The Kia Sportage used to be a safe, sensible choice for those looking at a decent and honest crossover. It did what it said on the tin without any fuss or drama. It helped that it was also one of the cars that brought attention to Kia’s current design theme.

Now though, with the all-new Kia Sportage set for a public debut at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the designers clearly wanted to split opinion. This is clearly not some haphazard facelift, it’ll be easy to differentiate this from the outgoing model. To say it has a “bold new face” would be an understatement. Some have likened it to the Porsche Macan, but I can also see some traces of Smart fortwo in there too.

2016-Kia-Sportage-Preview-2

That faux-Por(sche) face should give an indication of how Kia wants to position this car in the market. The big ‘gangsta’ looking wheels, sloping roofline, and narrow taillights gives it a sportier look than the new Hyundai Tucson, on which it will undoubtedly share underpinnings with.

Engine choices have yet to be revealed, though expect a choice of petrol or diesel engines. The Koreans have been slow to adopt hybrid technology, though to be fair only a couple of rivals have hybrid options. At this stage rumours suggest a 2.0-litre petrol with 164bhp/121kW, a 1.6-litre T-GDI turbo petrol with 177bhp/130kW, and a 2.0-litre R-Diesel with 184bhp/136kW and 400NM.

2016-Kia-Sportage-Preview-3

We’ll get more details, including a look at the interior, closer to the September 15 Frankfurt Motor Show. The new Sportage is set for a NZ launch sometime around the first quarter of 2016. Until then, what do you reckon of the new design? Would you have it over the conservatively styled Tucson?

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Ken Saito
Words cannot begin to describe how much I love cars but it's worth a try. Grew up obsessed with them and want to pursue a career writing about them. Anything from small city cars to the most exotic of supercars will catch my attention.

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