We test-drove the Kia Sportage 2019: new design and new engines

We got behind the wheel of the Kia Sportage 2019 range, which includes updated diesel engines and a Mild Hybrid version. We tell you what changes and which is the best option.

To understand how important a car like the Sportage is for Kia, it is worth paying attention to the following figures: the C-SUV segment it competes in keeps growing, and year-to-date through September it already accounts for 21% of the market, overtaking the traditional passenger cars in the B and C segments.

In Spain alone, Kia has sold 10,100 units to private customers so far in 2018, making it the best-selling Kia model, with 26% of the total, compared with 16% for the Kia ceed and 15% for the Stonic. In Europe, Sportage sales in 2017 totalled 131,000 units, a quarter of the brand’s sales. In Spain, more than 16,000 units were sold.

What changes in the Kia Sportage’s design

The first thing to say is that this is not a change of generation; it is an update to a model that has been on sale since 2016. And precisely because not much time has passed, the design changes to the new Kia Sportage are minor. Externally you have to look closely to tell the new Sportage from the previous one. Placing them side by side, the front grille is slightly more streamlined, and below it a dividing line runs almost the full width of the car between the grille and the lower air intake. The fog lights change position and gain decorative inserts that can be finished in glossy black or chrome.

For the GT Line variants there are new chrome inserts, a glossy black grille, LED fog lights with a new design, and new 19-inch alloy wheels also arrive. At the rear the bumper has been completely redesigned, and the GT Line adds a dual exhaust outlet on the T-GDi engine. Eight body colours are available.

Inside, the design of the ventilation outlets, the 8-inch multimedia system screen and the steering wheel are new, while the instrumentation has also been updated. Again, there are distinguishing features for the sought-after GT Line versions: sports seats, aluminium pedals, a flat-bottomed perforated leather steering wheel and a black fabric roof. There are no changes in interior space or boot capacity, which keep the Sportage an ideal SUV for family use.

New generation of diesel engines

The arrival of a new generation of diesel engines is the most important “excuse” for presenting this new Sportage. Even though fewer and fewer cars of this type are sold, in favour of petrol, whose demand continues to rise.

Kia covers this side of the range with two already familiar engines, with improvements to reduce emissions, such as the adoption of a particulate filter. On one hand, the naturally aspirated 1.6 GDi with 132 CV, only with manual gearbox and 4×2 traction. On the other, the 1.6 T-GDi with turbocharger, which reaches 177 CV and a maximum torque of 1,500 rpm. It is available with a manual gearbox or a seven-speed DCT7 dual-clutch automatic, with 4×2 or 4×4 traction.

The 1.6 CRDi engines are new, and they promise up to 11.5 percent better consumption compared with the previous 1.7 CRDi. Friction has been reduced, they feature a variable-flow oil pump, the injection pressure reaches 2,200 bar, and with the aluminium block they are almost 16 kg lighter. The 115 CV version offers a maximum torque of 280 Nm between 1,500 and 2,750 rpm, and is paired only with the six-speed manual gearbox and 4×2 traction. The 136 CV 1.6 CRDi, meanwhile, reaches a maximum torque of 320 Nm at a slightly higher rev range, between 2,000 and 2,250 rpm. Here you can choose between the six-speed manual or the DCT7, with front-wheel or all-wheel drive.

The most powerful version is the 2.0 CRDi, with 185 CV, 400 Nm of torque from 1,750 rpm and the choice of manual or automatic gearbox, the latter a torque converter with 8 speeds. This version is always 4×4, and features ECOdynamics+ technology, which is what Kia calls its new Mild Hybrid.

Diesel Mild Hybrid version, but not ECO… for now

It has a 12 kW electric motor that acts as a generator. It is connected to the combustion engine by a belt, and is capable of recovering energy during braking, which is stored in a 48-volt lithium-ion battery housed under the boot, with its corresponding converter. It should be noted that this battery takes up some luggage capacity: the boot is reduced to 440 litres, compared with 480 for the other 4×4 Sportage versions, which come as standard with this engine. Initially it is offered only with the more powerful 2.0 CRDi engine, but from 2020 it will also be available with the 1.6 CRDi, and it will soon reach the Kia ceed.

The theoretical fuel saving this system offers is up to 4 percent in the new WLTP homologation cycle. This saving is based on the additional thrust the electric motor can supply to assist the combustion engine when accelerating. It also works as a starter motor, and allows the start-stop to engage when speed drops below 30 km/h, without the vehicle having to come to a complete stop, which lengthens the coasting phases with the engine switched off.

