2016-kia-sportage-spyshots

The next-generation Kia Sportage has been spotted undergoing tests at the Hyundai-Kia Technical Centre in Russelsheim, Germany. While precise details are difficult to decipher, the pair of camouflaged prototypes do give away a fair amount of aesthetic clues as to how the next compact crossover will look like.

Squint hard enough and you might just able to pick out hints of the China-only Kia KX3 – itself a pretty dynamic-looking thing. A more upright and slimmer version of the Tiger-nose grille is expected to follow while wraparound headlights and more protrudent fog lights round off the frontal changes.

Further differences can be found at the back with what looks like redesigned LED rear lamps, with the indicator and reverse lights housed in a separate assembly. Profile-wise, not much has changed (at least from what we can gather) as it maintains its rather long front overhang.

As for powertrain options, expect a range of gasoline direct injection and diesel mills to be made available. Two diesels are touted – a 1.6 litre CRDi with 136 hp (found on the Hyundai i30) and a 2.0 litre R engine with 190 hp. On the gasoline side, a 1.2 litre turbo’ed, four-cylinder T-GDi mill with 132 hp would kick things off while the range-topping variant would sport a 2.0 T-GDi engine with 245 hp.

A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is also said to make an appearance on the next-gen Kia Sportage. With prototypes already looking close to the finished article, expect the Sportage to make its public debut some time later this year before it goes on sale as a 2016 model.

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