New Kia Sportage facelift shows off bold look on the Nurburgring

The Kia Sportage has been the second best-selling car in the UK so far this year, and in order to keep it fighting fit and competitive in the family SUV class, it’s getting a facelift. 

Earlier this year we spotted the updated Kia Sportage testing on the roads around Germany’s famed Nurburgring, but this time our spy photographers caught it cutting a rug on the race track itself, and wearing a lot less camouflage.

These latest images give us a better look at the heavily revised and more imposing front end on the new Sportage. Among the changes are a new interpretation of Kia’s traditional ‘tiger nose’ grille that’s more upright and wider than the out-going model’s, complemented by large vertical headlight units and a reshaped bumper.

Meanwhile, the current car’s distinctive boomerang-like daytime-running lights have been ditched, and will be replaced with the ‘Star Map’ lightning design that was introduced by Kia’s new electric flagship, the EV9. The same ultra-thin and angular lighting can also be found on the new Kia EV3, the facelifted Sorento seven-seat SUV and the Picanto city car.

Down the side we can spot new diamond-cut alloy wheels that aren’t too dissimilar to the ones featured on the new EV3, and the tail-lights appear to have a new design, too. The rear bumper has probably received some tweaks as well, but can’t be certain just yet.

We haven’t had a look inside the new Sportage yet, but we expect that every model will come with dual 12.3-inch displays – no more 4.2-inch driver’s display on lower-spec versions. This is based on upgrades that the Sportage’s sister car, the Hyundai Tucson, received as part of its own facelift earlier this year. 

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The fifth-generation Sportage was one of the first cars in the brand’s current range to utilise the now familiar touch-sensitive control panel that can provide climate controls or shortcut buttons, with the driver able to toggle between them when needed. It can also be found in the EV6 and new Sorento, so should be sticking around.

As for powertrains, we expect the same line-up as before: mild-hybrid, followed by more powerful full-hybrid petrol and a range-topping plug-in hybrid – all based on a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. 

The new Kia Sportage won’t be unveiled until nearer the end of the year, therefore should go on sale in 2025. The starting price for the Sportage is likely to rise over the current car’s £29,390 entry point.

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