If you think the new styling of the redesigned 2017 Kia Sportage has gone overboard, you can thank Peter Schreyer, president and chief design officer for Kia Motors (and Hyundai). Scheduled this month to become available at a Kia dealership near you, the high, stubby crossover is unique-looking and quite the head-turner.
In addition to making the 2017 Sportage a little longer and wider than the outgoing model, Orth Hedrick, Kia Motors America’s vice president for product planning, said the designers “pushed the wheels out to the corners to give it an athletic, agile look.”
Peek inside the compact crossover’s cabin and you find a sharp, clean design with good quality materials and an abundant use of soft-touch surfaces. You also discover comfortable seating for four adults and an 18 percent increase in cargo space. The cargo area behind the rear seat has grown from 26 cubic feet to 31 cubic feet. Maximum cargo space extends to over 60 cubic feet once the back seats are folded.
The 2017 Sportage comes in three variations:
- The base LX – $22,990 with front-wheel drive (FWD) and $24,490 with all-wheel drive (AWD)
- The EX goes for $25,500 (FWD) and $27,000 (AWD)
- The SX is the model with the most features and starts at $32,500 (FWD) and $34,000 (AWD)
There are two engine choices underneath the hood. The LX and EX models are fitted with an 181 horsepower, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine; the SX gets a 240-horse, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. Both engines are paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy for the 2.4-liter engine is an EPA-estimated 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway with FWD and 21 mpg city and 25 mpg highway with AWD. The turbo 4-cylinder is good for 21 and 26 mpg with FWD, 20 and 23 mpg with AWD.
There is more about the 2017 Kia Sportage than meets the eye. Watch this TFLcar ‘everything you ever wanted to know’ video and discover some interested facts about the all-new compact crossover from Kia.
https://youtu.be/i60E_cbeLdk
