.

[giant_mtb]

I agree.  They're very (too) similar.

[the Teuton]

I like the new Tucson. This doesn't look too bad, either.

[Catman]

Ugly

[ifcar]

It's looks pretty damn similar to the Sorento. I do not know what the hell the difference is between the two besides a little size. Frankly, the Sorento looks better, but the Sorento officially pissed me off the other day. You cannot get Roof Rails with the upgraded audio system. WTF?

Maybe the Sportage will be different. The front of both the Sorento and Sportage are identical except it looks better executed on the Sorento. I was hoping the Sportage would be more brutish 4x4 in it's redesign, but I guess not.

Maybe the interior will save it, but I doubt it considering it is supposed to slot beneath the Sorento in price. It certainly looks better than the upcoming Tucson.

Minor point of order: it's no longer an upcoming Tucson. It went on sale a couple of weeks ago.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Minor point of order: it's no longer an upcoming Tucson. It went on sale a couple of weeks ago.

[Atomic]

looks a bit like the touareg from the front corner -- the lights. i really like it!

[Speed_Racer]

They just need to change that name. Too many bad memories associated with the Sportage badge.

[WookieOnRitalin]

I have always rather liked the name. I thought it was one of the better names. I also rather like the names of most Isuzu vehicles as well.

I like the new Tucson. This doesn't look too bad, either.

I do not like the Tuscon. It was rather disappointing. The Sportage looks better to me even if it does look like the Sorento. The interior of the Tucson is just awful to me. I have no idea who comes up with this.



That is by far one of the ugliest dashes I have ever seen. There is absolutely no flow to it and a ton of just wasted space. You can see the gaps between the various components and it drives me nuts.

In comparison to the Sonata it looks below average.



I thought Hyundai was actually making some handsome vehicles until the Tucson came out.

Here's a look at a spy pic of the new Sportage dash for comparison:



There is no plastic gap between the radio/navigation and the vents like here.



Is there something about hard plastic that Hyundai think is attractive? From the dash of the new Tucson is looks like Hyundai feels that it is the equivalent of background beauty that accents the ambiance of the dash components. I do not get it. It's stupid. The Sportage's dash looks far simpler and better executed. 

[2o6]

[omicron]

Blecch. Overstyled and messy.

[Byteme]

We took a test drive at the Houston Auto Show last weekend.  

It was an SUV that drove and pretty much handled like I would expect a relatively small SUV to drive and handle.  Nothing bad and nothing special, la-de-da.

They only had automatics so the great unwashed masses could test drive them.    

[ifcar]

We took a test drive at the Houston Auto Show last weekend. 

It was an SUV that drove and pretty much handled like I would expect a relatively small SUV to drive and handle.  Nothing bad and nothing special, la-de-da.

They only had automatics so the great unwashed masses could test drive them.   

You drove the Sorento, not the Sportage.

[Northlands]

Kind of reminds me of my brother's Santa Fe. I don't mind it one bit.

If you want ugly, hit up a Honda CRV.

[Byteme]

You drove the Sorento, not the Sportage.

See how memorable the experience was?


So that was you lurking in the bushes?     

[nickdrinkwater]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[2o6]

Official!

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/03/geneva-2010-kia-sportage-makes-world-debut-looks-good/

[Submariner]

Jesus what is it with the Koreans and their elongated, ugly headlamps?

[2o6]

The headlamps are the best part.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Blind spot nightmare. It gives up practicality for sleek modernism. The front looks pretty good actually. The rear does not. Yuck.

Interior looks comfy enough if not a river of hard plastic. My guess is that this is not a Sportage we can take off road anymore. They should have dumped the Sportage name and gone with something different. Oh well. People will buy it and I won't blame them I guess. Fuel mile estimates are pretty good from what I hear. 31-32 in FWD and around 29 Hwy with AWD. I guess that ain't too shabby.

I will say, that despite my lack of interest in it, this is a great vehicle for Kia and a great move by them. Their transformation from 2000 to now is astounding. One of the best 10 year turn arounds of any manufacturer and they are getting a new mid-size sedan next year correct and an updated Rio soon after?

Forte
Rio
Soul
Rondo
New Sorento
New Sportage

They went from a back of the class manufacturer with awkward styling to a top of class competitor in price, fuel economy, and performance. IMHO, they look fantastic as well. Good job on Kia's part to higher a German to design their vehicles!

[ifcar]

The outgoing Sportage is car-based too. Only the first generation was a truck.

And the Forte will be a glaring hole in their lineup for quite some time unless they somehow work magic in a mid-cycle update. It's not a strong car even as a brand-new design.

[WookieOnRitalin]

The outgoing Sportage is car-based too. Only the first generation was a truck.

And the Forte will be a glaring hole in their lineup for quite some time unless they somehow work magic in a mid-cycle update. It's not a strong car even as a brand-new design.

The Forte is pretty fuel efficient and comfortable enough to drive no? Your experience with the Forte was the SX that ultimately has a stiffer ride than the EX. Most response I have seen to the Forte have been relatively positive. The EX has been positively reviewed as comfortable, airy, and a good commuter. I have heard little otherwise. I think calling it a GLARING HOLE is hyperbole and you should reconsider. 

You could beat up the previous Sportage a little bit. They softened it up further for better on road manners to the delight of superior sales I imagine.

[ifcar]

The Forte is pretty fuel efficient and comfortable enough to drive no? Your experience with the Forte was the SX that ultimately has a stiffer ride than the EX. Most response I have seen to the Forte have been relatively positive. The EX has been positively reviewed as comfortable, airy, and a good commuter. I have heard little otherwise. I think calling it a GLARING HOLE is hyperbole and you should reconsider.

I had test driven an EX automatic before I had the week in the SX, and wasn't impressed with that car either. It's stiff and noisy even without the sport suspension and cheap inside. It's roomy and fuel-efficient, but otherwise unremarkable at best. It was praised by people who said it was a step up for Kia (it wasn't -- the Spectra is better in many ways, but they presumably hadn't been in one since 2004 and had no recollection of it) or who don't know what the standard is for economy cars.

I'm seeing big discounts start to appear, which increase any car's appeal. But it's not a better car than, say, an Elantra -- in many ways it's worse. (Less rear seat space, lower-grade interior, inferior crash test performance, stiffer/noisier ride)

You could beat up the previous Sportage a little bit. They softened it up further for better on road manners to the delight of superior sales I imagine.

Previous meaning current? If so, it's just an Elantra station wagon -- same as the Tucson. I'd never heard anything about it being hardier off road than any other car-based SUV, just that the suspension was a bit stiffer than the Tucson's for better on-road handling.

[2o6]

In terms of styling, the Forte is a huge leap over the drab Spectra.