All-new Kia Sportage shatters expectations

Kia Singapore has unveiled the latest iteration of their very popular Kia Sportage. The new car has a revised exterior that blends smooth curves with sharp creases, and the lines terminate at the company’s trademark “tiger-nose” grille. The new cars also sports a chin spoiler of sorts – the wider and deeper front lip adds a touch of aggression to the car, whilst providing additional cooling for the engine. Whilst the overall width has remained unchanged, the new car has certainly grown in length. Part of the growth comes from the lengthening of the wheelbase, from the old car’s 2640mm to the current model’s 2670mm. As such, the overall length is now 4480mm, or about 40mm longer than the outgoing car. The insides will be just as nice and as classy as the new exterior too. The design brief was simple – to create a wide, and driver-oriented dashboard, which was precisely what the crack team of designers and engineers, led by Kia’s new Design head Peter Schreyer, did. The Korean automaker spared no expense in trimming absolutely everything in a nice and plush soft touch leather finish. Obviously, the old engine has had to be ripped out and replaced with modern units to match the high-tech design already found in the car’s bodyshell and interior trimmings. As such, no Euro 4 compliant engines from yesteryears here – the full suite of engine options for the current gen Sportage happen to all be Euro 5 units. The engine, which happens to be a 2.0 litre 4 banger, will deliver 155bhp to the wheels.