Kia on Thursday unveiled the revised 2009 Sportage, which has been updated with exterior and interior changes. The compact SUV has new headlights, a reshaped grille, and a restyled bumper. Inside, there’s a revised instrument panel, though Kia has yet to release photos of the cabin.
So far, it’s unclear if the crossover will receive any mechanical changes, such as new engines, transmissions, or chassis upgrades. The basic version of the Sportage ships with a 140 horsepower inline-four, while the more powerful V6 variant delivers 173 horsepower.
The current iteration of the Sportage was introduced in 2005, after a two-year hiatus from the previous model. Watch for the freshened Sportage to arrive at dealerships this autumn.
07/31, 1:19 PM
posted by:
rds130
Looks like they rummaged through Honda Pilot’s designers from 5 years ago. Still, a handsome update and links the Sportage to Kia’s Cee’d over in Europe.
07/31, 1:31 PM
posted by:
inline6
I’ve always liked the styling of the current-gen Sportage. And as far as facelifts go, this looks like an effective freshening. I don’t think I’d ever buy a Sportage (I like the Tiguan much better), but it is well-styling, unlike its Hyundai Tucson sibling.
07/31, 2:42 PM
posted by:
xyunya
I like the front, hate the C-pillar. Something amiss here. Kia need one engine in this: 2.4 i4. 2.0L is way to weak and V6 is way to thirsty (and unnecessary).
07/31, 4:06 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Add some ribs in that hefty lower cladding and you’ll have a 1998 Ponkiac Sportage.
07/31, 5:24 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Tell me you can still get a 5 spd manual with the 4 cylinder and I might even take one for a drive. My ‘98 Tracker is the next one in my fleet due for relacement and as much as I love to slag the Koreans, this is about the closest new equivalent to it.
07/31, 8:14 PM
posted by:
Htay9500
I remember the time we had a 97 sportage. the exhaust liked to come out and the transmission was sorta slow.
07/31, 9:45 PM
posted by:
JoshyLofty
I had a 2001 Sportage Convertible that we bought new in high school. it was the MOST fun car ever, It was RWD and i’d go muddin with all the other guys in school in wranglers, silverados, broncos, blazers, etc. after a good rain and it was awesome because we never could get that thing stuck! i never had ONE problem with it and put on 40K miles. Then in 2005 I got a new sportage & had just as much fun, great stereo, good ride, great MPG, and the few times i went muddin in it, it was just as fun as before. then on the way home one night in the rain someone T-boned me and i went careerning off a bridge and flipped four times. walked away without a scratch. even tho my first Kia was a 2001, it was still really nice and had no problems like they’re FAMED for doing. then my second was perfect.
My only complaint with the current sportage and this new 2009 is RESTYLE it more competitively, and give it more power.
08/04, 8:42 AM
posted by:
ihustle
It closely resembles the Subaru Forester, and we all know how well thats doing. Hopefully with Kia’s claim to fame,the so called “Cheap price tags”, they’ll be able to manage a profit.
08/12, 7:04 AM
posted by:
choty
got mine yesterday… smart blue even though its not the same color in the website but still it looks nice. i took 2.0 only, anyway i dont need a big engine.. 2.0 is enough for me. about the interior it looks good. it has USB so i dont need to spend some money just to buy CD’s. and an AUX for ipod. its really cool… simple,sporty and it has a big space in passenger seats. ^_^