Kia Sportage review

This is where the latest generation Sportage excels. The interior balances interesting design, useful tech and practicality remarkably well. There’s plenty of space for front and rear passengers, up to 587 litres of boot space (or 1,780 litres with the rear seats folded flat; 540 and 1,715 for the PHEV) and some interestingly-shaped door handles and air vents. Not often we find ourselves complementing door handles on Top Gear, that’s for sure.

There are of course many different trim levels, with the range starting at ‘2’ and encompassing ‘GT-Line’, ‘3’, ‘4’ and the fully-loaded ‘GT-Line S’.

Base spec Sportage 2s get a small 4.2-inch dial display and an 8.0-inch central touchscreen. GT-Line keeps the same driver display but upgrades the central touchscreen to a massive 12.3-inch curved unit, while 3 and above matches that larger infotainment unit with a same-sized dial display for maximum screenage.

Despite the space awarded to screens, the Sportage does still get a separate climate control panel with touch-sensitive buttons. It’d be nice to have a little clickwheel to control those screens on the move though, as you'll likely find yourself using the trim piece beneath to steady your hand.

It'd also be nice if there was a dedicated on/off button for the steering assistance system: it's far too fussy and you'll want to turn it off immediately. Finding the settings for it within the menus only adds to the frustration.

There are some nice touches though. Mid- and higher-spec trims get USB-C charging ports in the frame of the front seats for those sat in the back, and the headrests are sculpted in such a way that you hang a coat off them. Clever.