Kia Sportage QL GT-Line AWD, 2.4L Petrol, Automatic (2017-2021)

I Bought a Lemon – We purchased a new top of the line Kia Sportage 2016, we had the car for four years & had no problems with it at all. In 2020 we purchased another Kia Sportage G line. A year into it we have been experiencing ongoing issues with the car. The car has been towed many times & has been examined by Kia numerous times. Kia consistently says they are… Read more

unable to pinpoint the issue. However, they have acknowledged & confirmed there is an issue. On occasions whilst driving the car stops to a holt. The car seems to think it’s been in a collision & I’m unable to drive forward or reverse. I’m also unable to push the car to a side street & the handbrake won’t release. The error seems to resolve after 2 to 5 hours, then I’m able to keep driving. This has now occurred approximately 17 times since Oct 2021. There are multiple warning messages that appear on the dash board on each occasion. Forward collision avoidance assist system, electronic stability control, all wheel drive lock indicator, Auto hold indicator light, Downhill brake control indicator. It’s extremely unsafe & dangerous when driving on the M5 middle lane at 110km’s & the car comes to a holt, we could have been killed by a truck. Feb 2022 discovered the issue was coming from the ABS, it was replaced. They had also re-calibrated the system, however 3 months later same issue would occur. The car was back at Kia service centre for 3 months, they have replaced the gear box. We have spent approx $1700 on Ubers, as Kia is unable to provide courtesy cars for more than 3 days. We bought the car with seven-year warranty to have peace of mind that if anything was to go wrong, we would be covered. However, this has not been our experience. The Kia service centre is appalling, I even called Kia head office, they said their hands are tied & unable to assist us.

High spec and great value for money – The medium sized SUV market has lots of options. When I purchased this car, I also considered the Peugeot 3008 (small steering wheel was I just found too weird), Hyundai Tucson (price would mean a need for me to down spec), Nissan X-trail (didn’t like the CVT gearbox), Mitsubishi Outlander (had a CVT and was a good drive, but looks were getting… Read more

dated), Honda CRV (didn’t really enjoy the CVT gearbox and drive even though they little 1.5l turbo had lots of power)

The Kia Sportage is excellent value for money, and with 20,000 kms on then clock no issues have been encountered yet.

It has a very high spec with panoramic sun roof, heated and cooled front seats, Sat Nav, Android auto and Apple car play, wireless phone charging, blind spot detection, front collision avoidance, rear parking camera, electric tail lift, proximity sensed opening tail lift, puddle lights, proximity based auto retracting electric mirrors, full leather seats, cross traffic rear detection, parking sensors, hill descent, auto wipers, auto headlights, LED driving lights, auto dip high beam, 4wd diff lock, electric park brake, hill start assist, driver/passenger climate controls, steering wheel controls which are easy to use, tire pressure sensors, cruise control, lots of USB ports for charging, and much more. As you can see, it is well spec’d with plenty of good stuff.

Best bits The factors that particularly attracted me to this car and model: 1. A true automatic as opposed to a CVT gear box. The six speed is smooth and can be operated like a tiptronic, basic auto, or using the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel (although as an SUV, were these really necessary?) 2. Transferable service plan and warranty. It has a great warranty and service plan, and a real bonus is that it is transferable if the vehicle is sold. Mitsubishi has perhaps the best warranty plan, but Kia is the only I’m aware of that enables transfers after private second hand car sales. 3. Spec. Against the competition, this car really has a lot of bits and pieces. 4. Looks. Some love them, others hate them. With the side rails and tow bar, I think the Sportage looks great with a fat and squat look. 5. Huge wheels and brakes. These have great stopping power and handle very well. This doesn’t seem to affect the nice ride either when travelling off sealed roads.

Less than best bits The factors in my view that are a little annoying 1. The rear seat belts. the middle seat belt comes down from the roof which is a bit annoying. In addition, as the buckle can get a bit buried in the seat, it can be a bit hard for the kids to plug it in. If putting the rear seats down, you move the seat belts out of the way. However, then putting the rear seats back up the seat belts can get trapped if they are not pulled clear first. Finally, when the kids get out car, if the seat belts aren’t left back across the seat, they tend to rattle a bit or have the door close on the buckle. 2. Fuel economy. The 2.4l petrol is good with plenty of torque and power. There are three driving modes (Eco, normal, Sport) which actually make quite a different in the responsiveness. None, are particularly economical and I have found the 2.4l a bit more thirsty than expected. In fact, if driving in the city I have found the normal mode to be more economical than the Eco mode. However, once on freeway/motorway, the Eco mode being slightly overdriven is cheaper. By choice, I think the diesel turbo is probably best pick of the engine options in Sportage range. 3. The drive in Eco mode. In Eco mode, the acceleration is slightly stilted and stuttered. It does some smart economical wizard art to smooth out the acceleration to reduce fuel use, but this also gives a sense that when the lights turn green, a bit of a delay in anything happening and then a big surge of power. In other modes, Kia have shown how smooth and well tuned the gear ratios are, and this feels undone in this particular driving mode.

Overall, it is a great car and I’m very happy with it. The paint and build quality is great. Its really easy to get comfortable with the tech, and get used to living with car. It looks good (in fact looks great), and I really like the amount of stuff on it. Accessories are reasonably priced (like a tow bar and side rails) compared to some other brands.

It is a bit curious and has some unusual aspects, such as huge wheels with low profile tires, yet is equipped with 4WD tools like down hill descent and diff lock (would you really take it off road with 30 profile tires?). On tarmac, its a nice quiet drive with a good feel of the road.

Advances that I think were around and this model was released and should have included (even as options) would have been: 1. Auto close sunroof (in the event of rain and sensing for this) 2. Radar/adaptive cruise control 3. Heating/cooling rear seats 4. Heads up display 5. 360 degree cameras

Kia has come a long way, and by looks of their current offerings are here to stay for a fair while.

I would certainly buy another one when I look to replace this one.