ARE YOU LOOKING for a new car to jump-start 2023? It’s the perfect time if you’re in the market as much-needed stock begins to pour into the country throughout the month of January. One car that has a strong stock availability and could be the perfect SUV for your family is the Kia Sportage. 

With a brand new redesigned exterior and hybrid configurations, it’s not surprising that the Kia Sportage is attracting immediate attention in the market. But don’t take our word for it, we spoke to a recent customer, who filled us in on his experiences of the impressive SUV. 

Paddy McGrath Paddy McGrath

What stood out to you about the car first?

The new design stood out to me straight away! Straight away I noticed the front grill, the unique diamond design of the headlights, Although the exterior impressed, the interior is where the car truly blew my mind. The dash has a wrap around screen that is incredible. It makes driving the car like sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet. The display below the screen has climate controls and media function with touch screen buttons that allow you to toggle between the two. The simplicity of the sync aircon button is also great. 

I love the circle gear changer in the automatic model. It is so neat and tidy. I’m 6ft 4 and the seating position is perfect for my height, I don’t feel like my head is going to bounce off the roof every time I go over a speed bump. The seats are incredibly comfortable with good back support. 

The fact that the boot falls flat with the exterior of the car and there is no lip is a great feature, making it easier to get shopping, luggage or a buggy in and out.

How would you describe your experience of driving the car?

The drive of the car is amazing, I love driving the car. I never want to be the passenger when my wife and I are going somewhere. The electric mode is great for those short trips to get shopping or nipping over somewhere close. The hybrid mode is powerful when the petrol engine kicks in, and you can even feel the power on eco mode. Then there is Sport mode where the fun really begins, you touch the panel and off you go and all 265BHP is released and my smile gets better. The handling for a SUV is brilliant. I drove a hatchback previously which was glued to the road and nippy.  I thought I would lose that getting an SUV but with the Kia Sportage, oh how I was wrong.

How do you find the refuelling/charging process and the range of the vehicle?

I drive the Kia Sportage 1.6l PHEV 2022 model. It has a 70 km electric range. It has a slightly smaller fuel tank than my previous car but that gets compensated by the electric battery. We’ve had the car since August 22’ and have done about 4500 km in it. With that we’ve only visited the petrol station four times. I don’t have a house electric charging point at the moment as we’ve just moved.

So normally I try to find a free charging point, of which there needs to be more of in Ireland. When I can’t find a free point I use the ebs chargers and since getting the car I’ve only spent about €40 on these which beats filling up the tank any day. The charge from about 10% takes about 1 hour 35 minutes at a 7.2kw charging point. Not the worst in the world, but I do wish the electric range was closer to 80 km or 100 km.

What technology features do you use and how is your experience with them?

CarPlay is my favourite feature of the car. Through the CarPlay feature I can access my top driving apps, Waze and Spotify, as soon as I get into the driver’s seat. Waze is a navigation app which is great in the car. It gives you direct navigation, but it also brings out the child in me as it’s like a game where you can report road obstructions, inputting heavy traffic on the road, accidents etc. The heated seats and steering wheel are my other favourite tech features.

It has made it such a luxury this winter getting into the car. The adaptive cruise control is brilliant. It reacts to the car  in front of you and has four different settings depending on your speed. The lane assist in the Sportage is particularly good, it puts you right in the middle of the road, whereas I’ve found others put you really close to the white line. 

What is your favourite feature of the car?

That touch screen curved display, it’s perfectly positioned in the car. The integration with CarPlay makes driving the car more personal, allowing you to access your favourite apps.

 If you drive with passengers, what comments do they make about the car?

Passengers have said to me how much space there is in the car, how good the car looks from the outside, how comfortable the back seats are on long journeys and particularly how they recline that extra bit, nice touch Kia. I’ve also been approached numerous times by strangers admiring the car, one person even spoke to me about how he now regretted his recent car purchase where he was between the Sportage and another SUV, he really regretted not choosing the Sportage! 

If you were to recommend the car, what areas would you highlight to a friend?

I mean, the car kind of recommends itself so it doesn’t need any help from me there. If I were to recommend anything, I’d really highlight the overall drive, comfort and interior features of the car. 

 If you could, what changes would you make to the car?

I mean I loved the Kia Sportage ever since the moment I set eyes on it. Then, after test driving it and about eight other cars in its class, it was definitely the one that stood out. It ticked all the boxes; price, exterior and interior styling, technology, comfort and drive. If I was to change anything I would simply be interested in a fully electric Kia Sportage as it has everything a young family or a soon to be growing family would need in a SUV!

We want to thank Darren Allanson for this honest review of the Kia Sportage. To find out how you can get your hands on the Kia Sportage head over to their website  here. Availability and stock is strong for 2023 so book your test-drive today.