The Kia Sportage is a compact crossover SUV built by the Korean automaker Kia Motors since 1995
The Kia Sportage has come a long way. When it was first introduced in the U.S. in the mid-1990s, it was a cute but relatively unimpressive mini-SUV. It was underpowered, its interior was cheap and it was plagued with quality issues. Although Kia revised and updated the Sportage through the years, the modest changes weren't enough to keep it competitive. In 2002, Kia dropped the model from its lineup and went back to the drawing board.
Current Kia Sportage
Launched in 2005, the current Kia Sportage shares nothing with the previous generation. Based on an entirely new unibody platform, the newest Sportage is more agile and more powerful. Now under Hyundai's ownership, Kia has improved its production quality and packaging in recent years. And that's evident with the Sportage. You can get a well-stocked Sportage with V6 power and 4WD for thousands less than its competition, making it one of the best values in the small-SUV category.
Available in two trim levels, LX and EX, the Kia Sportage offers the kind of performance and refinement usually associated with the small SUVs from Japanese automakers. Both trims are equipped with a healthy list of standard amenities, such as alloy wheels, air-conditioning, a six-speaker stereo with a CD player, full power accessories and tinted glass.
