Item: Used Kia Sportage 2016-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/nissan/qashqai/hatchback/used-review/n804">Nissan Qashqai</a> has been a favourite for years. It’s the car that started the family SUV revolution, in many ways, and a used one is still good to drive with a classy and practical interior. It’s got a good ride and excellent refinement, too, and promises low running costs.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/seat/ateca/estate/used-review/n840">Seat Ateca</a> has taken the class by storm as an SUV that is a delight to drive. It also has a spacious interior and a good range of engines. It’s practical, rides well, if a little firmly, and looks good.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a>

If you're interested in finding a used <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/kia/sportage?used=true&amp;nearlynew=true&amp;postCode=tw1%203sp">Sportage,</a> or any of the other SUVs mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

The Sportage is a well-made car that has had very few reported faults in this generation. There have been some issues with non-engine electrics, mostly relating to the sat-nav system (where fitted), and the starting procedure. Keep in mind that the diesel models, like all of its contemporaries these days, is fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF). This requires a high-speed run every now and then to allow it to self-clean, otherwise it becomes clogged up, requiring it to be replaced – and DPFs don’t come cheap.

The latest Sportage finished in eighth place out of 25 cars in&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2019-what-car-reliability-survey-family-suvs/n20064">family SUV class</a> in our most recent reliability survey, with an impressive score of 98.6%. Kia as a brand finished in sixth&nbsp;place out of 31&nbsp;manufacturers

If you would like to see the full reliability list, head to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2019-what-car-reliability-survey/n20042">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>&nbsp;pages for more information.

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Buyers seeking value for money should have Kia towards the top of their shopping list.

Although once a niche brand in the UK, today Kia outsells many more established brands, helped by its market-leading seven-year warranty and a strong reputation for reliability; in fact, Kia regularly finishes towards the top of our reliability surveys.

There are plenty of models to choose from, too, ranging from the small Picanto city car to the Ceed family hatchback and the Sorento large SUV. The Picanto was the first Kia to win its class at the What Car? Car of the Year awards.

SPORTAGE

The Kia Sportage has a spacious and practical interior and is great value bought used

Used Kia Sportage 2016-present

<h3>MPG</h3>

Not surprisingly, the diesels are the most economical, with&nbsp;an average fuel consumption of 61.4mpg claimed for the 114bhp 1.7.&nbsp;The best-performing petrol engine is the base 128bhp 1.6, with a claimed average of 44.8mpg, but the proviso is that&nbsp;those figures were calculated tested under the older NEDC rating that was&nbsp;less accurate to real-world conditions than today's WLTP tests.

A smaller 1.6-litre diesel arrived in 2018 and could be had&nbsp;in two different flavours of tune: the 114bhp version that manages 53.3mpg, or a&nbsp;134bhp alternative that does 49.6mpg. The bigger, 182bhp 2.0-litre diesel is much thirstier&nbsp;if&nbsp;it's linked to a four-wheel drive system and an automatic gearbox, and only gets a combined figure of 40.9mpg. The most&nbsp;powerful turbocharged 174bhp 1.6 consumes the most fuel&nbsp;at 32.1mpg.

<h3>CO2 emissions</h3>

The engine with the lowest CO2 emissions pre-April 2017 tax change&nbsp;is the 114bhp 1.7-litre diesel with 119g/km, while the 134bhp 2.0-litre&nbsp;produces&nbsp;139g/km. Engines equipped with an automatic gearbox, and or four-wheel drive emit more&nbsp;CO2. A self-shifting 2.0-litre diesel jumps up to 154g/km,&nbsp;the while the most powerful&nbsp;diesel with both emits 166g/km. The two petrols don't come close to the low figures&nbsp;diesel models produce, so expect to pay a fair bit in road tax. The 128bhp 1.6 has a figure of 156g/km, and the 174bhp turbocharged 1.6 emits even more at 177g/km.

<h3>Road Tax</h3>

Road tax for all models registered before 1 April 2017&nbsp;will vary depending upon the emissions the engine produces (see paragraph above for more information)&nbsp;while examples registered after this date will have&nbsp;the same flat rate fee for cars that cost less than £40,000 when new. To find out more about the current <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">road tax costs, click here</a>.

