As much as we would like the new vehicle that Kia plans to unveil at the British Motor Show to be the production version of its KOUP concept car, that doesn't seem all that likely. Instead, it appears that Kia has something rather less exciting in store. According to Auto Express, a revised Sportage mini-ute will be unveiled at the upcoming show in July, and this may be the vehicle Kia was referring to in their previous announcement. Nothing major to report as far as the update goes as "subtle improvements" are being made to both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. No changes will be made to the base 2.0-liter four-banger in either gas or diesel form, though the European audience will get an optional 2.7-liter V6 which is already available in the U.S. Considering how popular diesel engines are in the U.K., we're not surprised to hear that the Korean company is working on a revised version for the Sportage with extra power and lower emissions which should be available in short order.
[Source: Auto Express]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HydePark @ May 21st 2008 9:16AM
Lets hope that they have upgraded the engine too
Edward Tao @ May 21st 2008 9:31AM
The exterior design is not new. It has already appeared in Sportage Model Line in China (www.dyk.com.cn), which is released last year. Please look at the pictures:
http://www.dyk-sportage.com.cn/download/02.jpg
http://www.dyk-sportage.com.cn/download/01.jpg
MajorGeek @ May 21st 2008 9:31AM
Looks a little better, but they seem confused on their design. What you have is a "cute" SUV or crossover with a cut-away front end that makes it look trail rated and tough and a rear end with a dual exhaust which makes you think it is sporty ala BMW or Porsche. Their best bet in a redesign would be to make a decision in their direction before drawing it:
Sporty
Cute
Tough
Now draw it again.
tanooki2003 @ May 21st 2008 9:57AM
Not bad at all Kia. Much better than the current Ford Escape
pacman @ May 21st 2008 11:01AM
It looks just like the old kia sportage and you are of a minority opinion in thinking it looks better than the Escape.
Bob-omb @ May 21st 2008 11:24AM
The new Escape is hideous.
I was really looking forward to this updated Sportage so that they would FINALLY get rid of the 2.0L as the base engine. And it's gonna stay? The Sportage is well over 3,000 pounds. Can anyone think of any car in the U.S. that's more underpowered than the Tucson/Sportage?
Cam @ May 21st 2008 10:02AM
From that angle it looks like the GMC Acadia with Kia slapped on the front