Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Vehicle = OK, KIA Service = BUST - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Andrew - October 18 - 1:29 am

  EDIT: Kia wants my unbiased review? Well, lets just say Kias customer service wont support you at all. I had an issue with a faulty gas tank latch. It is a new design where you push in on the fuel door and it locks into place, and to open it you also push in, and a spring pops the door out - dont know of a better way to describe it. I dont get why other designs needed to be replaced with this, or the fact that since it doesnt lock anymore anyway, why does it need a latch in the first place...but on to the story. Incidentally I also had a problem with the A/C completely freezing up and the vehicle needing to be reprogrammed, which of course ALSO happened while I was on the road but back to the point at hand. 6AM. Cold, dark fall morning. Getting fuel to go to an appointment out of town - medical specialist appointment. I pull in and try to open the fuel door. Wont budge. Repeated attempts - wont budge. Pushing on it much harder - nothing. It is not frozen because I have a temp.-controlled garage. I am now stranded at this station because no one can get the door open to fuel the vehicle and I do not have enough fuel to reach my destination. If I cancel this appointment I am still billed several hundred $ and the medical condition is not trivial. I have to get there. The cheap design and cheap little plastic spring mechanism in the fuel door latch has broken and jammed the door shut. After a few more minutes, I remember that it is plastic and decide I can get the door open and replace the little plastic part later. I eventually get the jammed/defective plastic part to snap, which allows me to open the fuel door but in doing so, I put a small scratch in the paint around the fuel door. No big deal, I am sure Kia will help me with this. Total cost estimate for the scratch = $125. My appointment would have been much more expensive to cancel. Later that morning I call Kia, because of course they are not open at 6AM. Why did I not call Kia Roadside? 2 reasons. 1) The service station mechanic who helped me with the latch tells me they are going to have to pry it open anyway and 2) I would have had to wait for them to show up, which means I would have missed the appointment regardless. Everyone there agrees with just getting it open and it makes sense to deal with it later. I call Kia. Kia tells me that since I didnt let them handle it, they wouldnt assist me at all with the claim and basically refused to talk to me. They accused me of deliberately damaging my new car. I ask them if their part could have had anything to do with it and they of course refused to even send someone to look. I have taken it to both a body shop and the local Kia dealer. Both places, I was told "Why is Kia not taking care of this for you?" I could only shrug. Heres the thing - I dont even want the fuel latch replaced. I want it left "broken" because now the door actually works as it should. I dont want another cheap plastic part put in there just so it can jam shut on me again. So all we are talking about is the scratch. I asked more than one Kia rep. what the procedure is for opening a stuck fuel door, knowing full well there isnt one and everyone knows they were going to have to pry the fuel door open. They would have had no other choice and they know it. The dealer pretty much confirmed that too. The rep. on the phone didnt want to answer. Of course they know their part failed but wont pony up $125 to help out a customer with their brand new vehicle. How cheap can you be, Kia? My experience with this vehicle has been overall fairly good until this point but now I will never buy another Kia. So guess what, Kia? I am paying $125 for this repair. You are losing my future business. We were thinking of replacing my wifes Escape with another Kia but now that wont be happening, either. A friend of mine who is replacing her vehicle asked me how I like my Kia and that she might get one. Not anymore. I wonder how many people I can convince to change their minds. I hope the $125 was worth the several thousand $ this will cost your company.

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  Worst New Car ever owned! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Stacey - September 5 - 7:40 am

  Do not buy a Kia, I have had problems since I drove car off show room floor. Check engine light on day 3. 3 different Kia dueler ships before fixing camshaft. Came off production line damaged. Day 3 air conditioner freezes when on longer than 4 hours. Still having problem. Before first oil change. Gas flap will not open at gas stations. So cant always fill with gas. It opens when it wants to. Horrible customer support from Kia. Kia service dept isnt sure how to fix things cause car is to new.

