Kia Sportage

Here's a road test result that would have been scarcely believable as little as three years ago. A Kia taking the honours in a contest with a Japanese rival which is at the top of its game?

That’s exactly what happened when we tested Kia’s Sportage against Nissan’s Qashqai in Issue 1,129. With a raft of tweaks made to sharpen up the Qashqai’s styling and keep a lid on its emissions, it was hot favourite going into this contest. 

What we weren’t expecting, however, was finding ourselves behind the wheel of arguably the best model ever to wear a Kia badge. The Sportage was predictably cheaper than its rival – to the tune of £2,718 – but this isn’t what sealed the deal. After several hundred miles of testing, we were hugely impressed by the Sportage’s engineering and quality. 

The ride was smooth and it tackled corners with surprising agility.

And then there’s the styling. The Sportage is a great looking model from every angle, with just enough aggression in its bodywork to appear menacing without being imposing. When it came to creating an SUV to suit European tastes, Kia had the winning formula. The Qashqai is a quality product, but could it justify a price premium over the Sportage? Not any more.