Why the first Kia Sportage was hard to explain

Four-wheel drive is undergoing an interesting development. Who could ever imagine that with electric motors on the front and rear axles you also get 4WD? In the mid-1990s, when this week’s protagonist appeared, all-wheel drive was available for two types of cars. On the one hand there were the real off-road vehicles, on the other hand a handful of 4×4 passenger cars, from Golf Syncro to Audi Quattro. A combination of these two types is now a piece of cake, but in 1994 it still took the car press some effort to designate a special newcomer like the Kia Sportage. MPV traits were attributed to him, which, however, could not be reconciled with its off-road characteristics. It also looked like the same suit as the then new Toyota Funcruiser, but that was mainly because the size and appearance showed parallels.

Under the skin, the Kia was a completely different story, with a ladder chassis and traditional 4×4 technology with separately selectable front-wheel drive and a transfer case with a high and a low range. As a result, the Sportage was much more of a 4×4 than the Suzuki Vitara. But then again not, because with his modest stature, the soft, round shapes and the availability of hip, bright colors, it was as if the tough gamekeeper had accidentally come to work in his jogging suit, with his steel-toe boots underneath. . In other words, the Sportage may look cuddly, but it wasn’t the easiest to deal with. The two-liter eight-valve made a lot of noise and had noticeable difficulty in enticing the almost one and a half tons heavy Kia to some dynamic exercises. In addition, the fuel consumption was solid, the chassis reacted rather jumpy to unevenness and the steering was light, but also vague. That made the soft yet raw Sportage a car that appealed to overlapping buyer groups, at the risk of disappointing both sooner or later. The assembly spoke in his favor at Karmann in Osnabrück, so that he could go through life as Karmann’s Kia.