DRIVE NOW May/June 2022

2022 Drive
Car of the
Year
KIA SPORTAGE
SOURCE: www.drive.com.au
If you think the Kia Sportage mid-size
SUV won the 2022 Drive Car of the
Year award because it shines brightly
in a few important areas, you’d be
wrong. The Sportage won because
it is the strongest performer across a
breadth of criteria, all of which matter
to Australian new car buyers.
Put simply, the Sportage won not
because it was the fastest or the most
efficient, nor because it was the most
practical or most dynamic. It won
because no other vehicle combines
all these capabilities into the one
package like the Sportage does.
Is the Kia Sportage more
fuel-efficient than the
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid?
Fuel efficiency is a hot topic right now,
and rightly so. Every litre of fuel a
vehicle consumes begins as crude oil.
So the less fuel we use the less oil that
needs to be extracted.
One of the most efficient mid-size
SUVs in Australia is the Toyota RAV4
Hybrid. This vehicle, which is roughly
the same size as the Sportage, has
a petrol engine combined with an
electric motor that delivers classleading
fuel efficiency.
Kia Australia is working on bringing
a Sportage with a hybrid powertrain
to Australia that eclipses the
Toyota in terms of technology and
performance.
If you can’t wait for the Sportage
PHEV to get to Australia, Kia offers
a turbo-diesel Sportage right now
that consumes just 6.3L/100km while
producing 137kW and 416Nm. Those
outputs endow the Sportage with
effortless real-world performance,
and a fuel economy that costs less
than a bottle of wine more each
month to feed.
Should I buy a Kia Sportage
or an Audi Q5?
The Sportage’s sweeping dashboardmounted
digital display which
incorporates two high-resolution 12.3-
inch screens really sets the scene.
This cutting-edge display combines
with an adaptive touch bar below
which adjusts its buttons to match
the infotainment screen mode,
giving the Sportage a control centre
to rival some of the best from Audi,
a company long considered the
benchmark for cabin fit and finish.
Both have eight airbags and a swag
of active safety systems, but only the
Kia comes standard with adaptive
cruise control, blind-spot active
assist, reversing collision mitigation,
speed zone reminder with road sign
recognition, and a fully automated
parking assist with remote control
and front-facing parking camera.
Inside, only the Sportage offers
heated and ventilated front seats,
front seat position memory, a sliding
second row, head-up display for
the driver, and rear-seat occupancy
warning.
Safety, practicality,
presentation, value - the
Sportage sets new benchmarks in
these areas for the price.
Powertrain performance,
efficiency, driving dynamics
and ride quality - the Sportage
is unquestionably the best vehicle in
its class.
And that is why it is, in our opinion,
the best mid-size SUV in Australia
right now.