2017 Kia Sportage SX Turbo Review

Peter Schreyer and team admirably keep much of the same look as the outgoing Sportage while the chassis group gives this compact crossover the refinement it needs to compete with RAV4, CR-V, and Escape. Tom Voelk reviews the Kia Sportage SX Turbo model.

[@brucec43]

I'm considering going from an X5 to this. It's that good for the price. And I will save another $15,000 on repairs and maintenance during the ownership period.

[@Barobran92]

These look so premium inside and out, I also love the new Tucson.

[@moonkeis]

I've owned my 17' EX for a month now, Solid car so far as the family hauler. I came from a 13' Tiguan.

[@Reli55]

I like this new Kia Sportage especially having differnt front bumpers to distinguish the FWD (with a horizontal strip infront) from the AWD (without one). Good review Tom.👍

[@richardwrynn824]

The build quality of Kia is as good as any asian brand, and they will make cosmetic updates (taillights, headlights, etc) during a gen. They seem more agile than Honda and Toyota with product development, and are quicker to market, and appears more pet friendly. I would expect the Sportage to get an updated front bumper cover, and tail lights, in about two to three years. Big question could hybrid technology make into a Sportage? An MPG of around 34 in the city, now that would really drive some sales for the Sportage!

[@1guyin10]

Kia did a nice job tuning the chassis on this one. I haven't decided whether I like the looks or not. It is growing on me though. Someone obviously takes their dog for a ride quite often...

[@MNsaint]

Hey Tom, do the back seats fold completely flat? The shot at 4:04 makes it look like they don't but in your "bonus" footage, when your new buddy jumped in the back, the seats look flatter (about the 6:05 mark). A flat load floor is very important to me and my own Black Lab. He loves jumping into my Xterra the same way! Thanks and keep up the good work. You're one of, if not my favorite, car reviewer on KZbin.

[@kronomikon5355]

I love the look of this SUV and it's powerful too. I simply cannot understand the use of a CVT transmission in some other SUVs. I tried the Honda Civic with the CVT transmission and it was by far the most boring test drive i've ever done.

[@Brayant25]

Great and very informative review as always.... Mr Tom simply the best..I like that slogan "power to the people" . it is actually used by a very popular political party in Nigeria known as PDP.

[@93455Driver]

The Lab was thinking "uh, not a Forester"

[@kjscoleman]

Another great review, could this be the more powerful CX5 I've been looking for??

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Test drive them yourself and find out. It's like the home game of what I do.

[@newsupdate1324]

anymore argument?we have no. choice but to go for this new technology 💪💛💜💙💜

[@elitistsnob1793]

When will you review the 2017/2018 Ford Escape?

[@ejaazidris1649]

I wish this interior was inside the Hyundai Tucson...

[@hansgruber650]

I have a 16 and these are a good pick people.

[@brianbfree2328]

Hey Tom!! Maybe you can pitch an advertising campaign to Kia for the Sportage using Labs as the consumers.😎 It's obviously "Lab approved!"😂😂😂

[@landdoooo.5]

The Fog Lights is more better than any other Fog Lights to be honest.

[@kevinc9006]

I had a 01 sportage I bought for 3,000 with 89k 10 yrs ago and got 285k out it and sold it for 1,200 lol. Clutch,slave cylinder, timing belt, crank sensor what I replaced

[@JakeBullingtonTV]

Oh my gosh it's certainly a look to get used to.. (better than Soul at least!). The dog was adorable.

[@mrlim282]

Tom. Between this and the cx5 which one would you get?

[@athickbbc]

I'D probably get the SX/Turbo in black/chery w/tan interior. did some research and this is actually very freaking loaded with advanced safety feature and technology that some of those over$$$priced luxury brands out there now!

[@manuelferran6486]

This a SUV to stand out and when you get in, wow...

[@christianjomar1]

my father bought one a couple of weeks ago and I was a little down when I notice the sportage didn't have the park it self feature. and I my father bought the top trim. It is really weird and Y don't understand why it didn't come with that feature

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

I think it is an add-on feature. I am also surprised it isn't standard in such a high trim level. It is the main reason I am looking at the Kia Sportage and Niro over the Hyundai Tucson because it isn't available at all on the Tucson. I would have to go up to a Santa Fe and living in Seoul, I want a small crossover. Traffic here is horrible and bus/taxi drivers are way too agressive for larger cars. Plus the parking spaces are TINY!

[@iaintlyin864]

Just wish they’d change the front end

[@aznandyroo]

Aww, what a cutie dog!

[@6ec6YRFPTcC]

it looks like somebody scared it

[@gmman010983]

lmmfaoo!

[@wassha09]

Don't forget about the Jeep Cherokee.

[@azatecas]

im not feeling the redesign

[@bg1379]

The rear turn signal location is downright dangerous! I honestly could not buy a car with such a ridiculous turn signal. It would make me want to stick with the Tucson 1.6

[@jacobcarpenter4331]

How much money does this guy spend on toilet paper for these reviews? I bet his house is stocked for life

[@maamaachannel]

いいね

[@headcas620]

It's not sporty so why does it need to look angry and have paddle shifters? Why does it need auto braking? Stop putting on your make-up or yelling at your kids or texting and pay attention to the road.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

You say that now, just wait until you get rear-ended by someone putting on makeup or yelling at their kids...

[@headcas620]

Driven Car Reviews I'm not worried. I don't spend much time sitting at traffic lights. Does the auto braking even work from 45-55mph?

[@d1gBR]

Are you really criticizing the safety feature ?! Why do we need air bags ? Isofix ? pffffffffff who needs that bs... Cmon ! Auto braking is not for sporty cars ! It's for daily drivers who normally gets into accidents... Even if it doesnt completely stops ate 45-55mph it will decrease the damage to your car immensely...

