I often wonder what a good family car needs to be.
As with almost any consumer goods these days, finding the features that you want in a vehicle can involve compromise of some sort. It is rare, but not impossible, to find a car that will satisfy all your requests, but most of the time it comes down to deciding what is most important to you, the driver.
Now I, being a man, will probably never grow up! Men will be boys and all that. But I’m also a husband, a Dad, an uncle, a whipping boy, a delivery man, a handyman, a chauffeur, to name but a few. If I chose a car to ‘play’ with, it would be fast, handsome, sporty, would stick to the road like glue and would make me smile when I drove it. My role as a Dad would require space… not so much for me, but to ensure that the sprogs were adequately segregated to avoid hostile confrontations. Let’s not dwell on the uncle and whipping-boy categories, but delivery man and chauffeur would both require comfort and refinement with economy to boot, and handyman would want durability and load-lugging ability.
I have driven many cars over the last year and though many have great respective merits in many departments, not one has fulfilled all of the above roles. Some, more expensive large estates and top-of-the-range models have come close in many respects, but Mr Handyman and Delivery Man would nevertheless still not have been impressed.
This week has seen me driving Kia’s newest version of their Sportage SUV, in a variety of the above roles and although I don’t think it fully satisfies the bill in EVERY respect, it does a damn good job of keeping all my alter-egos relatively happy. It can go as fast as I need it to go on the intensively policed British motorways, it brought a smile to my face on occasions, it had more than enough room for the youngest to be able to wield a right hook at his older brother, could carry a washing machine for 450 miles on a single tank of fuel and then deliver it to a remote farmhouse at the end of a dirt track at the top of a mountain. No mean feat if you ask me!
On top of all that, it is actually a very nice car to drive too. The driving position is high and commanding, but everything is very cosy and wrapped around. Controls are light and ergonomically everything fits into place.
I was quite impressed with the great flexibility of the 6-speed gearbox, which in the low gears makes very easy-going of the most demanding terrain and yet when cruising at 70, the 6th gear keeps everything quiet and smooth. The grip afforded by the four wheel drive is astounding and would be ideal for quick getaways from rock festivals or snow-bound trunk roads.
Equipment levels are surprisingly comprehensive, including climate control, cruise control, an high-end audio system with MP3 compatibility and auxiliary input to highlight but a few. To find all this in a car which is available for less than £18,000 OTR is incredible, especially when you consider that Kia’s warranty now includes 7 years or 100,000 miles cover.
All-in-all the Sportage is an excellent all-rounder offering a great range of benefits for all driving environments.
Model Driven Sportage 2.0 CRDi 4WD XS
Engine 2.0-litre CRDi
Trim XS
Drive 4WD
Power - bhp 138 @ 4000
Torque - Nm 305 @ 1800 - 2500
CO2 187
MpgComb. 39.8
O-T-R £17,695
The Sportage Range starts at 13,995 OTR for the 2.0 XE 2WD.
Nigel Crawford
February 2008
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