Kia Sportage review

The Sportage has a decent driving position with enough adjustment to cater for most people. All trims, apart from entry-level 1, have electrically adjustable lumbar support and manual seat height adjustment. Selected higher trims (apart from GT-Line) come with a 10-way electrically adjustable driver's seat.

Even with the height adjustment, you might find yourself wishing the seat would drop a little lower than it does, but the overall high-set position is in keeping with an SUV. The supportive seat proves comfortable on long journeys, too.

A central front armrest is standard across the range, and the dashboard switches and stalks are where you’d want them to be, as well as being clearly labelled.

The Sportage gives you decent forward visibility past its chunky pillars and side mirrors, but the slightly narrow, high-set rear screen and thick rear pillars can make it harder to judge the car's rear corners in a tight spot.

Helpfully, all versions get a rear-view camera as standard, while rear parking sensors are added from 2 trim up, with front sensors added on the upper trim levels.

The halogen headlights fitted to 1 and 2 trims are relatively dim, but the LED headlights fitted to all other versions deliver a much brighter and whiter light. 

Even the most basic Sportage comes with a 7.0in infotainment touchscreen, a DAB radio, USB connector and Bluetooth, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring (features that allow you to use your phone's sat-nav through the car's screen).

If you want built-in sat-nav, you’ll need to upgrade to 2 trim, while moving farther up the range gains you a larger, 8.0in screen. Both sizes of screen are fairly quick to respond to prods, and there are physical shortcut buttons that make it easy to hop quickly between key functions.

A six-speaker sound system is standard on 1 and 2 trims and delivers so-so sound quality, while upper trims feature a JBL stereo with eight speakers and a subwoofer. It's much punchier and sounds less distorted at higher volumes. 

The Sportage's interior looks smart, thanks to a combination of matt plastics and  metallic-effect finishes. Upper trim levels gain gloss black dashboard inserts and part-leather seat trim to further lift the ambience. All models feature a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearlever, while jumping up from 1 to 2 trim or higher adds leather to the armrests.  

The interior feels quite solidly put together, with nicely damped switches and air vents. Some of the materials – notably the plastics lower down – aren't anything to write home about, though. Overall, the Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq feel classier inside, while if it's an upmarket ambience you're after, the pricier but smaller Mini Countryman and Audi Q2 are as good as it gets in this class.