On Wednesday, Naza Kia announced the availability of the new, much cheaper Kia Sportage 2WD variant. Retailing at RM118,888 on-the-road including insurance, it’s nearly RM19k less than the AWD model and ready to take the fight to the similarly-priced range-topping Honda HR-V 1.8 V.
So what do you gain – or lose – with the price drop? The projector headlights still feature LEDs, but they’re positioning lights which are less bright than the AWD’s daytime running lights (though they form a continuous light guide rather than the DRL’s individual diodes, which looks better). You also get 17-inch dual-tone alloys (one inch down) and bulb-type tail lights rather than LED units. That’s it.
It’s inside where you’ll feel the penny-pinching more. There’s no power adjustment for the seats (although funnily enough, you can still control the lumbar support electrically), and the leather upholstery has been swapped for CleanTex fabric upholstery – with some tablet-shaped rubber ribbing on the seat backs to add just a little bit of pizzazz.
Elsewhere, the dual-pod instrument cluster and 4.2-inch Supervision TFT LCD colour multi-info display is gone as well, replaced by a central speedometer and a regular dot matrix display. Closer inspection reveals that you also lose a cigarette lighter – instead, you now get twin 12V power sockets. Whether that’s a loss or actually a boon is up to you.
There’s no Bluetooth, sunroof, keyless entry, push-button start or the rather gimmicky Flex Steer variable steering weighting system, either, and the previous dual-zone automatic air-conditioning has given way to manual controls. Finally, the colour palette loses the AWD’s Signal Red and Sand Track options, so it’s only available in Clear White, Bright Silver and Mineral Silver.
However, you still get automatic headlights, power-folding side mirrors, a 4.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with reverse camera, an Infinity seven-speaker sound system, a cooled glovebox and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror. Most importantly – and unlike the similarly basic Cerato KX – you still get six airbags, stability control, hill start assist and Downhill Brake Control (DBC).
Whether you choose two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, power comes from a 2.0 litre Nu MPI four-cylinder petrol engine developing 154 PS at 6,200 rpm and 191 Nm at 4,700 rpm, sent through a six-speed automatic transmission. Although no performance and fuel economy figures were quoted, the front-wheel drive model’s lower weight should enable it to edge out the AWD. So, what do you think, guys – this or the HR-V?
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Good price although many would still go for the HR-V given its impressive packaging and pricing. People may not see that the Sportage goes head to head against proper SUVs like the CRV, X-Trail and CX5, but the HRV is so impressively packaged that it has almost killed C segment and B segment buyers as well.
it did not kill the buyers , but killed the competitors…,
i pity nissan sylphy, its such a good looking car, but not many on the road because of HR-V’s arrival, seriously its everywhere
Yes, i was told Tan CHong no longer brings in the 2015 Sylphy, they are still clearing stock for those brought in in 2014.
Only idiots compare with HRV. HRV is such a tiny car. This car is like C segment. HRV is B segment. Balik tidur la bang. Malam Jumaat you tak boleh fikir betul
Stupid to buy this car. Buy Proton. Our pride and joy. Lucky our caring BN government has given us Proton, which is high in quality and cheap in price.
We should all support Proton. Termakasih Kerajaan BN kerana prihatin terhadap rakyat.
OMG…Mazda CX-3 where r u? Launched faster…be cheaper pls…then HRV and others sure die kao kao…lol
no way CX-3 can “kill” HR-V, atleast not in Malaysia for sure.
OMG…ya…it will not kill HRV, but will make current HRV owner felt “aiya” should buy CX3 instead of this HRV…lol..Just like CX5 kill off CRV
CX-3 has yet to arrive yet . Don’t be too sure. At least it will give HR-V some real competition.
Hrv top spec will kill anything at RM110 – RM120k range.
By the looks and car performance Hrv champ all of them.
Still Bolehland car price are still unacceptable…
its a bigger car, boot is 156 liters bigger than an HR-V’s (565 vs 400)
aside from practicality , there are many other factors , like feel good factor and steering feel , better to test drive both and get input from the missus also (haha!)
I think this is the cheapest and possibly the safest SUV you can get in that segment if you’re looking for a practical and spacious vehicle for the family.
sportage, HRV or CX3
It depends. Would you rather have a service appointment at Honda or Naza? If the latter’s horror stories don’t bother you, go for the Sportage then.
That being said, the 2WD is lousily specced, better go for 4WD.
This kimchi junk can’t even be traded in after 2 years. Buy all kimchi you want, dai lan ngongs. Don’t come at beg to accept your junk next year with 25k.
As I always said, you will never go wrong with sushi cars. Buy Toyota better, good RV
Can’t you think other than RV to comments!
Forgive him larrr, he as well as other salesperson bengap already (other than RV, no other ‘modal’ to promote their jamban cars) as no or very less customer visit their jamban car showroom already (even those free bodykits and DVD screen can’t help much of their sales), so during leisure time, other than posting rubbish junk comments in PT, they also going to PCC inside jamban as well in their showroom.
piiiraahh….mabuk
Go buy house lah if you want rv, buy car talk rv or safety? Beh tahan
Definitely the sportage as it is a much bigger car… HRV is more for those who want the brand and not willing to pay for the fuel bill…
Definitely not everybody needs a big SUV. This explained why HR-V is so successful globally and Kia has not come out with it’s competitor.
actually its a fair deal , n kudos to them for not sacrificing the safety features…
might be a generation behind but stil looks good , and there are quite few of them on the road…..id say its a solid choice…
This is an outgoing model and so watered down. There are alternatives. Forget it.
I see more Porsche on the road compared to Kia.
That is how bad Kia is.
That is how good Malaysia economy is.
I owned the 2013 AWD model. Few complaints. A pillars too thick blocking the side view. Bloody door panels too high! Can’t reach the ticket dispenser is height less than 6 ft. Stupiak head unit kept rebooting my iPod nano. Other than those 3 annoyances, it’s a good car. Comfortable and feature rich. I believe the 2WD will be a lot faster due to lighter body and simpler power distribution.
Thanks to aerodynamic efficiency, modern cars these days have really obstructive A pillars. I think the worst was probably the FD Civic. It was nigh impossible to see across a T junction.