New Kia Sportage has style and oomph

One of the better things about getting older is that you mellow; no longer are you as quick to anger as you were in your youth … and you realise that, sometimes, other people’s points of view might well have merit, even though they are different from your own.

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Which is why today, I have to apologise to my colleague Roger Houghton. For years, I would mock him for his choice of the Kia Sportage, while I thought Subaru’s Forester (of which I now have one in each of our two garages) was the epitome of SUV excellence.

Roger, gentleman that he is, took a lot of my abuse in good spirit.

Every now and then he would point out how happy he was with the car and how it never let him down. Even recently, when he moved on to a Toyota C-HR, you could hear the regret at having to let the Sportage go.

Now that I have spent a week behind the wheel of the new Sportage, in its 1.7 diesel form, I know what Roger was talking about … and I owe him an apology.

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Not enough remorse for me to ditch Subaru, mind you, but enough that I will never again criticise a person who opts for the Kia SUV.

First, what you get is a design that is funkier than many in the category (including, alas, a Forester).

ALSO READ: Kia adds 7 new Sportage models

The Sportage’s new lines continue with the radical-looking stance of its predecessor, whose looks have stood the test of time … something which I initially didn’t think would happen.

Next, you get a Kia, which means absolutely top quality in terms of materials, fit and finish.

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This thing is built to last. If you doubt that, keep your ear to the ground and listen out deliberately for horror stories about Kia reliability.

You won’t hear any. Finish and klaar.

My biggest beef about the Sportage and other “softroader” SUVs initially was that they would not be as capable offroad as my Forester, which has better ground clearance and one of the best All Wheel Drive systems around.

In particular, the Sportage’s AWD system is a part-time one, which means the car is front-wheeldrive for most of the time – until traction is lost and then the back wheels kick in.

I would rather have full-time AWD, particularly on a fast gravel road …

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However, I have come to realise that most people don’t need, or want, that capability. That does not make them morons because they do not choose Subaru.

Many are plenty happy with front-wheel-drive only, which is what our test Sportage variant offered. And it is a very,  very good FWD SUV. It handles like a car, turning in sharply and showing good levels of roadholding.

The diesel engine offers superb economy and you’ll easily be able to get under 8 litres per 100km in city driving and less than 6l/100km on the highway.

Inside the car, everything is in exactly the place it should be, which contributes to a relaxed feeling of well-being, even in thick city traffic.

It helps, of course, that even in baseline spec, a Sportage has a good sound system, aircon and supportive seats.

One of the biggest problems facing Kia is pricing, I’m afraid.

That’s because the South Korean currency always hammers the rand and Kia does not have local assembly plants which attracts the sort of subsidies enabling other manufacturers to keep their prices as low as possible.

So, the 1.7 Sportage, which is the entry-level diesel, weighs in at a not inconsiderable R419 495.

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That’s about what you’d pay for the competitors, though, and if you want a bit more diesel grunt, there is a 2.0 litre version which starts at R503 000.

However, the range starts at R381 000-odd and goes up to R600 000 – so there are plenty of options.

If you want a stylish, reliable, family SUV and you’re not interested overly in bundu-bashing, then you could do a lot worse than this Kia.

And I’m not going to apologise for saying that.