Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi
2WD XS Auto review
by David Finlay (8 November 2007)
This is not a car that Kia expected to build when it launched the current Sportage range early in 2005, but it is a car we were hoping they would get round to sooner or later. In our test of the original 2.0 XE we wondered if there might be a case for a front-wheel drive version which would provide more luggage space than the 4x4, while losing out only marginally in terms of on-road handling.
The 2008 refreshment of the Sportage includes the introduction of just such a vehicle, though it hasn't worked out quite the way we'd expected. On reflection, it was overambitious to expect that Kia could have lowered the boot floor to take up space formerly occupied by a rear axle. That would have been a big, big job, entirely uneconomic even to spend time considering, so the floor remains where it is and the luggage volume remains as before at 667 litres (rear seats up) or 1887 litres (seats down).
The point about the on-road handling was that, for a compact SUV, the Sportage was already extraordinary. The ride quality in particular was just amazing - probably the very best thing about the car - and there didn't seem to be any great need to divide the two-litre turbo diesel engine's 138bhp among all four wheels.
For 2008, Kia has mildly revised the suspension, and although I haven't yet taken an FWD Sportage along roads of sufficient difficulty to see exactly what has been gained, I can certainly confirm that nothing has been lost. In normal driving, there is nothing to suggest that the front axle has any problem dealing with all the power on its own.
Another reason for offering an alternative to four-wheel drive is the reduction in running costs. Since there is less weight and less friction, the 2WD Sportage should be faster and more economical than its 4x4 equivalent, and also have lower CO2 emissions. Instead, it's slower and thirstier, and emits quite a lot more of the world's most taxable gas.
That's because the front-wheel drive Sportage is the only diesel in the range with automatic transmission, and this is more than enough to overcome any speed/fuel/CO2 benefits. It's 3.1 seconds slower to 62mph than the 4x4, it has an inferior combined economy figure to the tune of 4.5mpg, and the CO2 rating jumps from 187g/km to 210g/km.
Admittedly, it's cheaper to buy, but only by £200, and that advantage will have fallen to zero by the time you make your fourth refuelling stop. Both models are in VED Band F, so there's no tax difference, but that's only because the 4x4 rather unfortunately misses dipping into Band E by just 2g/km.
So, despite expectations, the 2WD Sportage will actually cost more to run than the 4x4. A 2WD manual would cost £1000 less, it would exceed 40mpg on the combined cycle and it would certainly fall at least into Band E, saving £40 a year on tax until March 2010 at the earliest, but unfortunately Kia doesn't build one of those. Not yet, anyway.
It does, however, build a manual 2WD fitted with the two-litre petrol engine. This comes in two specifications, and the lower one costs £13,995, making it the cheapest Sportage by a full £1000. It has the same maximum power output as the diesel but is a lot quicker, and uses exactly as much fuel on the combined cycle.
Still, even if the financial figures don't stack up in favour of a diesel 2WD owner, there remains a lot to be said for the automatic. The Sportage is a splendidly easy car to drive, particularly in town, and the auto transmission makes it even more so. The gearshifts are very smooth indeed, and as for the performance, who really needs to get from rest to 62mph in less than 15 seconds?
If you buy a 2WD Sportage you can be sure that it was built in Europe, since another of the changes for 2008 is that production of all models sold here has been transferred from South Korea to the Zilina factory in Slovakia. From now on, all Sportages also feature a few styling tweaks, the suspension improvements mentioned earlier, and revised interiors which among things include more supportive seats.
The Sportage range as a whole has three trim levels, but only two of them are available with the 2WD car. XE models have air-conditioning, remote central locking, alloy wheels and electric windows and mirrors, though the 2WD version is the only one not to have protective body mouldings, presumably because there's very little chance that anyone will take one off-road.
The 2WD XS does have those mouldings, though, and it also gets climate control air-conditioning, cruise control, leather upholstery and various pieces of metallic-effect interior trim. For all this you pay an extra £1500 over the cost of an XE. If you're well-versed in Kia matters you'll be aware that there is another trim level above this called Titan, but it doesn't apply to the 2WD models.
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