Breaking: 2016 Kia Sportage Officially Unveiled Before Frankfurt
By Paulo Acoba
As is tradition nowadays, KIA has decided to unveil official photos of its 2016 KIA Sportage.
The KIA Sportage has always been a strong contender in the small SUV segment but it looks like they’ve upped their exterior design language game for 2016. According to KIA Motors Global on their official tweet earlier today (Aug. 27, 2015) it looks like KIA has thoroughly updated its KIA Sportage to compete in overseas markets. Performance wise, details were scarce and would most likely become available as the Frankfurt Autoshow draws near, but right from the get-go, Kia has taken a page from its own name (Sportage) and added a bit more sporting credential. Check out the official tweet below.
Up front, it’s immediately evident that this Sportage has gone under the knife. No longer are the front headlights integrated into the bumper, but instead sit up high outlining the front hood. Kia has went ahead and brought its signature tiger nose front and center as the grill, smartly outlined in a thin strip of chrome. Nothing says off-road adventure-ish like large foglights so KIA has went ahead and gone for some really tall fog light units complete with four LED diodes. In addition, it looks like the headlights are sporting some LED units as well.
When we move to the side profile, the Sportage has really raked its front windshield by a few degrees compared the last model. Instead of a large trapezoidal indent like last years Sportage, this new Sportage has a nicely creased line that runs across both doors. Outback it looks like KIA might’ve taken a few cues from the BMW X5 of past years with taillights pushed to the sides and up. The rear view indicators are at the bottom corners. The bumper receives a faux diffuser underneath and up top there’s a more pronounced spoiler.
If you do want to consider engine options, hop on over to the Hyundai Tucson as most those engines may very well carry over for U.S. Markets. That means standard on the Sportage might be Tucson’s 2.0 liter four cylinder good for 164 HP and 151 lb-ft. Step on up to the turbocharged unit and you’re looking at 175 HP and 195 lb-ft. Standard is a six-speed auto with an optional seven-speed dual clutch.