Is the Kia Sportage Good for Saudi Roads and Long Drives?

Saudi Arabia: The Kia Sportage has become one of the most recognisable family SUVs in Saudi Arabia, and the reasons are practical rather than emotional: Saudi buyers shopping this segment want cabin space, cooling that works in July, a safety suite that holds up over four hours of highway, and a price that leaves room in the budget. The Sportage is built to cover Riyadh city traffic, the long run to Dammam, and a weekend loaded with luggage in a single package.

Design Built for Saudi Roads

Kia describes the Sportage as strong-shouldered and muscular with a bold grille and headlight combination. Its key exterior highlights include the: 

• Full LED headlamps, or LED headlamps with bulb turn signal depending on specification
• LED rear lamps, or bulb rear lamps with LED tail lamps
• LED fog lamps
• LED repeater integrated outside mirrors
• Hidden rear wiper
• 17-inch, 18-inch A-Type, 18-inch B-Type and 19-inch alloy wheels
• Panoramic sunroof
• Roof rack

Dimensions

Measurement	Figure
Overall length	4,515 mm
Overall width	1,865 mm
Overall height (with roof rack)	1,650 mm
Wheelbase	2,680 mm
Minimum ground clearance	170 mm
Fuel tank	54 litres

Comfort for Long Journeys

The Kia Sportage ensures Comfort for all the occupants with the below-mentioned features and storage features: 

• 637-litre luggage capacity
• 60/40 split rear seatback with a remote release lever on the cargo-space wall
• Ventilated and heated front seats controlled from the climate panel
• Rear-seat heat-level controls for second-row passengers
• USB-C charging ports built into the front seatbacks
• Coat hangers built into the front headrests
• Wireless charging tray ahead of the centre console
• Variable cupholders that disassemble to take tablets and flat items
• Dual-zone full auto temperature control, or manual temperature control depending on specification
• Integrated Memory System for the driver's seat
• Ambient mood lighting

Performance and Fuel Economy

The Middle East brochure lists three Smartstream engines for the Sportage.

Engine	Max power	Max torque
Smartstream G2.0	156 ps	19.6 kg·m
Smartstream G1.6 T-GDi	180 ps	27.0 kg·m
Smartstream D1.6	136 ps	32.6 kg·m

The G1.6 T-GDi is the turbo-petrol option and carries the highest output at 180 ps. The G2.0 naturally aspirated petrol sits at 156 ps. The D1.6 is a diesel.

Drivetrain features confirmed

• Shift By Wire (SBW) electronic gear selector
• Drive Mode Select dial beside the driver's seat
• Paddle shift levers on applicable specifications
• Automatic or manual gear shift depending on specification
• Electronic Parking Brake that releases automatically when you press the accelerator

Technology and Safety Features

The Sportage featureKia's Drive Wise driver assistance with the following driver assistance features: 

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA)
• Smart Cruise Control (SCC)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW)
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW)
• Safe Exit Warning (SEW)

Cabin technology

• Panoramic curved display combining driver information with infotainment and navigation
• 12.3-inch high-resolution centre information display on higher specification
• 8-inch display audio or 3.8-inch audio on lower specification
• Supervision cluster with 4.2-inch colour TFT LCD
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration
• Digital keys, Wi-Fi and mobile-paired audio
• Infotainment and climate switchable controller sharing one LCD softkey panel

Final Verdict: Is the Kia Sportage Good for Saudi Roads and Long Drives?

Sportage comes with a large wheelbase, Smart Cruise Control with stop and resume, and Lane Following Assist ensuring a comfortable highway ride. Ventilated front seats and rear heat-level controls are great comfort features for the summer. The boot space is also adequate with one-pull 60/40 fold handles for a perfect family weekend. This makes it a perfect choice for buyers who want a full driver assistance package, a 637-litre boot and turbo-petrol performance and strong warranty coverage.

Also Read: Honda ZR-V Saudi Arabia Review: Price, Performance, Features & Buying Guide