Kia Sportage Review

2008 Kia Sportage EX SUV Shown

The Kia Sportage has come a long way. When it was first introduced in the U.S. in the mid-1990s, it was a cute but relatively unimpressive mini-SUV. It was underpowered, its interior was cheap and it was plagued with quality issues. Although Kia revised and updated the Sportage through the years, the modest changes weren't enough to keep it competitive. In 2002, Kia dropped the model from its lineup and went back to the drawing board.

Current Kia Sportage

Launched in 2005, the current Kia Sportage shares nothing with the previous generation. Based on an entirely new unibody platform, the newest Sportage is more agile and more powerful. Now under Hyundai's ownership, Kia has improved its production quality and packaging in recent years. And that's evident with the Sportage. You can get a well-stocked Sportage with V6 power and 4WD for thousands less than its competition, making it one of the best values in the small-SUV category.

Available in two trim levels, LX and EX, the Kia Sportage offers the kind of performance and refinement usually associated with the small SUVs from Japanese automakers. Both trims are equipped with a healthy list of standard amenities, such as alloy wheels, air-conditioning, a six-speaker stereo with a CD player, full power accessories and tinted glass.

The Kia Sportage may not look too big from the outside, but the interior has plenty of headroom and legroom, both in the front and the back. The rear seats split and fold flat for a level cargo floor and a maximum of 67 cubic feet of storage. Fit and finish is impressive, and the Sportage provides a surprising number of safety features for its class. There are a total of six standard airbags, including front- and side-impact airbags for driver and passenger, and side curtain airbags for front- and rear-seat occupants. Traction control and four-wheel antilock disc brakes are standard on all trims.

The LX is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine capable of 140 horsepower. It comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission, and a four-speed automatic is available as an option. Most Sportages with this engine are front-wheel drive, though Kia does offer 4WD on manual transmission-equipped models. As an upgrade for the Sportage LX, Kia offers a 173-hp 2.7-liter V6. It comes standard with the automatic transmission and can be had with FWD or 4WD. The EX trim is available only with the V6.

In road tests and reviews, our editors have found the Kia Sportage to be a competent SUV overall. It has earned high marks for its long list of standard safety gear, impressive warranty, comfortable interior, sporty handling and strong value. The main drawback to the Sportage is its powertrain. Even with the V6, acceleration is no more than adequate.

Past Kia Sportage Models

The Kia Sportage started life in 1995 as a body-on-frame compact SUV. Though it was one of the first such vehicles of its kind, it was too small and underpowered to compete with the roomier, more car-like mini-utes that Toyota, Honda and Subaru rolled out shortly thereafter. The base Sportage came with a meager 94-hp, 2.0-liter single-overhead-cam four-cylinder. Rear-wheel drive (2WD) and a five-speed manual transmission were standard. Kia also offered a part-time 4WD version of the base trim. The 4x4 Sportage came with a twin-cam 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 139 hp. A better-equipped EX trim came standard with 4WD and the more powerful engine. A four-speed automatic transmission was an option on all 4WD models.

Kia eliminated the single-cam engine in 1997, leaving all trims equipped with the twin-cam engine, now rated for 130 hp. That same year, Kia began offering the four-speed automatic on 2WD models.

In 1998, Kia added a two-door convertible to the Sportage lineup. It was available with both drivetrains (2WD and 4WD). After that, there were no more significant changes to the Kia Sportage, only minor face-lifts and interior modifications. The final year of production was 2002. Buyers should generally avoid these early models, as they weren't able to match the levels of comfort, performance and fit and finish offered by competing models of the same time period.

SELECT A SPECIFIC KIA SPORTAGE MODEL YEAR*

* Edmunds.com maintains vehicle data as far back as 1990.