A full 30 years of career and five generations behind it: the Kia Sportage, now in its fifth generation, is not a trivial resume. For the first time in its history, the car will be offered in a version dedicated exclusively to the European market as well as with a plug-in hybrid engine. A leap forward also for the interiors, which are distinguished by an integrated curved display, which stands out on the dashboard.
“The all-new Sportage has been carefully designed, developed and refined specifically for Europe, in a process that blurs the boundaries to set new benchmarks in the SUV segment,” said Jason Jeong, president of Kia Europe: “The The new Sportage also boasts advanced technical solutions for the electrification of engines, with efficient and ecological hybrid models that can satisfy all customer needs. The plug-in hybrid version further highlights Kia’s mission in accelerating sustainable mobility throughout Europe ”.
Compared to the Sportage for other markets, the one for Europe is 15 cm shorter, for a total of 451 (and has a wheelbase of 268 cm). The load capacity is 591 liters, which becomes 1,780 when the rear seats are folded down. While the bridge has two 12.3 ”screens side by side, respectively dedicated to tacho instrumentation and multimedia system. And there is also an operating mode, called “Terrain Mode”, dedicated to driving on snow, mud and sand.
The engine range includes only electrified drive units: at the top is the rechargeable hybrid variant, which exploits the synergy between a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder 180 HP turbofan and a 90 HP electric unit, connected to a 13.9 kWh of capacity, for a system power of 265 hp. This is followed by the Sportage full hybrid – not rechargeable from the outside – which adopts the aforementioned thermal unit and a 60 HP electric motor, powered by a 1.49 kWh accumulator, for a total of 230 HP. These editions have 6-speed automatic transmission as standard.
The mild-hybrid versions of the 1.6 turbo petrol engine, with 150 or 180 bhp, and the 1.6 turbodiesel, with 115 or 136 bhp, are more “simple”. For light hybrids the transmissions are the 6-speed manual or the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. Numerous driving assistance systems include predictive cruise control and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian recognition.
