2005 Kia Sportage

Exterior & Styling
To give a better idea of the Sportage's size, here's a comparison against the larger Hyundai Santa Fe and the popular Ford Escape:

Ride & Handling
The Sportage is a so-called car-based, unibody SUV. This makes for a more rigid structure and precise handling compared to a truck-based model. The Sportage has four-wheel-independent suspension, so the ride over pothole-ridden streets is reasonably comfortable and the tires stay in contact with the road. Despite the inclusion of stabilizer bars, front and rear, body roll is moderate. While I'd like to see this shored up some, I found that it caused no undue surprises when pushing the Sportage to its limits in hard cornering. It even gives some decent steering feedback when the wheel is turned past the center position.

My test vehicle was equipped with BFGoodrich Traction T/A all-season tires rated P235/60R16 (see tire codes). The LX trim level has the same. The grip wasn't exceptional, but it's well matched to the vehicle's dynamics and a good choice for all seasons. The Sportage LX's tires are a bit narrower, rated P215/65R16. According to TireRack.com, direct replacements for both tires cost less than $70 apiece for the GL and less than $90 apiece for the others. Not bad. They're common sizes, so more affordable tires are also available.

One of the features that makes the Sportage such a bargain is the standard Electronic Stability Program, Kia's name for its electronic stability system. It keeps the car headed in the right direction under low-traction situations. (More on this in the next section as it regards all-wheel drive.)

Going & Stopping
The Sportage comes with a choice of engines and drivelines, but the transmission options are more restricted. The LX's standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder mates to a five-speed-manual transmission. You can option a four-speed-automatic transmission, which is standard on the EX, but it will cost you a steep $1,600. The EX comes only with a 2.7-liter V-6. The details are as such:

The Inside
There are some interior differences between the Sportage and the Tucson, at least according to the manufacturer-supplied dimensions. They show the Sportage's front headroom to be a few tenths of an inch greater than the Tucson's, and the backseat headroom a more significant 0.6 inch higher. Front and rear hip room are also greater by full inches. That said, you'll want to check for yourself. Interior dimensions are notoriously two-dimensional measurements of three-dimensional space, and measurement methods vary.

Don't let the SUV title make you think the Sportage must be climbed into. It's actually easier to enter than the average car because the seats are at a better height. The materials quality is consistently good and includes a very rare species: truly convincing faux metal trim. Seriously, makes and models of all prices have been incorporating plastic intended to look like metal. The problem is that it, well, doesn't. Automakers finally have gotten their plastics not to look too plastic, and now they're trying to turn it into something it's not. I don't know how Kia and Hyundai pulled it off, but these sister vehicles both have the stuff. I think it's the brushed look of the center control panel bezel that helps make it look realistic.

The LX and EX trim levels both come with cloth-upholstered seats, though the EX has nicer fabric. Leather adorns the steering wheel and gear selector of the EX, but leather seats are an option. Power seats aren't offered, but the driver's seat in both trims has adjustments for the cushion height and tilt. They come in the form of knobs, which aren't the easiest system to use when you're seated, but it's an important adjustment for comfort and safety. There's no lumbar adjustment, but the center armrest can be raised and moved forward and the seats are generally comfortable. Heated seats are available on the EX trim level as part of an option package.

Visibility is good in all directions except the rear, the usual SUV and minivan limitation. The liftgate and rear window wiper mechanism block the view below a certain level. It's no worse than the trunk of a car, but because SUVs sit higher, the blind spot obscures more, such as a lower-slung car, which makes parallel parking more challenging. Currently the Sportage doesn't offer sonar park assist. The side mirrors are powered and they fold against the body. The EX's are heated.

The backseat also is reasonably comfortable. At 6 feet tall, my knees just cleared the front seat's backrest. The floor was high enough to raise my knees, but it wasn't unduly uncomfortable, in part because the backrest angle is adjustable. (There needs to be a more accessible release, though.) Also, the floor is perfectly flat, which makes the center position more viable — when the standard center armrest is raised.

