Thursday 4 March 2010

ALL-NEW KIA SPORTAGE APPEARS IN GENEVA


The third-generation Kia Sportage was unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and I must say it looks the business. It follows on Kia’s new look cars such as the new Sorento and features the brand’s “tiger nose” signature look.

Bigger, longer and wider than its predecessor, the Sportage wants to take the fight to the Japanese like the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV-4, as well as the Chevrolet Captiva and even the premium Germans.

“With the all-new Sportage, we have created a five-seat compact SUV with maximized customer appeal," said Kia Motors president Hyoung-Keun Lee. “Despite the recent and ongoing global economic difficulties, Kia’s market research indicates that demand for C-segment SUVs in Europe will grow steadily over the next five years as customers down-size their vehicles and new models focus attention on the segment.”

Launch engines include two petrol and two diesel units. They range from 85kW to 120kW in power. No further details were given out. I do hope they ram the 2.2-litre turbo diesel in there and give buyers the extra fun of torque.

Kia South Africa has confirmed it is bringing the new Sportage in August this year.

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