Kia again showed a short Sportage: inside the crossover repeated the version for Korea

By Lukas Müller On Sep 24, 2022

A new generation SUV with a short base is addressed mainly to Europeans, the online premiere of such a Sportage will take place next week. Until recently, a fresh SUV will arrive in 2022: we will most likely sell a stretched version.

The design sketches of the “old-world” fifth generation Kia Sportage were published a couple of days ago, and now it turned out that there is a second portion of the pictures. The difference is that on fresh sketches, the SUV is depicted in a more realistic manner, in addition, it does not have GT Line nameplates. And for the first time we see the interior of the new crossover, designed for Europe.

New Kia Sportage for Europe

Recall, like the latest Hyundai Tucson, the “fifth” Sportage has two lengths and wheelbase options. At the moment, all the details are known only about the stretched Kia cross for Korea, because the new generation model is already being sold there: the length of such an SUV is 4660 mm (for its predecessor – 4485 mm), the distance between the axles is 2755 mm (was 2670 mm). Europeans will be offered a short Kia Sportage – just like Hyundai did with Tussan. Well, for comparison, we give the dimensions of the related Tucson (Europe / Korea): length – 4500/4630 mm, wheelbase – 2680/2755 mm.

New Kia Sportage for Europe

The short and long-wheelbase Hyundai Tucson are no different in terms of design, but the fresh European Sportage has a different stern design: it has blind rear pillars (like the previous generation model) and its own window sill line, plus a reduced fifth door glass.

Inside, the “old-world” cross Kia repeated its brother for Korea, he also got a curved giant scoreboard (that is, a virtual “tidy” and a touchscreen of a multimedia system combined with each other), which is “supported” by unusual air deflectors. There is also a touch-sensitive climate control unit, and a washer was installed instead of the traditional gear lever. Of course, the top-end Kia Sportage is depicted on the sketches, while the basic SUV in Korea has analog devices, a “radio” with a monochrome screen and a regular air conditioner, in the “medium” configuration there is a multimedia system with an 8-inch display and a “climate” with a small screen, physical buttons and washers. Most likely, the cheap and “intermediate” Sportage for Europe has a similar content.

New Kia Sportage for Europe, previous sketches

In the Old World, the new crossover will definitely be offered as a plug-in hybrid with a Tucson PHEV installation (180-horsepower 1.6 T-GDI petrol, 91-horsepower electric motor and a 13.89 kWh battery). By the way, there is no such option in Korea, which is native to the brand. But they sell a regular hybrid there, without the possibility of charging from the mains (the same 1.6 T-GDI, a 60 hp electric motor and a 1.49 kWh battery): it is possible that the Sportage HEV will reach Europe. The short crossover will also have “traditional” versions with gasoline and diesel engines.

The online premiere of the European SUV will be held on September 1.

Long wheelbase new Kia Sportage for Korea