Kia Sportage

[MeonIan]

Hi all

We are looking to change our car from an Octavia to the above for towing our Ranger 460/4. We cannot decide between the diesel XE or XS and between 2 and 4 wd. In 9 years of vanning we have never become bogged down or stuck with our car/van combination so are wondering if we could save a few pounds and have 2wd or is it false economy, is mpg really much better with 2wd rather than 4wd? Are running costs better with 2wd? As regards spec levels between XE and XS what do you guys think? I could probably afford 4wd XS but in these difficult times any money saved is good so if 2wd XE will do the job safely so much the better. The van by the way is 2009 460/4, mtplm 1208kgs so all the weights look good apart from Sportage's car like 75kgs noseweight.

I appreciate your comments.

Ian

 

[Sedo]

Hi Ian

We had a new Sportage 2.0 diesel XS on an 07 plate.

Must admit I thought they were all capable of 4 wheel drive.

They run on 2 wheel drive most of the time anyway and I think you'll find 4 wheel cuts in automatically when required (when low traction is sensed).

A friend had an XS on an 08 plate after seeing ours but wasn't as well specced.

Apparently Kia altered the rear suspension and gear ratio's but took the sunroof, self dimming mirror and cruise control out.

We definitely had no problems towing our Pageant Burgundy (1420kg loaded)with ours. Only swapped it for a 56 plate Sedona TS for the extra room we needed when family came with us.

Hope this is of use.

Tomo.

 

[xtrailman]

Ian

As you are not convinced with the advantages of 4x4 drive, i don't see the point in your proposed tow car choice?

Assuming you will not be changing your 2009 van in the short term, with it's relative low mtplm of 1280kg, there are lots of economical normal road cars, some with a higher nose weight limit, more economy, and less VED to pay, and less kerb weight to pull about when solo.

The humble Mondeo can be bought nearly new for little money, cars like this must surly be a better choice, given your comments?

 

[MooseontheLoose]

I have an 09 Sportage 2.0D XS 4WD and am loving it but would have to agree with Ray's comments. Our Van is 1409kg MTPLM and my old Vectra with the early 2.0DTi (100bhp) engine struggled up hills however when solo (on a run) it did 50+ MPG the new car does 36 if I'm very gentle with the pedal, tax disc is an extra

 

[Douglas_374404558]

Ian i have o8 plate Sportage 2.0ltr XS 4WD well as said before 2wd until it starts spinning then 4wd kicks in OR you can switch to 4wd when you think you need it great vehicle for the money i tow a Swift Charisme 555 (1460kg) with no problems 7 yrs warrenty 6th gear at 60mph at 2200rpm on motorway can,t be bad only done 11500 mls so still improving the mpg i recon about 25/27 mpgallon and getting better. would recomend it to you but would also say that there are a number of vehicles that will easily tow your van veight without going for a Sportage ie mondeo, passat i actually towed the same van as you have easily with a renault laguna .hope this helps Duggie

 

[MeonIan]

Thanks for all your comments, my main reason for looking for a Sportage is the 7 year warranty, I only do 4-5000 miles a year in this car as I have a runaround for other driving. I like the Octavia and would probably have another one, but the next towcar I buy I would rather keep 5-6 years hence the interest in the Kia, no worries for 7 years. Does anyone tow with the 2wd version? I know they all run in 2 and change to 4 when required but Kia actually sell a permanent 2wd version. Avensis seems expensive, Insignia and Mondeo residual values poor especially as I like to change when warrnty runs out, Octavia has always held its value well but I accept it's a touch on the small side and the 1.9 105bhp I have could do with a little more power.

Thanks all

Ian

 

[ALH]

Ian,

What did you go for in the end?

 

[forestgump]

2wheel drive are the base model 4x4 is on demarnd same as tucson wich is to be replaced by ix35 so some good buy may be had

 

[Allmid]

We own sportage aoto.The auto only comes in 2wd and 4 speed.Getting 27-30 mpg towing lunar lexon and 40mpg solo.There is 1400kg towing limit on the auto.A really soperb car.

 

[MeonIan]

Hi all

In the end we went for another Octavia 1.9Tdi 105bhp, in fact we pick it up next weekend. The deciding factors for us were:

1) super VAT free deals from Skoda 2) running costs of a 4x4 and 3) the appalling attitude of our 2 local Kia dealers (no cars to view, never any calls back to arrange testdrives, you'd think they didn't need to sell cars). So sticking with what I know and with a superb local dealer.

Ian

 

[Douglas_374404558]

Hi all

In the end we went for another Octavia 1.9Tdi 105bhp, in fact we pick it up next weekend. The deciding factors for us were:

1) super VAT free deals from Skoda 2) running costs of a 4x4 and 3) the appalling attitude of our 2 local Kia dealers (no cars to view, never any calls back to arrange testdrives, you'd think they didn't need to sell cars). So sticking with what I know and with a superb local dealer.

Ian

HI! Ian hope you have fun with what you picked you missed out on the fun of the sportage but as you said you got bad service from your local KIA dealers have got to say had the opposite from my local dealer in Inverness brilliant service.

all the best with your choice

cheers Duggie

 

[Lynne_5039944]

The Sportage XS just has more extras to it and also has a better horse power to it.

I had a sportage XS and it had everything from dark windows at rear to heated front seats, etc..

I pulled a Geist Caravan at the time with it and it was fantastic.

I miss my sportage as I traded it in when I moved to motorhoming but wish I had kept the car as we are going back to caravanning again.

I'll be looking out for another sportage at some point...definately a great towcar.

 

[sandt_374242043]

Hi

I am now on my second Sportage both being the diesel XE model. There is no difference in the diesel engine in all models it is the 138bhp vgt. Earlier Sportages had the 110bhp engine this was up graded to the 138bhp version in jan 05 if i remember correctly

Sandy

 

[Karina_374530710]

I have a 06 Sportage XE diesel manual and love it! We (my family) are big Kia fans - so far, to date, we have had 6 Kia's from the same dealership. I swapped my brand new Rio earlier this year for the Sportage when I bought the van and have loved every minute of driving it.

It's great solo (6 speed, 2 ltr, 138bhp) and pulls the van with ease. My only comment is that the boot isn't huge, but big enough for my lab to pull faces at the cars behind us!

Added benefit is that the road tax for a 4x4 is only

 

[Douglas_374404558]

I have a 06 Sportage XE diesel manual and love it! We (my family) are big Kia fans - so far, to date, we have had 6 Kia's from the same dealership. I swapped my brand new Rio earlier this year for the Sportage when I bought the van and have loved every minute of driving it.

It's great solo (6 speed, 2 ltr, 138bhp) and pulls the van with ease. My only comment is that the boot isn't huge, but big enough for my lab to pull faces at the cars behind us!

Added benefit is that the road tax for a 4x4 is only