It’s long. Really, really long! In fact, it’s as long as a man’s arm, and his leg put together — which is exceptionally long for a waiting list. There is approximately a six month wait for the new Kia Sportage and even getting one to test was a tad tricky. Not even Kia’s Head Office was able to help me with a road test vehicle or a demo car, purely due to the demand. I suppose that’s testament to the Sportage’s popularity and how KIA in general has turned itself around over the past few years.

Thankfully, in my dying deadline hour, the folk from Kia Centurion made sure I was sitting behind the wheel of a new Kia Sportage All Wheel Drive 2.0 Diesel (130kW@4000rpm), with auto guise. I worked out a route combining highway and suburban driving to test the car’s dynamics and durability.
Now when you hear “auto” don’t for a minute think it was slow out the blocks. Poised on 18” Alloy wheels, I really had to contain her enthusiasm otherwise I may have fallen foul of a speed camera hidden somewhere. Not only was she quick but she stopped when I asked her to, aided by large discs all round.

The auto box was a pleasure, with no noticeable shift shock and was matched to the engines power delivery in such a fashion that you do not even want to play with the manual shift function. Taking it off-road after locking up the AWD system was purely to compare it to other models in the so called crossover (lacking low range gearing) segment and yes it can take itself comfortably through the obstacles that one would encounter en-route to any adventure on a rough road, a good approach and departure angle helped here.

Okay, so it has a diesel engine with lots of grunt but after a blistering first lap of my planned route I sat back and took stock of whether I liked this car or not. The answer was yes!

In terms of the dynamics, with the All Wheel Drive system the Sportage stuck to the road and testing the electronic stability control simply never happened, even on a wet section of tar. Body roll through corners was non existent.

It’s clear that a great deal of thought went into the design of this vehicle: you sit in a commanding position, high up with superb visibility. The leather clad seats are so comfortable that you have to force yourself to stop on a long run. On top of that, the driver’s seat is fully adjustable allowing you the ability to customise your driving position. Legroom front and rear is more than adequate and the boot is large enough to swallow a massive amount of sporting equipment. The best part? There are three plug points, two up front and one in the boot perfect for charging laptops, iPods and even keeping a fridge in the boot.

The dash layout is simple with everything visible and close at hand. The audio system is MP3/USB and iPod compatible and with its sub woofer and amp, it pumps out a sterling sound quality.

Other impressive goodies include stop/start button with smart key, the rear park assist system (great for shopping centres with their ever-diminuishing sized parking bays) and the Hill-start Assist Control which prevents rollback when driving in inclined traffic. And to top it off, you also get Downhill Brake Control which maintains speed and control on steep descents. As far as safety goes the Sportage has the full house: six airbags, active head restraints as well as a child anchor point in the rear.

So the bottom line is that I really enjoyed driving this car and didn’t want to give it back so soon, but I pictured some other poor bloke desperate to drive it, and grudgingly handed it over. And to all of you on the long, really, really long waiting list … it’ll be worth your wait!


Test unit kindly loaned by Kia Motors Centurion, 012 678 5220. Price at time of testing R 334 995.00