2017 Kia Sportage | CarGurus Test Drive Review

Compact crossovers offer the ride height, all-wheel drive, and cargo space of more rugged vehicles, but also typically feature a car platform for smooth handling, a roomy interior, and improved fuel economy. Kia’s 2017 Sportage competes in this crowded category, which also includes the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Ford Escape, Subaru Forester, and more. But the Sportage has truly “out-there” styling, highlighted by bug-eye headlights, large quad-foglight clusters, and a copper paint job.

The Sportage has a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine making 181 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque or a turbocharged 2-liter four that puts out 240 hp with front-wheel drive (FWD) and 237 hp with all-wheel drive (AWD), with both versions also generating 260 pound-feet of torque. Power gets sent to the front wheels or available AWD through a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Presenter: George Kennedy
Producer: Andrew Zubatkin

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Crossovers & SUVs

[swanblake]

Just wanted to add my Mom went and test drove the new CRV, Rav4, Rouge, and CX5 and chose the Sportage SX for its acceleration and handling. The Rav4 she said feels dangerous to merge it's so gutless. Said the Rogue felt faster than the CX 5 which I found interesting. She also said the CX 5 top trim felt very basic and no apple carplay killed it along with a weak engine. Her words which I happen to agree with.

[swanblake]

love the looks and the performance. Finally someone give the suv segment some speed besides the germans.

[JasonB]

That colour is stunning. That'll turn heads for sure.

[DriveAndBeDriven]

Neat review! The Sportage seems like a fairly decent choice in its segment... Even though, fuel economy and maximum cargo capacity is on the lower end for its class, it isn't a deal breaker! Offering tons of style, safety, and practicality the Sportage is definitely up there with some of the heavy hitters it this segment from Ford, Chevy, and Toyota! Not to mention, it's best in class warranty (along side the Tucson)... The Sportage should definitely be on shoppers list if they are in the market for a CUV. As long as, they weight in their wants and necessities! 😉

Keep up the great work, Car Gurus! I truly cannot wait until I can get my hands on one of these Spotage's to put through my full car review tests, too! 😃

-DriveAndBeDriven 🚘
"The Quest To Record The Best!"

[robertwilliams]

Nice review George. I remember you from Talking Cars. I like the Sportage but I think it's toughest rivals are the CX-5 which now looks amazing and if the new bigger Tiguan keeps things sporty and adds size and a lower price it could have competition.

[HoofHeartedDAY]

I drive one of these from work & it's a GREAT FUTURE PROOF CAR, I don't see competitors offering the product confidence/Warranty these do. The base 2 litre front-drive petrol auto model I got still has more than enough kit & is fine enough. I could knit-pick a few scratchy cabin plastics, the sometimes not so supple rebound dampening, strained uphill performance with a full load & the way it 'hunts' gears in such a circumstance but really it's a non issue - you're still getting a tonne of car for the money & it has more than enough torque for city driving or the freeway. I'm ex-automotive background, used to work in a garage & my foreman actually picked one of these for his elderly mum cos they're super reliable & so easy to get in or out of - you slide across into it rather than stumble n fall into a low passenger car. If I could afford it, I'd happily shell out for a torquey diesel model with all the bells n whistles but then I'm also excited to see the #KiaStinger so here's to waiting!

Also people forget about running costs of cars, so if you're buying one, research the difference in parts costs & service plans of say a CX5. That alone would push me to the Kia - I'd rather spend those savings on a holiday overseas.

[baldheadlogic]

Great Review. I like the Sportage and feel like it stands out in this segment for sure. However, the lack of advanced cruise seems like silly omission. Hopefully, the 2018 models add that feature into the mix.

[gregnagy]

No diesel turbo for you guys in the states?

[TheSirUno]

You're kidding about the luxury thing, right? The Tuscon can't even begin to touch the Sportage with respect to interior quality and appeal. I think you got that one flipped, as Kia as Hyundai beat across the board in virtually all models in that regard.
Also...were you being towed? ;)

[scottperson]

Tuscon looks cheap inside and quite frankly feels cheap.  So bad that we did not even look at the Sportage.  Why they dropped the power of the 2.0 T a few years ago without picking up mileage is a mystery too.

[derwood]

By my count...while driving u went over 14 sec looking at the camera and NOT the road...if you're going to make it in this biz you need to hit 20+ sec.

[PCConditioning]

Still stinks you need to buy special gloves for touch screen to work or use bare hands. Just saying :-)

[Lloyd_Garth]

Nice vehicle, but mediocre fuel consumption. Too bad, will not buy.