2016 Kia Sportage launched in Korea in four variants - Report

25/09/2015 - 17:36 Kia Sportage, Kia Riza Rizvi

Korea is the launch market for the fourth generation Sportage, where it is sitting on 5,000 bookings.

Kia has launched the 2016 Kia Sportage SUV in its home market of Korea on the day it world premiered at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The SUV is available in four trims with prices starting from 23.46 million Won (INR 13.04 lakhs) and going all the way to 28.42 million (INR 15.80 lakhs), as reported by Korea Joongang Daily and Daily Korea.

The fourth generation of the Sportage is quite a departure from the previous model. It gets a wider ‘tiger-nose’ grille and sweptback projector headlamps while the rear gets LED combination tail lights connected by a chrome strip. Options include “ice cube” LED fog lights, skid plates, dual exhausts and wheels available in sizes of 16-, 17- and 19-inches.

Kia is claiming more usage of soft-touch plastics and sound proofing materials on the new Sportage. The interior features a Piano Black finish, flat-bottomed steering wheel and alloy pedals. The boot can store 503 liters of luggage while cabin has become more spacious due to an increase in wheelbase by 30 mm.

The infotainment system on the SUV is Kia’s 7-inch UVO touchscreen system with safety aspect being addressed by standard offerings such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and lane departure warning. Further assurance of safety is given by the implementation of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) in the body. Kia says 51 percent of the Sportage's body is made of this material which is 10 percent lighter but twice as strong as normal steel.

In Korea, the Sportage is powered by a 2.0-litre R CRDI turbodiesel producing 186 PS and 400 Nm. All trims come equipped with a 6-speed automatic as standard while a 6-speed manual gearbox is optional. Apart from this, there is also a 1.7-litre U CRDi diesel that is coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, but this variant will be launched next month. Kia said at the launch that it had already received 5,000 pre-orders for the 2-liter Sportage.