Following the official teaser image of the upcoming Kia Sportage (see design sketches above), more pictures, which seem to be official press shots, have leaked on the Internet via The Korean Car Blog.
It is clear that the new Sportage has the now standard Kia grille, as well as the fog lights made up of four smaller lights, first seen on smaller Kia products. The headlights are longer and also sloped back further than before.
This fourth generation Sportage will be based on the Tucson (which we have already driven). We can expect to see the use of the same 1,6-litre, turbocharged petrol engine, as well as a 1,7-litre turbodiesel unit. The latter will be the unit we first experienced in the Hyundai ix35.
Set to be launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, this Kia is likely to hit our shores early next year.
Original story
Here are the official teaser pics of the new Kia Sportage.
As part of a Korean double-whammy, the previous generation Sportage and its Hyundai iX35 sibling made the world sit up an notice. Not only did they signal a new level of styling and quality for the twin Korean brands, but they set the template for what motorists were looking for in a small SUV crossover.
Like the new Hyundai Tuscon (what the next gen. iX35 is called), this new Sportage has some big shoes to fill when it gets its global debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in mid-September. It’s the fourth incarnation of the Sportage and it does represent something of a styling departure for Kia. Chief designer, Peter Schreyer’s signature “tiger nose” grille is still there, as is the Sportage’s familiar c-pillar execution, but other than that, this looks a lot more sporty than before. Granted, the styling cues in these design sketches often overstate what the production version will look like, but this does hint toward something more Porsche Macan-like. Indeed the press release talks about this as “representing the future face of KIA”.
There are no details on the powertrains, but we expect some new engines – most likely a new petrol unit. The new Kia Sportage will be launched here in South African launch toward the end of Q1 2016.
We’ve just driven its sibling, the Hyundai Tuscon in the Canary Islands, and you can look out for a driving impression on carmag.co.za in the next couple of days… it should give us some idea of what to expect from the Sportage as well
