Kia Sportage (NQ5)

Kia's strong-selling midsize crossover, the Sportage, is now on its fifth generation and for this generation, it's now officially all-new from top to bottom, even the inside out. It's time to take a look inside the latest evolution of Kia's first SUV that has been around since 1993.

2022 Kia Sportage

The all-new, fifth-generation Kia Sportage, priced at 24,880,000 Korean Won, is literally all-new from the ground up thanks to its radically new design that is part of Kia's new age as hinted by the creepy new logo that haunts kids these days.

2022 Kia Sportage

2022 Kia Sportage

So, what's it all about the new exterior design? Judging from the mosaic front face that looks awkward but weird in every way as well as the side profile and the clean rear design, Kia did a lot of homework transformed the Sportage into a sharp-looking crossover that is as artistic as the new era Kia vehicles since the K8 a few months ago. Of course, that was in the normal version of the Sportage but the top-of-the-line Gravity variant featured a Mohave-esque front bumper, a side sill, and a curved roof rack on the top, just to make it look slightly rugged for a crossover like this.

2022 Kia Sportage interior

Step into the interior and you will notice that the all-new Sportage features a massive curved display on the dashboard, which is somewhat similar to the new Opel Mokka a while back. Like the new Opel Mokka, that super-long screen positioned on the driver's side is where the speedo is on one side and a touch screen on the other. As such, you can expect plenty of stuff on the driver's side to toy around with such as the touch panel climate control, rotary gear selector, and others.

Inspired from last year's Hyundai Tucson NX4, the new Sportage features the roomiest interior in its class thanks to its longer wheelbase and a new platform it now dons. Not only the legroom feels good but the boot space as well. This is the Sportage that is all about practicality like all crossover SUVs should and fit for all walks of life.

2022 Kia Sportage

Under the hood, the new Sportage has a choice of two engines; the Smartstream Diesel 2.0L engine that produces 186PS of power, 42.5kg-m of torque, and up to 14.6km/L of fuel economy while mated to an 8-speed AT and the high-performance Smartstream Gasoline 1.6L Turbo engine that produces 180PS of power, 27kg-m of torque, and up to 12.5kmpl of fuel economy while mated to a 7-speed DCT. Both the petrol and diesel variants are offered in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations.

2022 Kia Sportage Hybrid

And for the first time in a Sportage, a hybrid variant is offered and it comes with the Smartstream Turbo Hybrid powertrain where the turbocharged 1.6L petrol engine is bolted to a 44.4kW electric motor and a li-ion battery, while mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. With this setup, the fuel economy is around 16.7km/L. The catch? It's front-wheel-drive only so don't expect much.

Thanks to its new platform, the new Sportage is now easier to live with than the previous model and it behaves rather well also. Although not what you called exciting, it's nice to drive and it will give the Japanese opposition a quick run for their money. It even comes with the terrain mode switch that allows drivers to switch through different configurations that work through any given road condition. When set to Auto, it automatically detects road conditions for stable driving. It's almost as useful as a Roomba in your living room but if the auto's not your thing, you can switch through four different on-road modes and three off-road modes in case you're spending a weekend retreat at Hannibal's.

The new Sportage features a wide range of safety features such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, rearview monitor, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, Rear-side collision avoidance assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Remort Smart Parking Assist, Rear Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist, and Remote 360 view Surround View Monitor. Quite a burn notice, huh?

The all-new Kia Sportage truly adapts to the new normal with its new look, new interior, new performance, and new tech. A fitting adage to Kia's new era and although some may not like the way it looks and feels, the all-new Sportage is a common-sense crossover for those who are wise to drive one.

Available colors: Snow White Pearl, Steel Grey, Gravity Grey, Fusion Blue Lake, Downing Red, Vesta Blue, Shadow Matte Gray, and Jungle Wood Green.

Photo: Kia