<h3>Servicing cost</h3>

Kia servicing costs compare favourably with rivals, although it should be noted that the turbocharged petrol model&nbsp;will be significantly more expensive to maintain&nbsp;than a non-turbo petrol. This is because the turbo-petrol model&nbsp;has shorter service intervals of just 10,000 miles or 12 months, against the 20,000 miles and 12 months of diesel and non-turbocharged petrols.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h3>Insurance</h3>

Insurance groups vary between 12 for an entry-level 1.7-litre diesel, to&nbsp;25 for a top-of-the-range 2.0-litre diesel.&nbsp;

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The Kia Sportage has a spacious and practical interior and is great value bought used

Around £9000&nbsp;will get you into an early Sportage of this generation with lots of miles on it.&nbsp;Up the wedge to between £10,000 and £13,000 and you’ll have your choice of trims on a 2017&nbsp;car, while heading into £15,000 to £17,000 territory will net you a good 2018 car, bought from an independent or franchised dealer. Spend between £18,000 and £25,000 on 2019 and 2020 cars.

Check the value of a used Kia Sportage with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/valuations/">What Car? Valuations</a>

<h3>Engine</h3>

On the road, the base 1.6-litre petrol engine feels a bit weedy, and while&nbsp;the turbocharged 1.6&nbsp;gets along very nicely, it&nbsp;still doesn’t offer the low-down grunt of the diesels. These start with the 1.7-litre unit, which is a smooth and punchy and impressive unit, if let down a little by a hint of gruffness at lower speeds. Even the lower-powered of the two 2.0 diesels feels gutsy enough, and the higher-powered model is very lively. Both of the later 1.6-litre diesels are an improvement on the older 1.7, and their mild-hybrid tech is a useful addition because it helps improve fuel economy, but the additional expenditure needed to buy a newer version isn't worth it at the moment.&nbsp;

<h3>Specification</h3>

We’d&nbsp;seek out a Sportage in 2 trim, since&nbsp;this gives you&nbsp;some useful technology like&nbsp;reverse parking sensors and a back-up camera, along with some desirable safety features such as lane keeping assistance and road sign recognition software.

Our favourite Kia Sportage: 1.7 CRDi 2

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Comfortable ride </li> <li>Feature-filled infotainment </li> <li>Space for child seats </li> <li>Robust build quality </li> <li>Practical storage spaces </li> <li>A boot fit for a family holiday </li> <li>Fuel-efficient engines</li></ul>

While we define a small SUV&nbsp;as something&nbsp;less than 4.3 metres long and a large SUV as measuring more than 4.5 metres, family SUVs tread the middle ground.

As the name suggests, the vast majority are&nbsp;designed for family duties rather than serious off-roading, so practicality is paramount. However, that&nbsp;shouldn't come at the expense of a decent drive; the best examples combine tidy handling with smooth engines&nbsp;and a ride that's comfortable&nbsp;enough to ensure the kids aren't left feeling queasy.

The Seat Ateca and&nbsp;Skoda Karoq should definitely be on your shortlist. But if you have a bit more to spend,&nbsp;the Range Rover Evoque is another strong option. If money is a concern, then the Dacia Duster provides comfortable, spacious and well-equipped transportation for an affordable price.

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Family SUV

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Running costs that won’t break the bank </li> <li>Generous kit</li> <li>Pokey engine and tidy handling</li> <li>Spacious interior</li> <li>Boot big enough to cope with family life</li></ul>

The car-buying public has fallen in love with small SUVs, or crossovers as they’re often called, with thousands turning away from conventional hatchbacks in favour of something that rides that little bit higher.

The original baby SUV is the Nissan Juke, which remains a popular choice, but there are plenty of better rivals to consider instead. We’d recommend you look at either the Ford Puma or Skoda Kamiq, because they offer&nbsp;a great blend of practicality and value that keeps them&nbsp;clear of the opposition. Equally, if you’ve got more money to spend, the Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc&nbsp;are both fine choices.&nbsp;

Small SUV

Most Sportages will have been used as family cars, so it’s important to check through the interior for stained carpets, and scuffed&nbsp;or broken pieces of plastic. A car that has been used and abused by a family might not have had the best attention paid to its upkeep elsewhere.