Unlike the Mild Hybrid versions of Audi, there is no coasting mode when driving on roads or motorways. Perhaps that is why Kia has not managed to get its Sportage Mild Hybrid certified as a hybrid, which would allow the Audi models to carry the ECO label from the DGT. The brand, however, insists this is only a temporary situation and that it could change in the short term.

Behind the wheel of the new Kia Sportage

There are no changes to the Kia Sportage’s chassis, so the differences when driving compared with the previous model come mainly from the engines. And here you need to think very carefully when choosing, because beyond that, the Kia Sportage remains an SUV that stands out above all for its excellent ride comfort.

Comparing the two basic petrol and diesel versions, the 1.6 GDi offers performance very similar to the new 115 CV 1.6 CRDi, but it delivers it in a different way. The 1.6 GDi petrol, despite its higher power, requires more attention while driving and a lot of gearshifting to feel the engine pulling. Our choice here would be the diesel.

If you step up to the 136 CV 1.6 CRDi, the most balanced version in the range in terms of performance and consumption, it is worth considering it as an alternative to the 1.6 T-GDi. With equal equipment the petrol is about 1,000 euros cheaper, a difference that is not decisive. But if you want that reserve of performance that lets you enjoy, at any given moment, a car we can describe as quick, the petrol would be the option, at the cost of an average consumption of around 9 l/100 km, between 1.5 and 2 litres more than the diesel.

The new 1.6 CRDi remains a very interesting option, not only because its consumption and emissions have come down. It also runs more smoothly, and becomes one of the benchmarks in its category in this respect. In addition, it is offered with the Concept and Drive trims, which are not available on the 1.6 T-GDi petrol.

At the top of the range, the 2.0 CRDi ECOdynamics+ relies on its Mild-Hybrid system and the power of the 2-litre engine to deliver the maximum driving pleasure with very restrained consumption. The smoothness of the Start-stop is especially noteworthy, thanks to the electric motor that acts as the starter motor. It costs 2,000 euros more than the 136 CV 1.6 CRDi if we choose the latter with the 7DCT gearbox, all-wheel drive and the top-spec GT Line Xtreme trim, which is the only alternative to the most powerful Sportage in the range, where the only option is the manual gearbox.

Kia Sportage 2019: Range and prices

Kia combines the Concept, Drive and Emotion variants with the 132 CV 1.6 GDi petrol engine, leaving the more powerful 1.6 T-GDi for the GT-Line versions, which now split into two: Essential and Extreme. In diesel, the 1.6 CRDi in its two power outputs is offered with all trims except Emotion, while the 2.0 ECOdynamics+ has its own trim called Mild Hybrid.

The main news in equipment includes the option to choose a new 8-inch frameless touchscreen connectivity system, as an upgrade over the 7-inch one. Also new, among the features enabled by the connected services of Kia provided by TomTom, is information on fuel prices at the nearest petrol stations, and the location of parking spaces.

The starting price in the petrol range is 18,855 euros for the 1.6 GDi Concept, 21,355 euros with the Drive trim and 24,655 euros for the Emotion. The 1.6 G-Di GT Line starts at 25,705 euros in the Essential version and 28,455 euros for the Xtreme. All-wheel drive adds 2,000 euros, and the 7DCT gearbox a further 2,100 euros. All prices already include the maximum discount of 6,145 euros that can be obtained, adding up the 2,805 euros of direct discount, 1,895 euros for financing the purchase, and the rest if you trade in a car.

In diesel, the maximum discount is slightly lower, 5,910 euros, although the direct discount and the corresponding financing discount do not change. The starting price here with all possible promotions is 21,090 euros for the 115 CV 1.6 CRDi Concept, up to 28,340 euros for the same engine in the GT Line Xtreme trim. The 136 CV 1.6 CRDi costs 1,000 euros more than the 115 CV one with equal equipment. As for the top of the range, the 2.0 CRDi ECOdynamics+, we have already discussed it above.

Our most recommended choice requires a budget of around 25,000 euros: the 1.6 T-GDi 4×2 manual in the GT Line Essential trim, at 25,705 euros, or the 136 CV 1.6 CRDi 4×2 manual with the same trim, which goes slightly above that, to 26,590 euros.

As is customary for the brand, the Kia Sportage comes with a 7-year or 150,000 km warranty.

Kia Sportage image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadKIA Sportage18 versions · from 36,190 €