KIA Officially Released First Teaser Images Of 5th Generation Sportage. KIA Also Announced That The Model Would Be Fully Revealed On June 8th.
Crossovers/ Sorts Utility Vehicles segment is the name of the game and has taken the market by storm all across the globe. Every car brand has numerous offerings in this regard, but it seems like markets have still a huge appetite for more. When it comes to Korean brand like KIA, the situation is not different either. KIA’s love for the letter “S” for crossovers and SUVs can be seen in the shape Sorento, Soul, Seltos, Stonic, Sonic, but it all started with Sportage back in 1993, when the first generation of KIA Sportage was introduced.
The current 4th generation of Sportage [ same as in Pakistan ] arrived back in 2015 and had a mid-cycle facelift in 2018. The long-running nameplate of Sportage is the best selling crossover model for KIA and an extremely important one, and now it’s time for the next generation. For the last several months, the new / 5th generation of Sportage has been seen heavily camouflaged on public roads. Many rendered images also went viral over the internet for the possible upcoming design.
Around a weeks ago, KIA Officially Released The First Teaser Images Of The 5th Generation Sportage. KIA Also Announced That The Model Would Be Fully Revealed On June 8th, and if you take a look at your calendar, today is the day. KIA Global removed the wraps off the model early this morning, and it’s here. KIA didn’t reveal any technical details, features and options for the new model besides detailing the interior and exterior design philosophy.
Exterior:
Before the official launch, many rendered images were seen on the internet based on the camouflaged Sportage. Later teaser images also gave an excellent idea about the new model. KIA didn’t provide any details about the dimensions, but from the pictures, it is evident that the new model seems to have grown in size. It would be really true because the new generation is based on a completely new platform and architecture with chassis code “NQ5”. The 4th generation Sportage has a bubbly and bulky type footprint, but the new 5th generation is true to its name, and Sportage is definitely looking sporty and revolutionary in design.
With the new KIA brand logo and brand identity, the new Sportage has a bolder, unique and dynamic look on the front which has a complete overhaul on the front with the next generation of Tiger nose wide and bolder grille, similar & influenced from current newer KIA models like as we see on the new K5 Sedan or the new 4th generation of Sorento. New boomerang-styled Day Time Running Lights/ DRLs extend along the fender and hood line while wraps around the front bumper are enclosing the new cube-styled headlights.
There are dual spot fog lights on each side of the new front bumper. On the side profile, the beltline now slops upwards with a chrome strip going towards the rear, while the roofline slopes going backwards with an integrated roof spoiler. The wider and bigger glass panel on the C-pillar will increase the openness and visibility of the interior. The Sportage gets new slim LED taillights on the rear, and the roofline also has a reprofiled slope comparing the previous generation.
It looks like the indicators are now part of the taillight assembly, unlike previous generation, where these were in the lower part of the bumper. The rear wiper arm is not visible, and the reason being now it will operate from under the rear spoiler. The rear blacked out new bumper also gets a unique placement of the license plate while a satin silver diffuser wraps around the part of the bumper. KIA mentioned that with certain exterior colours, the new model would have an option of the Blacked out roof, which will enhance the sporty character of the new Sportage.
The front might be polarizing, and as always, everyone will have an option about it, but overall the exterior is for sure a vast improvement. The new Sportage is a joint effort between Kia’s main global design team in Korea, Germany, United States, and China. According to KIA, the new Sportage follows KIA’s new design theme and brand identity, called “Opposites United”. KIA defines this as follows ;
We bring you our new design philosophy – OPPOSITES UNITED. We’re taking the idea of opposition and using it to evolve the identity of Kia. We’re using the concepts of disruption and contrast to create characterful designs. OPPOSITES UNITED helps us stand out of the crowd & heralds a new era as Kia adapts to the changing world around us.
Interior :
KIA single teaser image a weeks ago showed us a glimpse of the interior. Even without seeing the interior fully, one thing was understood; this will be modern and revolutionary. Well, our expectations are accurate as the new interior is no doubt a state of the art, innovative, High-Tech & sophisticated. The Sportage interior follows the same design theme as we have seen recently on the other newer KIA models. KIA revealed the dashboard images, and we can see a new design philosophy here as well. There is a new panoramic curved wide glass panel that hides two digital screens integrated together. One serves as the driver instrumental panel behind the steering wheel, while the other works as the infotainment system.
There is a new and minimalistic slim HVAC climate control panel, unlike the older Sportage with several buttons. A new steering wheel with a new brand logo along with new steering wheel controls can be seen. The new three-dimensional air vents, the new central console gives the interior a modern look. The Sportage also gets a shift by wide transmission controller which improved the space and utility. KIA promises the use of high-quality material and improved soft touchpoints with enhanced comfort, more user intuitive controls, convenience, and soundproofing. Although the exterior design might be subjective, overall, the new Sportage gets full marks for its spectacular interior.
Mechanicals:
KIA didn’t reveal any technical/ mechanical details, but as Sportage is a non-identical twin of Hyundai Tucson, we can expect the same engine lineup as seen on the new 4th generation of Tucson. As of conventional petrol, 2L inline 4 MPI with 154HP, 2.5L inline 4 with 187HP, 1.6L Turbo with 177HP while a more potent 2L or a 2.5L Turbo with 250HP +/- is possible. KIA might offer Sportage in Hybrid and plugin Hybrid variants as well. As always, both Front-wheel drive and AWD will be available. How much Sporty is the new Sportage will be known later this year.
Market Availability:
KIA will reveal more details, including technical and other features, later this summer. Sales are expected to start in the home country of South Korea first by the fall of 2021. North American customers will welcome the reveal of the 5th generation by the end of 2021, where it will be available for sale in the first quarter of 2022 as the model year 2023. It will reach other regions and specifically the Right-Hand Drive markets 2022 onwards as well.
Launch in Pakistan?
We would love to see the newer generation on our roads as soon as possible, but personally, I don’t expect the next generation of Sportage in Pakistan before 2023 so, PKDM Sportage has still a couple of years of life left. Keep in mind, the next generation of Sportage is on an all-new platform and would require major upgrades to the current assembly line in Pakistan. In other words, the new generation is not a plug-n-play into the existing line so, it will for sure take some time for us to experience the new generation locally after the international launch plus the CKD/ complete knockdown kits, which is the basis of our local car industry are also not right-away available. Let us hope we don’t experience a major time gap between a global and local launch of the next generation of Kia Sportage.
This news was originally published at Pak Wheels.