Check the extremities of the car for any damage picked up in tight car parks or on school runs; any scuffs or dents should be obvious. Check the wheels, too, because alloy wheel repairs can be expensive. Plus, there could be suspension damage as well, if the car has hit a&nbsp;kerb particularly hard.

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It would be accurate to say that the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/sportage/4x4/used-review/n429">Sportage</a> is one of the cars that has led <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/kia">Kia’s</a> revival over the past few years, and at times has accounted for a quarter of the firm's&nbsp;new car sales. This is fantastic news for used car buyers because it means you'll have lots to choose from. But there are plenty of other reasons aside from a vast supply why the&nbsp;fourth-generation Sportage makes a great used buy because it is&nbsp;attractively styled,&nbsp;practical,&nbsp;inexpensive to buy,&nbsp;and many are still covered by&nbsp;Kia's splendid&nbsp;warranty.

Under the bonnet, the initial diesel engine choices were&nbsp;a 114bhp 1.7-litre&nbsp;(the best seller in the range), or a 2.0-litre with 134bhp or 182bhp. You could also get a couple of&nbsp;petrols: a 128bhp 1.6-litre unit and a more powerful 174bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre engine. The engine range went through some slight revisions as part of the 2018 facelift, but the significant change was a new 1.6-litre diesel in 114bhp and 134bhp forms to replace the 1.7, and some 48V mild-hybrid tech to improve fuel efficiency&nbsp;on certain models in the diesel range from late 2019 onwards.

On the equipment front, there are six&nbsp;levels to pick from: 1, 2, 3, 4, First edition (later KX-5 and then GT-Line S) and&nbsp;GT-Line. We say six, but all 2.0-litre diesel versions for reasons known only to Kia were badged with a 'KX-' prefix before each number trim level, yet they didn't come with any extra kit. Fortunately, this confusing naming structure was dropped after the facelift.

The entry-level 1/KX-1 Sportage comes equipped with 16in alloy wheels, front foglights, hill start assist and descent control as standard, while inside there is air conditioning, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, DAB radio and cruise control.

Upgrade to 2/KX-2 trim and you will find 17in alloys, roof rails, rear parking sensors, automatic wipers and lights, and a wider range of&nbsp;safety systems, while inside there is dual-zone climate control, a reversing camera and Kia's 7.0in touchscreen infotainment system, complete with sat-nav and smartphone integration.

Sportages kitted out in 3/KX-3 trim gain luxuries such as an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system, a panoramic sunroof and an eight-speaker JBL audio system, while 4/KX-4 adds ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, electrically adjustable front seats, front parking sensors, adaptive bi-xenon headlights (full LED from the facelift onwards) and keyless entry/start, along with an autonomous braking system and blindspot monitoring system.

KX-5 models gain an electric tailgate, automatic parking assistance, a wireless phone charging system and two-tone leather upholstery, while the GT-Line models add an aggressive body kit on the outside, and numerous GT-Line decals and inserts inside.&nbsp;The GT-Line S is basically a pre-facelift KX-5 Sportage in terms of toys, but with sportier GT-Line styling.

Body lean is well controlled in corners, and there’s a good level of grip available. While the steering is pleasant enough and its handling safe and predictable, the Sportage, in common with many other SUVs in this class, isn’t especially fun to drive. Its ride is likewise competent, even if it actually feels slightly firmer than one or two of its rivals, and it can be very unsettled by bumps and potholes on examples&nbsp;fitted with the larger 19in wheel option. Refinement is good, too, especially at motorway speeds, with little in the way of wind and road noise, although the diesels emit a gravelly note around town.

Inside, the Sportage has a good driving position that caters for drivers of all shapes and sizes. The view is good, and the dashboard and surrounding areas are covered in reasonable plastics, with some matt and some shiny surfaces. It feels solidly put together, and all the controls are logically placed, but some rivals are classier inside.

There’s plenty of space up front, though, and two rear seat passengers have enough head and leg room, while three adults can sit side by side for shorter journeys. The Sportage has a big boot, too, with a low loading lip and a large opening.

If you're interested in finding a used <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/kia/sportage?used=true&amp;nearlynew=true&amp;postCode=tw1%203sp">Sportage,</a> or any of the other SUVs mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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Used Kia Sportage 2016-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Kia Sportage 4x4?