Once upon a time when I there was a “3” at the front of my age and no child in tow – that long ago, yes – I was told by much wiser motoring men than me that you would see the rise of the Kia brand.
I wasn’t much for the Korean make at the time. Sure, they were affordable and they got the job done, but they had about as much street appeal as a second-hand fridge with wheels.
But I was told to watch how it is the Korean’s make efficient in-roads in the competitive world of car making: “copy and improve”.
Fast forward a decade and it is easy to see that Kia has not only copied and improved designs, but now has set a high bar for others to follow.
Introducing my latest test drive, the 2016 Kia Sportage Platinum GT-Line.
Here lies a super trendy SUV wagon with more bells and whistles on it than most models I can think of that sit above the $43,490 price tag for the Platinum GT-Line (petrol).
And there’s nothing tacky or out of place in the kit bag as far as I am concerned.
You want trendy? Try this for bling: Kia’s hallmark tiger-nose grille, Quad ‘ice-cube’ LED foglights, a 3.5-inch mono display in the centre of the dashboard, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment screen featuring reversing camera display with dynamic parking lines and satellite navigation.
Add to this Bluetooth hands-free connectivity with Aux and USB ports for smartphones and MP3 music players; a wireless charger for mobile devices and a moonroof… yes, a moonroof.
What about performance, you ask? It goes as good as it looks. A 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 135 kW and 237 Nm is used only in the Platinum level, while a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel (136 kW and 400 Nm) is available in all Sportage grades.
A six-speed auto transmission coupled with Kia’s on-demand AWD system in the diesel models and the petrol Platinum gives plenty of on-road assurance
And safety? From memory of the original Sportage models, Kia has come a long, long way in this field.
The Sportage gets nothing less than a five-star safety rating in Euro NCAP tests and features six airbags as standard and Smart Parking Assist System in the Platinum.
The value for money with the Kia Sportage Platinum will continue well beyond the moment you drive it out the showroom. The five-seater family wagon has a fuel consumption figure of 8.5L/100km (for 2.4L petrol) and comes with a market leading 7 year unlimited warranty.
Kia has done much more than copy and improve this time around. It has shown it is a serious player with the Sportage.
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