• Market Watch

The sleek 2023 Kia Sportage

- 2023-07-27 00:00:00

The immaculate Kia Sportage 1.6T GT-Line comes ‘Passenger Princess Approved’, according to My.Na Cars’ own Diana Master, who paid M&Z Motors Kia Namibia a visit recently. Sales executive Darren Diergaardt gave her the royal treatment and a personal tour of all the creature comforts that Kia has packed so sleekly into the latest iteration of this fan-favourite automobile.
Offering best-in-class cargo room, a premium interior, and a range of powerful engine options, the new-look Sportage has something to tantalise the tastes and excite the desires of the most pampered protagonist.
Diergaardt elaborated on the innovative exterior design, striking from the front, where the new Sportage sports a wider grill and arrow-slanted daytime running lights. The new Kia logo accentuates the imposing face of the automobile, reminiscent of the nose of a tiger, he said.

Smart exterior
Master appreciates the vehicle’s beautiful exterior and, in particular, the fashionable details like the indicator lights on the side-view mirror casings, the 19-inch alloy wheel rims, and the push-button unlock feature on the door handles.
As Diergaardt explains: "When you approach the vehicle with the keys in your pocket, the car presents itself to you." The side-view mirrors fold out, and the lights go on.
From the rear, the sleek appearance is reinforced, centred around the Kia logo, with the discretely placed rear camera hidden like the rear-windscreen wipers, out of sight until needed.
Silver inlays on the sides help bring the whole look together.
"I love, love, love, love this!" Master exclaimed when shown how the boot opens at the push of a button, providing access to 600 litres of boot space, complete with hooks to hang bags and levers to make the back seats fold down. The sun shade in the boot is retractable and completely removable, as needed, while the boot also holds a full-sized spare wheel, jack and tools for use in an emergency, nestled under the floor.
The 'Passenger Princess' was astounded when informed that simply standing near the boot with the keys in your pockets for a few minutes is enough for the new Sportage to open its boot automatically.

Thoughtful and sleek interior
The interior features a simply stunning extra-large display, while a secondary lower touch screen provides the functionality to manipulate the climate control. The infotainment on display is complimented by the interior ambient lighting, which can be set to your personal preference.
Plastic with carbon overlay constitutes the finishing, beautifying function epitomised by the wireless cellular phone charging, the USB and type-C ports, the heated steering wheel and the leather seats.
Change the drive mode, and the lighting changes to match.
Push the button to open half of the huge panoramic sunroof to let in the light of day.
At night, the interior mood is accentuated by the brightly lit buttons.
Driver door-mounted buttons include automated window controls, side-view mirror adjusters, and the hand-brake button, which Diergaardt says takes a little getting used to but will soon leave Sportage drivers wondering why every car does not have this feature. Buttons to automatically open and close the boot and to engage the traction control can also be found there.
The rear seats feature plenty of leg room and a lot of thoughtful practicality, dressed discreetly in full leather. Apart from the unique headrest-mounted storage solution, the back seaters also enjoy two convenient charger ports in the side of each of the front seats and a neat little pocket perfect for storing your personal portable communication device when not in hand.
"There are so many things going on, but it does not look busy because the design flows so well," Master says.

Driver assist perfection
However, it was the incredible technology built-in to assist the driver that really astounded Master.
The new Kia Sportage will assist with its own steering; its adaptive cruise control will slow to follow preceding vehicles at a distance you can set, and upon engaging the indicator, this automobile will accelerate to overtake all by itself, requiring only driver supervision for timely corrective interaction if necessary. According to Diergaardt, the Sportage wants the driver’s hands on the steering wheel but will do most of the work itself.
"It even watches the road for imperfections and avoids potholes," he adds, an affirmation that left Master, uncharacteristically, speechless.
Starting at N$780 000 and with a six-year warrantee up to 90 000 km and a five-year roadside assistance package, this crossover SUV is driven by an engine capable of 134 kW of power and is able to generate 275 Nm of torque.
Nimble for its 2.5-tonne weight, the Sportage goes 100 km on average on 7.2 litres of fuel.