First Glance
Larger exterior photos: Front RearFirst introduced in 1995, Sportage underwent a makeover in 2002. The 2007 edition is very much the same as the 2002, with a few evolutionary cosmetic and mechanical changes.
Sportage carries vestiges of the old school of Korean vehicle design, which to my eye is very reactive. As opposed to the forward-thinking designs of companies like Mazda and Audi, Kia's designs follow broad trends rather than set them. As a result, a five-year old Kia looks like a ten-year old Honda. At a quick glance, you could be forgiven for mistaking the 2007 Sportage for a 1997 CR-V. There are also aspects of the RAV4 to be found, particularly in lines of the hood and fender. This kind of "me-too" design work renders Sportage a little bit generic, a little bit tired.
The good news is that Sportage is very nicely put together, with nice paint quality, even seams and gaps, and solidly affixed trim pieces. Even the plastic body cladding fits well, with some interesting shapes around the gas flap and door edges.
My test vehicle wore the standard 16" alloy wheels, and an optional "Sport Package" ($900) that added fog lamps, a black mesh grille, a black rear spoiler and bumper color to the exterior cladding, as well as some interior trim flourishes. I guess "Sport" has another meaning in Korean.
Continued below...
In the Driver's Seat
I hate to knock an interior for being totally bland and forgettable, but that's the problem with the Sportage. There are no glaring problems with the instrument panel, gauges, dashboard layout or controls. Things are right where you expect them to be, and they all work as advertised. The challenge is that the materials are just not all that nice. It's very hard to describe what's wrong inside the Sportage. It's not a cheapness issue, it's more of a hollowness issue. Everything feels like a shell, not like a solidly-made piece of equipment. The seats are thinly padded and covered with a patterned fabric that is unpleasant on the skin. The same fabric lines part of the door panels, right where your forearms rub if you use the plasticky armrests. Don't get me wrong -- I didn't hate the Sportage's cabin. I just found it hard to feel anything at all.
Sportage's second row is adequate, if a little tight in the footwells. A hard bench seat will keep your passengers from dozing off, especially on rougher pavement. There's an ample 23.6 cubic feet of luggage space behind the second row, expandable to a devilish 66.6 cubic feet by folding down the seats. Don't get big ideas about towing with Sportage -- towing capacity is a mere 2000 lbs, so anything bigger than a jet ski or motorcycle trailer is probably not a good match.
On the Road
Driving Sportage on the road elicited the same set of yawns. Power could be described as "adequate," with the 2.7 liter 24-valve DOHC V6 pumping out 173 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque to motivate the 3527 lb vehicle. A four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is the only option with the V6, and it did the job -- you guessed it -- adequately. Though I didn't try Sportage off-road, its 7.7" of ground clearance would seem to be its weak spot, as it has quite good approach and departure angles (29.5 degrees and 28.7 degrees respectively).On the pavement, Sportage's handling was a little vague, but perfectly adequate (there's that word again). Four-wheel independent suspension (MacPherson struts up front, multi-link in the rear) with front and rear stabilizer bars keep body roll manageable, and the power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering setup, while a little loose for my taste, kept the vehicle headed where it was pointed. I was very disappointed with Sportage's brakes, though. Even with 11.0" vented discs up front and 11.2" solid discs in the rear controlled by an anti-lock brake, traction control and electronic stability control system, braking performance was awful. I actually thought that something was wrong with the brakes in my test vehicle, they were so bad, and I asked Kia to check them out. They didn't report any problems with the system.
Safety is a Kia strong suit, with plenty of standard airbags, side-door impact beams, LATCH connectors and other features. Just watch out for those brakes.
Journey's End
My favorite compact SUV is the Honda CR-V, which underwent a complete redesign for 2007. It doesn't have Sportage's off-road credentials, but it's much more refined and elegant on the pavement. I also like the , for similar reasons. Mazda's Tribute, Ford's Escape and Mercury's Mariner are rugged little creatures; Jeep's Compass and Dodge's Caliber are also athletic, if a little quirky. Don't overlook Hyundai's Tucson, Sportage's corporate cousin.
Sportage is definitely due for a rethinking. Considering how well Kia did with its mid-size SUV, the Sorento, I expect great things from the next generation of Sportage. The 2007 Sportage, unfortunately, has been left in the dust.
