2011 Kia Sportage EX AWD

Lots of bang for the buck

By Rod Zervakos

Slowly but surely Kia Motors is steadily climbing its way up the automotive food chain. This is evident by their latest offering, the Kia Sportage EX, a striking little crossover vehicle that starts at $24,795 and with the NavSystem and Premium Package the test car still came in under $30k. If you would have put the name Kia and any price close to thirty thousand dollars in the same sentence 5 years ago you would have been laughed at or locked up. Not these days though. The Korean manufacturer has gone to great lengths to ensure they are delivering visually impactful vehicles that also offer class leading build quality and functionality.

My tester, a 2011 EX AWD was loaded to the gills with all of the bells and whistles you would expect to see in a vehicle costing 2-3 times this amount, yet it stickered at $29,990. Leather, dual zone climate control, 6 speaker system with CD, MP3, SIRIUS Satellite, USB port, Bluetooth, Navigation, back up camera, heated AND cooled seats, panoramic sun roof are just some of the goodies packed in the test car. From behind the wheel you never have any doubt that you were piloting a worthy vehicle. Fit and finish are on par with some top tier vehicles and the interior design is clever and attractive. Ergonomically speaking everything was within reach and all of the controls are easily understood and intuitive.

As always, there are some issues that I feel need addressing. It seems as though one of the core aspects of vehicles purchased by people in tax brackets I only wish I were in, is the amount of power the vehicles they buy produce. This is an area that the Sportage falls desperately short in. For a "small" crossover vehicle the Sportage is a porky little puppy and the anemic 2.7 liter in-line four is constantly struggling to keep pace with fellow travelers. Now, seeing as how this buggy, generally speaking, is not destined for that upper tax bracket buyer, I suppose its not that big of a deal but It certainly dampened my driving experience a little.  

While were on the subject of dampened driving experiences, I was a bit put off by the steering feel of the little 'UTE. Initially I thought it was a nice change of pace driving something with such a high steering effort but then I quickly realized there was a disconnect between driver input and vehicle reaction, something that took a bit of getting used to.

    

Anyway, at the end of the day I think most buyers from soccer moms to suburb daddies will be hard pressed to find a better family hauler, optioned out like this one, for less money. As competitors you have your RAV4's and Nissan Rogues but in my opinion those just can't compete when it comes to styling and execution, two things that are vitally important when moving up that automotive food chain.