Kia Europe has revealed the dedicated European Sportage, which has been carefully crafted to establish new benchmarks across the SUV segment in Europe.
It combines a sleek yet muscular and modern exterior design with a cutting-edge premium interior featuring a swooping integrated curved display that houses the very latest advancements in connectivity tech.
Developed on a new architecture, the European Sportage benefits from a European-focused high-tech engineering program that has realized an optimal wheelbase and ideal dimensions and proportions for European roads.
This meticulous approach has helped create an SUV that is a perfect fit for European requirements, underscoring its everyday practicality and usability. Such a progressive and tailored package has also resulted in luggage capacity, headroom and legroom all being substantially increased over the outgoing Sportage model, with best-in-class legroom for the second-row passengers.
State-of-the-art hybrid powertrains further enhance the European Sportage’s capabilities, serving to dramatically reduce emissions and enhance fuel economy. An advanced plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model represents another first for the European Sportage, realizing emissions-free electriconly driving that can cover most daily trips from the home to work or for daily shopping needs.
To create a dynamic, engaging and optimal driving experience for European roads, the new Sportage debuts numerous highly innovative technology breakthroughs. A new-generation Electronic Controlled Suspension (ECS) provides optimum comfort and superior safety levels at all times thanks to its continuous damping control in real-time.
A new Terrain Mode gives the Sportage outstanding ride capabilities in more challenging conditions such as snow, mud and sand, allowing owners to pursue more adventurous leisure activities. The new European version of the Sportage is an essential addition to the all-new fifth-generation family, of which the first member – a long-wheelbase variant – was unveiled in July.
“The all-new Sportage has been carefully designed, developed and honed specifically for Europe, in the process breaking boundaries and establishing new benchmarks in the SUV segment,” said Jason Jeong, President at Kia Europe.
“With its forward-thinking exterior design and its pioneering interior, the new Sportage combines dynamic road presence on the outside with a class-leading, driver-focused premium cabin that benefits from the very latest breakthrough tech features.”
“The new Sportage is also equipped with advanced powertrain electrification technologies – we have efficient, eco-friendly hybrid models that can meet all the needs of customers. With a zero-emissions all-electric range, the all-new plug-in hybrid Sportage model further highlights Kia’s mission to accelerate sustainable mobility across Europe,” added Jeong.
VISUAL IMPACT A new design identity based on a bold and daring philosophy The exterior of the new Sportage establishes new design boundaries, giving it a dramatic presence on European roads. Tense and crisp lines ripple along the refined body, amplifying exquisite styling tensions.
At the same time, clean but muscular surfaces join forces with intricate graphics to give the SUV a dynamic and assertive road presence. Revealed earlier this year to great acclaim from the design community, Kia’s new design language – Opposites United – is at the core of the new Sportage, influencing every aspect of its appearance and character. The thought-provoking and daring philosophy is formed of five pillars: Joy for Reason, Power to Progress, Technology for Life, Tension for Serenity, and Bold for Nature.
The last pillar – Bold for Nature – has profoundly influenced the design creation of new Sportage, embodying the natural world and creating a design identity that takes a daring, emotional, modern but organic form. From the front, the new Sportage showcases a precise and intricate design form with its detailed orientated black grille graphic stretching across the width of the face.
The technical graphic pulls together the main frontal features of the new Sportage, presenting a striking look. The grille links Kia’s modern signature Tiger Nose grille to the distinctive futuristic-styled boomerang-shaped LED DRLs (daytime running lights), which in turn create solid boundary lines for the striking Matrix LED headlamps also known as an intelligent front lighting system. Paying homage to its sports utility heritage, the side profile of the new Sportage creates a stirring road presence with taut lines cutting across clean but refined body surfaces that seamlessly blend the contrasting volumes together.
The European Sportage maintains its strong road presence at the rear with a muscular swooping fastback design that flows into the rear lamps, which have been crafted to give the impression that they cut into the body with fine precision. The razor rear lamps are connected by a slim horizontal design, giving the new Sportage a stunningly wide impression from the back.
INTERIOR SPACE The interior of the new Sportage plays with boldness in character, softness in qualities and innovation in technology, creating a driver-orientated space that is truly state-of-the-art. The cabin has been carefully crafted to fuse breakthrough tech with luxury features, premium materials and modern style. At the centre of the new Sportage’s modern cabin sits a beautifully sculpted integrated curved display with a touchscreen pad and finely detailed sporty air vents.
The curved display sweeps across the front of the interior, giving the cockpit dramatic width and depth. The high-tech 12.3-inch touchscreen and advanced integrated controller act as the nerve center for driver and passenger connectivity, functionality and usability needs. Both systems have been created to be easy-to-use, highly intuitive and soft to touch.
The 12.3-inch instrument cluster is equipped with the latest-generation full thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display for incredibly precise and clear graphics. With such advanced and secure high-tech connectivity, new Sportage benefits from the latest over-the-air software and map updates. The advanced connectivity software in the new European Sportage allows users to connect with their vehicle remotely.