If the Sportage has a drawback, it's noise. As speed increases, so does the noise level — particularly tire and road noise, and some wind noise. For what it's worth, the Sportage seemed a bit better in this regard than the Tucson, mainly because I didn't detect the constant hum I heard on the Hyundai at around 60 to 70 mph. If you've had any experience with undue noise, click on the link at the end of this page and email me. Overall, the Kia is competitive in terms of interior features, though the Tucson includes a few more as standard equipment, especially when comparing the low trim level. It's closer to even between the higher trims.

Safety
In case you haven't caught on, the Sportage's story is more for less, and it's true in safety equipment as well. (Not having been crash-tested yet, the Sportage's safety report is merely an accounting of its features, which aren't the final word.)

The Sportage has six airbags: the usual frontal type, side-impact torso bags for the front occupants and side curtain-type airbags that cover all the side windows to protect heads and prevent ejection in the event of a rollover. The front passenger seat employs the Occupant Classification System to determine the passenger's size and deploy the two-stage airbag appropriately — if at all — in a frontal collision. Also standard, as mentioned, is ESP, one of the most significant safety features to come along in modern times.

With three-point (lap-and-shoulder) seat belts and head restraints for all seating positions, the Sportage doesn't seem to be lacking any of the basic safety provisions.

Features
The Sportage has many of the little touches that competitors offer — like bottle holders in the front door pockets and a bi-level center storage console — but it is missing some that are standard or optional on the Tucson. For example, the Tucson comes with remote keyless entry, an illuminated ignition and floormats, while only the Sportage EX has them. Also, the Tucson's sun visor extenders don't come at all on the Sportage. Marketwise, the Sportage is more than competitive. A stripped-down version of the LX comes without air conditioning, but the other levels include A/C; power windows, door locks and mirrors; and an illuminated, locking glove box as standard equipment. Oddly, the vanity mirrors don't have lights. An optional premium stereo, complete with a dedicated subwoofer, comes in an EX option package. All of the standard and optional features, and their prices, can be seen by clicking on the appropriate button on the upper-left of this page. If you want to compare the Sportage to the Tucson, instead click on the Side-by-Side Comparison link, upper-right.

Whether you consider it a feature or not, you can't ignore warranties when determining value. The Sportage gets Kia's generous 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage and 10-year/100,000-mile drivetrain warranty. Kia also recently extended its corrosion coverage from 5 years/100,000 miles to 7 years/unlimited miles.

Cargo & Towing
As shown earlier in the table, the Sportage's cargo volume is competitive, and its cargo hatch proves quite versatile. The rear window opens independently of the liftgate, which itself raises clear of most heads. There's no liftover lip at the rear of the cargo floor. The Sportage doesn't offer the Tucson's rubbery-plastic floormat, but its retractable cargo cover is much better than the rigid one Hyundai uses.

The 60/40-split backseat couldn't be easier to operate. You just lift the seatback handle and fold. Done. This when some manufacturers are introducing new models that require the head restraints to be removed and/or the cushion to be flipped forward initially. The front passenger seat also folds down to create a flat surface from the liftgate to the dashboard.

The Sportage four-cylinder has a towing capacity of 1,500 pounds for a trailer with its own brakes. The V-6 increases that maximum to 2,000 pounds. Roof rails are standard, and you can add the cross-members for less than $200. The rack's capacity is 100 pounds. Bear in mind that you can't necessarily fill the seats, the cargo area and the roof rack all at the same time. Kia cites a maximum of 860 pounds for all occupants and cargo.

Sportage in the Market
The concept of sister vehicles is an old one, and of late I've thought its time has passed. American buyers seem less accepting of models that are rebadged and/or restyled versions of others, or are loaded up with more expensive features and given an entirely different brand name. In this class, the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner are a good example. The best platform sharing results in two models that no one would ever guess are related, such as the Volvo S80 and Ford Five Hundred sedans. In SUVs, the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot are even more alike, but not obviously so to the buyer.

One could argue that the Sportage and Tucson are stranger still, because their prices are roughly the same. But this sibling rivalry could prove useful to you. If you find inventories low or asking prices high at one dealership, you can try the other brand. Chances are that Kia, which is less well known than Hyundai, will have the better deals. The base Kia is the most affordable and the top-line Hyundai is the most loaded. Look closely and you'll see the features offered by each trim level are accounted for in their sticker prices. So if you're going to base one model on another, you'd best make it a good one. That's what Kia has done.