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  And The Winner Is - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Gary - February 5 - 1:35 pm

  Seven Month Update: Per my original review, the 2017 Sportage is exceptional in every way. If you enjoy driving and you are in the market for a compact SUV there is just nothing else in this price range, that uses regular unleaded that even comes close to delivering the pleasure of driving the Sportage. Every morning, 7 months later I still look forward to taking it out on the road. The car has a beautiful silhouette that I just never tire of looking at. Seats in the EX are extremely comfortable. The car is easy to park and has plenty of hp to get you on the highway safely. The car is super quiet at least compare to my previous Honda CRVs. The safety features and camera that come with the EX Premium Package work flawlessly as does the whole multi-media interface for easy connections to your cell phone or Ipad. The vehicle is rock solid not a squeak or rattle anywhere. Buying a car is a totally subjective thing but if like myself, there is or was a reluctance to try a Korean car as opposed to an American or Canadian made Japanese vehicle......I think with 2017 the entire Kia line up shows a depth of quality, performance and design sophistication that Honda, Mazda, Toyota and Subaru just dont feel they need to step up to. Would highly recommend that you include both the Sportage on your test drive list. I’m going into week three with my 2017 Sportage EX with AWD and the EX Premium Package and just enjoy the heck out of it. I had crossed shopped the Kia with the Honda CRV and Mazda CX5. Other then gas mileage, the CRV is lacking in every category from ride quality, to handling, to quiet on the road, to the electronics and design language. In terms of design, Honda’s approach is to add 4 pieces of fake chrome and call it a mid cycle refresh. I happen to have had a 2016 CRV rental for 10 days and found the CVT yet another Honda attempt to convince us that it was worth sacrificing any pleasure at all in the driving experience for gas mileage and it just ain’t so. I’m a 6 time Honda owner including 3 CRVs and if the Kia delivers on the reliability I’m hoping for, those will probably be my last Hondas. The Mazda CX5 Touring with AWD was seemingly a less expensive and attractive alternative to the Kia in spite of it being 4-year-old technology, at least until you go just a bit under the skin. Check out the 61 complaints on the NHSTA website for the 2016 CX5, most of which focus on catastrophic failures of the transmission. In fact, look at blogs across the world including New Zealand and Australia, its a worldwide problem. And borrowing right from the movie Fight Club, the Old GM Handbook and Ford Pinto Directives, Mazda has taken the position that its cheaper to put their CX5 customers in harms way then to retool and fix the problem. All a Mazda Representative could say about the transmission failures was: the problem usually doesn’t happen twice to the same person. If that wasn’t enough to discourage me, there are the strange interior ergonomics of the vehicle with the cup holder placement too far back and thus impossible to use for your GPS, the poor rearward visibility and the location of the armrest. I also drove, to my great disappointment, the Hyundai Tuscon which at least for 2017 had probably the worst, under powered, turbo engine Ive ever experienced. I cant believe that anyone in Hyundai top management even bothered to drive the car before they green lighted it. You hit the gas, Nothing happens for 2-3 seconds and the the vehicle begins to move. A total disaster of an engine. The Sportage reminds me in a general way of the Audi Q5. It drives and feels planted like a German car. When you close the doors it sounds like a German car. Its nice to know that Peter Schreyer and the engineers he works with instilled more then a look into the vehicle. All the electronics and infotainment work well and are user friendly. The back up camera, rear traffic avoidance and blind spot monitoring are great. Sound quality on the radio us better then expected. Rearward visibility is excellent. At least on paper, the Magna AWD system with locking differential is probably the most sophisticated and capable on the market other then the Quattro and Subaru systems. So all in and all, I’m very pleased with the vehicle and enjoy driving it.

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  Let the record show, 2017 Sportage awesome: - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By AGC - November 27 - 7:25 am

