Kia Sportage review

Things kick off at £30,885 for the petrol-powered Sportage, and from £34,425 for the full hybrids. Expect a premium of around £5k on top when the PHEV arrives. 

That starting price puts it competitively in the mix compared to rivals, with the Citroen C5 Aircross and Seat Ateca coming in slightly cheaper, the Nissan Qashqai, Mazda CX-5, Skoda Karoq and Toyota C-HR on par, and the likes of the Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson, Renault Austral and (by some way) the Peugeot 3008 and Volkswagen Tiguan all starting over £30k.

Kia's finance calculator can be tweaked depending on your preferred deposit budget and annual mileage, but stick £5,000 down on a base petrol Sportage and you're looking at monthly repayments of £335 over three years.

What’s the kit list like?

Right, three versions are now available: Pure, GT-Line and GT-Line S (that’s the ‘Magma Red’ car you see in the pictures above). All three powertrains are available across every trim level, which makes a nice change.

Base spec Pure versions get 17in alloy wheels, LED headlights and daytime running lights, electrically folding heated mirrors, 4.2in driver display, 12.3in touchscreen, 2x front USB-C ports, 2x rear USB-C ports, keyless entry and start/stop.

One up GT-Line versions get 18/19in alloys (pure petrol/hybrid respectively), a GT-Line body kit, gloss black exterior details, tinted rear windows, chrome front and rear skid plates, black headlining, a heated steering wheel and front seats with black and white upholstery, and alloy pedals.

Top of the range GT-Line S versions gets the full bells 'n' whistles, including adaptive headlights, panoramic sunroof, powered bootlid, 10in head-up display, 12.3in driver display, ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats, Harman Kardon sound system, wireless charging, and customisable ambient lighting.

Your standard colour is white, anything else is £675, or you can get dual tone (ie black roof) for £825 but only on the GT-Line S. Feels a bit mean.

What’s the best spec?

For private buyers, the hybrid in Pure spec is probably the sweet spot of the Sportage line-up, setting you back £34,425. For any company car buyers, it may be worth waiting for the full plug-in for the reduced Benefit-in-Kind rate.

It's worth noting that all Sportages come with Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty too. Few other manufacturers promise to guarantee a car for that amount of time or mileage.