Kia has been on a tear recently. It’s moved well beyond its basic-economy past to producing beautiful, advanced, segment-leading vehicles like the Stinger, Telluride and EV6. My interest is piqued, and so I’m filled with anticipation when the rental counter assigns us a 2021 Kia Sportage LX.
When we finally locate the Sportage in the vast rental garage, the SUV is parked face out, with its chubby cheeks and bulging eyes blankly staring back at us. Its short-and-wide grill completes an aquatic impression: a catfish’s mouth has been plastered on a bullfrog’s head. I don’t love the result, but then again, I’m not the Kia Sportage’s mother!
With luggage in tow, I head for the Sportage’s trunk. The SUV’s flanks and rear are smooth, rounded, and generally inoffensive. Anonymous. If I needed to stealthily circulate a city, I could do worse!
(Strike one: the Sportage is not beautiful.)
No, the styling won’t sustain my brand excitement. But SUVs sell on practicality. So how will this compact SUV handle our vacation luggage?
Quite well! Our two rollaboards, a large checked bag, four backpacks and a compact stroller fit easily into the trunk and cabin. In fact, there is room for another rollaboard or several totes left over.
My children’s car seats are installed without snag or surprise. Even though our toddler’s rear-facing car seat compromises the front passenger room, my wife is comfortable in the navigator’s seat. Yes, when it comes to hauling luggage and lug heads—duffles and dunderheads?—the Sportage is appropriately spacious.
(On the practicality front, it is also superior to the CTS-V wagon that took us to SFO this morning.)
As I open the driver’s door, I’m still looking for standout features. Plopping down into the pilot’s seat, I am pleasantly surprised by the headrest’s dreamy caress. It is cushy and gel-filled and reminds me of the head supports from the BMW 7-series and Mercedes EQS. While fluffy pillows alone won’t make me run to the Kia dealership, they are a good start.
I look around the cabin and find it drably styled and bereft of innovation. (Our rental’s penny-pinching LX trim—$25.5k MSRP—may be at fault.) Its cloth seats are manually adjusted and want for lumbar support. While the windows are powered, only the driver’s window has one-touch open…yet won’t one-touch close! The navigation is BYO—there’s no factory nav—but Apple Carplay or Android Auto are supported. Most amazingly is that Kia has foregone modern climate control for basic fan speed and temperature knobs: Twist to blue for cold or red for hot. I haven’t seen HVAC controls like this since the $15k Chevy Spark!
(Strike two: the Sportage LX is not advanced.)
My hope of experiencing Kia’s new groove has been extinguished. The Sportage can’t be a class leader on styling or functionality, but I’m personally willing to overlook a lot if a car is extraordinary to drive. (I owned a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, after all!) Our pending four-hour journey across tangled Illinois highways, arrow-straight Wisconsin interstates, and meandering lake-land B roads will give me ample opportunity to experience the Sportage in motion.
Chicagoans drive fast, and merging into the 80 mph traffic is a workout for the Sportage’s anemic 2.4L four-cylinder. A piddling 181 hp and 175 lb-ft is available to push the ~3700 lb SUV; I pine for the Sportage’s optional turbocharged engine.
The Sportage’s 6-speed automatic is equally dimwitted. It’s slow to downshift and won’t rush an upshift. For onramps, I manually shift into lower gears as I scratch for more acceleration.
(Once we are in rural Wisconsin, the skimpy engine and slow transmission feel more at home.)
Highway interchanges are my main chance to sample the handling. The Sportage’s suspension prioritizes comfort over control, so the SUV tips sideways around cloverleaves. It discourages me from exploring—or exploiting—the tires’ traction. The steering is highly assisted and faintly communicative. I neither love nor hate it; it’s appropriate for a budget compact SUV.
Curiously, the Sportage trots well on the interstate. At 80 mph, the reedy engine (somehow) manages to relax. And thanks to the soft suspension, the Sportage is calm and comfortable across southern Wisconsin.
(With its pudgy looks and chill high-speed manners, the Sportage reminds me of a cut-rate Audi Q5.)
AWD appears to be our Sportage LX’s sole option ($1500). We don’t have snow or mud to challenge it, but we do slice through a torrential thunderstorm. While other vehicles shelter beneath overpasses, we press forward with aplomb. The surprisingly-surefooted Hankook Kinergy GT 225/60R17 tires keep gripping as the epic storm dumps sheets of rain.
My wife drives the final hour past pastures and forests. I sit shoehorned between my increasingly cranky kiddos, trying to placate them with audiobooks and snacks. Sadly, there is little I can do after our long travel day.
Which is why I am happy to spring out of the Sportage when we reach our lakeside cottage, never looking back. The Sportage carried us safely to our destination, but beyond being a competent conveyance, there’s little more to celebrate about our LX.
(Strike three: the Sportage LX is far from segment leading.)
For $27k, there is a budget appeal to the AWD Sportage LX. It’s affordable, safe (NHTSA 5 stars), family-friendly, and generously backed by a 10-year powertrain warranty. But the only joy or surprise in this compact SUV are its pillowy headrests, and that’s simply not enough.
Sadly, the 2021 Sportage feels like old Kia—a segment laggard designed for budget buyers. But I hold onto hope because the little SUV gets a complete remake for 2022. So perhaps on our next family getaway, I’ll get to see modern Kia at its best.
Mike's Steering Column 