  I had an 05 Cavalier (since 2004), wonderful little car... didnt put anything into it except gas (when empty); oil and filter (every 5,000 miles); replaced the battery in 2011 (up and died on me, it sat for most of the year as I was travelling the world); put new tires on it a couple years back (the originals were dry rotting on me) and blew through some windshield wipers over the years... when the speedometer quit working (@42,000 miles) I drove it another 27,000 using my GPS for speed and cruise control (never got a ticket). AFTER ABOUT 13 YEARS of driving low to the ground (by the seat of my pants) I decided a change was in order... I have been retired since 1998 and had nothing but free time to sit in and check out all the competition (like Goldilocks) most were: too big or too small or underpowered or gas guzzlers or had too many whistles and flashing lights or too nuanced... THE SPORTAGE fit me and my plans just right. I like driving the back roads and at 45 mph and get around 38 mpg in echo mode (on level ground... if its hilly not so much); observing about 24 mpg in and around town (but thats with echo off, riding normal mode)... I am headed to the blue ridge mountains and fully expect to be using sport mode and couldnt care less what the mileage will be for that because it will be fun (no white knuckle driving but there will be no Miss Daisy along for the ride). Plenty of room for me and my stuff (and then some). The Sportage looks great be it parked or on the move... oh you can tell it might be top heavy (knowing how gravity works) but if you drive it like you own it (responsibly) there should be no surprises. I am really impressed with the different modes (echo, normal and sport), there is a remarkable difference in horsepower on demand between echo and sport... they make normal seem obsolete... but everything has its place, I suppose.

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  Fun car with lots to offer - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By SStar - October 26 - 11:07 pm

  Ive owned my Sportage for about a month now and I am in love. I had a 2007 Mazda3 for 9 years, so this car to me is luxurious and an upgrade in every way. Having the extra packages makes me feel like I have the SX for the EX price (minus the turbo too, obviously). Its a really fun car, looks different, I feel like I dont need to use a muscle. Its just everything I ever wanted!

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  My new SX turbo rocks! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Ken - October 13 - 12:11 pm

  This has everything I was looking for (SUV, size, power, styling, tech, etc.). I like German makes, but for for this level of equipment youll be spending north of $45,000. I like that this trim includes everything, no nickel and diming for options. Mine is Pacific Blue with the beige interior. I think the cool grey interior would be nice as well. Kia reliability is up there with the best in the latest surveys. Looking forward to a long ownership. Update: zero defects in the first year. Ride is a little stiff but last night I rode in a RAV4 and it was worse. Steering is nicely weighed and responsive. Transmission is excellent, always seems to be in the right gear. Love the low rpm torque pull in second and third gear. Al the tech stuff works great. Mileage could be better and the gas tank is small (15 gallons). Overall totally satisfied with my purchase.

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  My first SUV! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Valerie - August 5 - 5:56 pm

  Oh my Goodness! I love this Car! I got the Bronze EX with black leather interior that comes standard with Android auto play . The comfort goes on and beyond my expectations and it is easy to get in and out without having to slouch. It is a smooth ride and has a killer sound system. For my first SUV, switching from a sedan, it was the best decision I have ever made.

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  My Sportage is SeXy! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Ryan Zilker - June 24 - 2:27 am

  I have had my 2017 Sportage SX (FWD) for 4 weeks, and 1500 miles. I love it. I had a 2015 Honda CR-V[ibrate]. The Sportage feels like such an upgrade with all of the luxury and technology features, the turbo engine, the quiet interior, the better sound system, the improved handling. Honda is supposed to be the reliability king - I had problems and dealers unwilling to figure out the causes. As a loyal Honda customer (Ive had 5), I was nervous about moving to Kia. So far, so good. Im really happy that I made the move. Kia engineers seem to be really trying to put out a quality vehicle, and so far with the Sportage, they have. Comfortable seats, engaging driving dymamic. Honestly, it feels a little like a grown-up version of my 2010 VW GTI. Friends have been giving me sh!t about moving to a Kia...until they ride in it, and drive it. Theyre surprised. My only complaints thus far are the fuel efficiency (or lack thereof) and the numb steering.

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  I love my Sportage! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Tammi - June 21 - 9:39 am

  I have mobility issues, getting in and out is no problem. Im getting better all around gas mileage, I live in a rural area with lots of large hills, S curves, etc., and Im averaging 27.4 mpg. The drivers seat is the most comfortable Ive seen, the lumbar support is fantastic. Im so pleased with my Sportage!

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  JUST BOUGHT - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Mario Suarez - April 10 - 7:01 pm

  Almost purchased the LX but ran into the EX on the show room floor and thought it was worth the extra money. Push start, Beautiful touch screen, power seats, fog lights, and leather did it for us. Got 30 mpg on the way home for a 2 hour drive. Look forward to many years with this sexy beast