The compact crossover is easily one of the most competitive segments. Almost every automaker makes one and with so many options to choose from, how do you weed through the good and bad? There are the obvious heavyweights of the class, like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, but maybe you’d like something that isn’t sitting in every driveway in your neighborhood? Well there’s the excellent Mazda CX-5 and what about the stylish Kia Sportage? The Kia Sportage was one of Kia’s first models when it entered the US in the mid-1990s and 20 years later Kia has positioned it as the sportier and more stylish alternative to its Honda, Toyota and Nissan rivals.
After a week with the 2017 Kia Sportage, here are five things that I either loved or hated about Kia’s smallest crossover:
4Pricing undercuts the CR-V, RAV-4 and CX-5
The 2017 Sportage starts at a reasonable $23,300, which is lower than the starting prices for the Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and the Mazda CX-5. Once you start adding on the options, the price does shoot up significantly, but even at $35,095, the top-spec SX Turbo with all-wheel drive is packed with features, like heated and cooled seats, a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel and a Harmon/ Kardon sound system. The SX Turbo’s price mirrors the Honda CR-V, but the one thing that the CR-V offers that the Sportage does not, is the latest driver assist safety technology, like Lane Keep Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control.