[@headcas620]

d1gBR Yes I am criticizing it. People will start relying on it and become worse drivers, making the roads less safe.

[@eganfo]

+headcas620 auto safety features are awesome. Nobody is perfect behind the wheel. Just today the Eyesight system in my Impreza prevented me from rearending a car during the morning commute. I don't get why you knock having them in the Sportage.

[@dodgeyaussie]

Or Neeesan vs Nissan.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Nee-sahn, since that's how the Japanese (and even American ads) pronounce it. Now, let's work on Pour-shuh people, which is the only way it should be said. Period.

[@aldenino2019]

+Driven Car Reviews fuck you mate

[@aldenino2019]

Fuck you mate

[@dodgeyaussie]

+Al Denino you seem nice

[@swinglow33]

Yes, and I have a shirt that says... Porsche is a two syllable word. That 10 year warranty on the Kia is definitely something to consider.

[@denault3985]

Looks like it's definitely dog approved. Just curious, what do you do with all that toilet paper you buy from Costco? Oh yes they have an easy return policy.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Bingo. And that's not the dog's name.

[@kidsalami6367]

Driven Car Reviews I have a 2014 SX Turbo incredible Sportage Last of the Mohicans for now 260 horsepower added K&N Filter fassssst 14.8 sec..1/4 mile the new turbo 240 hp ..16.8 sec in the 1/4

[@50hellkat2]

Much quieter than before??? What is this supposed to mean?????? Is it quiet or isn't it???? YES IT IS BECAUSE I TOOK ONE OUT. It is quieter than what? This I don't know.

[@minecraft9037]

Bruh. This is ugly af. Why would anyone buy this over Tucson or cx 5

[@dwatsiam92]

People bought the Pontiac Aztec. Beauty is personal.

[@Arcticarc1]

and I would like to add the poor choice of powertrain in the tucson, i way prefer those in the Sportage!

[@acjuelich]

What's weird is last-gen, the Sportage looked better than the Tucson. This gen, the Tucson looks much better than the Sportage.

[@bnj0828]

The Tucson has a 1.6 turbo that is just a bog to drive. This has a very zippy 2.0L turbo that makes driving a pleasure. The CX-5 is nice, but no auto braking and just lacking in power and safety tech. You are right though It is not the most attractive.

[@fcg243]

I like the styling a bit better than the Tucson. The sportage looks more futuristic and from the back kinda looks a bit like the new Jaguar SUV.

[@sportsMike87]

heated seats are a really unnecessary option in my opinion

[@DrivenCarReviews]

You must live in a warm climate.

[@sportsMike87]

Suboptimus Lime right how has civilization every lived without heated seats

[@tommartin1223]

sportsMike87 I have a bad back. my heated seats are a god send

[@zedlopez8267]

In dubai yeahh maybe,,here in canada it will make your winter longer!!

[@mo4everable]

i dont like the new look

[@FiredEmpire]

They had to design it to look this awfully ugly, because otherwise Porsche could instantly sue them. Koreans did learn from the copyright lawsuits over their copycat smartphones.

[@chetthehoss]

I'll forgive your pronunciation of "Sportage" if you learn how to pronounce Hyundai. For god's sake, it's NOT HUNDAY. Attilla the Hun has nothing to do with the car company.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Not sure where you live but the pronunciations are correct for the US market. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the American PR folks say "Hyundai, rhymes with Sunday". And we do not pronounce Sportage "sport-TAHGE". Here, it's SPORT-edge. You say tomato...

[@chetthehoss]

North American PR departments for foreign-owned companies usually face the problem of making their names accessible to the customers. Likely they decided that "Hunday" was the best option, plus it sounded really close to Honda -- an already well-established and reputable company. PR people don't have to deal in truth. Ask a Korean to pronounce the company name. Since it's a non-English name/word, their pronunciation would be the established standard. I have asked several Koreans to say the name of the company. They disagree with the PR department's edict. I'll believe the Korean's version myself. They're not trying to sell me anything.

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

Yep. I have lived in Korea for 10 years now and cringe when I hear "Hun-die." It is pronounced "hyun-day" in Korea and that is how I pronounce it now. Maybe if transliteration were done better when they chose the English spelling, it would have been easier for foreign speakers. To be fair, I also cringe every time I hear "ka-mae-ra" instead of "camra" here. Too much transliteration without bilingual speakers.

[@gavindepew7]

Kia, too bad it's a Kia

[@50hellkat2]

Visibility is much better? WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN??? Better than what????? I took for a drive and thought it was good. So...this is useless to me what this dude is saying.

[@chop1234ification]

talking about the previous model

[@50hellkat2]

chop1234ification Sorry about that. But every review says it is better than previous and even in the comparisons they don't say it is better than hyundai tuson or rav 4. I took one for a test drive and think it is way better than the tuson and the rave 4 and the one i took out wasn't even the top model or turbo. it wasn't even all wheel drive. I think this car is great but am worried that I might be way off base on it. Like it is too good to be true. I don't care about the gas mileage predictions. I love all the upscale bells and whistles it has on the interior. And this is on the pretty much base model. I cannot imagine how great the really good one is as they thought I was a tire kicker at the dealership and blew me off taking the turbo for a drive.

[@rzozaya1969]

I have a 2009 Rav4, and I tested the base model Sportage in Mexico. Here they have a 2.0 non-turbo and the 2.4 engine, and in the 2.0 model the handling and feel was better in the Sportage than my Rav4. I don't know the differences between current model Ravs (which do look also pretty good) and this one. I don't think it would be a night and day difference.

[@Do_Not_Buy_Kia_Look_After_UK]

The most hideous, vile-looking, ugly vehicle ever produced. There are a lot of people that can't stand that hideous from end. What were Kia thinking?