Stu’s Reviews – Kia Sportage Estate 1.6L Petrol

Kia Sportage on a hill

I was lucky enough to test out a Kia Sportage recently, amongst other cars including various Fords and an economical but slightly less exciting Fiat 500. The Sportage was the car which was the most interesting and enjoyable to drive; so I thought I’d write up the first in a series of ‘Stu’s Reviews’ on the Kia Sportage Estate 1.6 petrol.

Outer Appearance

To look at, the Kia Sportage is an attractive crossover. Since the second generation came out (the car is now in its 3rd generation) looks have been a big selling point for this successful urban vehicle.

In terms of style the Sportage sits right in the middle of its descendents the smaller family car and larger SUV. The vehicle sits high and has a bulky appearance; but still holds a strong semblance of a smaller family hatchback. It’s also a bit more polished and up market than some of the more SUV focused crossovers you’ll find out there such as the Skoda Yeti Outdoor.

The smooth brushed alloys allow the chrome trim on the car to really pop and stand out on its own. Little touches like these really make the 3rd generation Sportage a classy city car that is a treat to look at and even nicer to sit in.

Interior

Inside the car is just as nice, if not nicer than the exterior. You won’t find mahogany wood on the dashboard, but it works well and has more than enough equipment built in to keep you busy.

Starting with the dashboard, the layout is logical and easy to get to grips with. As someone who had never driven a Kia before it didn’t take long at all to know exactly how everything worked. There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to make sure that the car is set up just the way you like it. I personally adjusted the steering wheel position a little; as it was going to be a long distance drive I was using the crossover for.

The seating is comfortable and has a quality feel to it, one thing that was particularly enjoyable was the fresh leather and upholstery smell which really cemented the quality of the interior.

The boot space is plentiful, although I didn’t actually need to use it for much as it was a business trip that I used the Sportage for. Having a look though there’s more than enough space for a family of four to take camping gear, cases and a load of extras on a holiday with them so storage shouldn’t be an issue.

Handling

Although it’s not as powerful as some of the heavier diesel engines in the range the 1.6L petrol engine still provides an enjoyable drive. The cost savings are pretty big as well which more than compensates for the power gap in my opinion.

The handling is fairly steady and although you can sometimes feel a little bit of bounce from the suspension it’s not in any way detrimental to the overall driving experience. This car is definitely more suited to city and motorway driving than going deeper into the countryside; but then that’s really not Kia’s target market here.

There’s not much noise comes from the engine; which is always a bonus of using petrol over diesel. In a lot of larger cars you’re left having to pump up the stereo to mask engine noise, but thankfully this isn’t the case here (at least with the petrol version I tried anyway).

Economy

In terms of fuel economy according to the Kia website the 1.6 petrol 2WD Sportage averages 44.1mpg which really isn’t too bad for a car of this size. Anecdotally from driving a fairly long distance trip the fuel seemed to last a decent amount of time and stops at the pump were not noticeably frequent.

Monthly payments at are also pretty attractive on the Sportage at the moment with leases starting at only £165.99 per month. So in addition to gaining great ongoing savings from the efficient engine you don’t need to splash out big money to actually get the car on your drive.

Take a look at our current Kia Sportage deals to see if there’s anything that catches your interest and submit an online enquiry or give us a call.

About Stu – Stuart Law is a business development executive at Intelligent Car Leasing. He helps customers maximise their car budget, negotiate better terms with funders and get the best leasing deals possible.