Ride Report- '07 Kia Sportage
Jun 30, 2007, 6:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: FNT/MBS
Programs: DL Gold, National Exec, Hertz 5*
Posts: 399
Ride Report- '07 Kia Sportage
With a little bit of inspiration, ive decided to form my first ride report. I will form it in Prashok style (Thank You!), so it is easy to read and informative.
I arrived early on a Saturday morning to find the Sportage sitting in my stall. I had reserved the Subaru Outback (Green Collection) however it looks as if DTW was sold out of them. Due to NWA's cancellations, Hertz was an absolute mad house at 6AM, so I decided not to try for a different vehicle.
http://kia.com/sportage/index.php
My base LX FWD vehicle was equipped with the optional automatic transmission, bringing the MSRP to $19,990.
PowertrainThis particular vehicle had the standard 2.0L I4 motor, producing an unimpressive 140HP and 135 lb feet of torque. My major complaint was a total lack of power. The engine was hitting 4,500 RPM's on a normal acceleration band and was cruising at 3,100 RPM's on the highway. Despite its buzzy motor, the transmission did exceptionally well smoothly shifting between gears. The EPA estimates 22/27 seem to be fairly close, however in 70%/30% Highway/City driving ive been averaging somewhere in the area of 23 mpg.
Ride/Handling I would have to say that this is the strongest area on this vehicle. The steering is right on the money and very responsive. Body roll is normal for a small SUV and ride quality is fantastic. The Sportage could use a little bit larger brakes but the stock discs are adequate for normal driving.
Interior When Kia/Hyundai went to the drawing boards a few years ago, Interior quality was a major issue on this model. The end result is good, but could use a little bit of refining. The major components of the interior feel fairly good, however some small things (cup holders, headrests, etc) feel extremely cheap. The seats were a high point in the interior and were just the right firmness for my tastes.
Features As with most products from Kia, good standard features are offered such as alloy wheels, six airbags and disc brakes.
Value Surprisingly, this Sportage was classed as a Q6, which puts it into contention with the Escape/Rav4/Liberty/Santa Fe. I found this strange considering that the other class models feel to have much more interior room and generally are a little more of a quality product.
Summing It Up
The Good
Great handling/ride
Nice standard features
Aggressive looks
The Bad
Underpowered
Some Interior Quality issues
Fuel Economy
I arrived early on a Saturday morning to find the Sportage sitting in my stall. I had reserved the Subaru Outback (Green Collection) however it looks as if DTW was sold out of them. Due to NWA's cancellations, Hertz was an absolute mad house at 6AM, so I decided not to try for a different vehicle.
http://kia.com/sportage/index.php
My base LX FWD vehicle was equipped with the optional automatic transmission, bringing the MSRP to $19,990.
PowertrainThis particular vehicle had the standard 2.0L I4 motor, producing an unimpressive 140HP and 135 lb feet of torque. My major complaint was a total lack of power. The engine was hitting 4,500 RPM's on a normal acceleration band and was cruising at 3,100 RPM's on the highway. Despite its buzzy motor, the transmission did exceptionally well smoothly shifting between gears. The EPA estimates 22/27 seem to be fairly close, however in 70%/30% Highway/City driving ive been averaging somewhere in the area of 23 mpg.
Ride/Handling I would have to say that this is the strongest area on this vehicle. The steering is right on the money and very responsive. Body roll is normal for a small SUV and ride quality is fantastic. The Sportage could use a little bit larger brakes but the stock discs are adequate for normal driving.
Interior When Kia/Hyundai went to the drawing boards a few years ago, Interior quality was a major issue on this model. The end result is good, but could use a little bit of refining. The major components of the interior feel fairly good, however some small things (cup holders, headrests, etc) feel extremely cheap. The seats were a high point in the interior and were just the right firmness for my tastes.
Features As with most products from Kia, good standard features are offered such as alloy wheels, six airbags and disc brakes.
Value Surprisingly, this Sportage was classed as a Q6, which puts it into contention with the Escape/Rav4/Liberty/Santa Fe. I found this strange considering that the other class models feel to have much more interior room and generally are a little more of a quality product.
Summing It Up
The Good
Great handling/ride
Nice standard features
Aggressive looks
The Bad
Underpowered
Some Interior Quality issues
Fuel Economy
Jun 30, 2007, 10:33 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,884
Fantastic report, thank you! 
I'm a little disappointed to hear about the poor powertrain and MPG, but it sounds like the ride and handling were very good, and ultimately that's what probably matters most for freeway/distance driving.
With any luck, I'll get my Outback and not get stuck with the Sportage, just so I can write a comparative review.
I'm a little disappointed to hear about the poor powertrain and MPG, but it sounds like the ride and handling were very good, and ultimately that's what probably matters most for freeway/distance driving.
With any luck, I'll get my Outback and not get stuck with the Sportage, just so I can write a comparative review.
Jul 2, 2007, 6:26 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,884
So what to you seasoned renters do when you book something like this and they drop something else in your stall?
I was at CVG last month and had rented a Corolla. They had a (2-door) Monte Carlo in my slot when I arrived. So, I went into the regular CS building (no one was staffing the small #1 Gold/5*/PC booth outside
) and waited, finally talked to an agent who fairly happily switched me over to a Taurus (albeit one much further out, in the sitting in the sun, etc. ) and had to manually edit the reservation to retain my electronic coupon. The car itself wasn't that bad, but I still would have preferred the Corolla to the Taurus.
Is that what most people would so? Otherwise, what do you say when you book, for example, the Outback and they drop in a Sportage claiming they're entirely sold out? What leverage do you have? What do you reasonably expect?
I was at CVG last month and had rented a Corolla. They had a (2-door) Monte Carlo in my slot when I arrived. So, I went into the regular CS building (no one was staffing the small #1 Gold/5*/PC booth outside
) and waited, finally talked to an agent who fairly happily switched me over to a Taurus (albeit one much further out, in the sitting in the sun, etc. ) and had to manually edit the reservation to retain my electronic coupon. The car itself wasn't that bad, but I still would have preferred the Corolla to the Taurus. Is that what most people would so? Otherwise, what do you say when you book, for example, the Outback and they drop in a Sportage claiming they're entirely sold out? What leverage do you have? What do you reasonably expect?
Jul 3, 2007, 8:18 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: FNT/MBS
Programs: DL Gold, National Exec, Hertz 5*
Posts: 399
After taking a look at what National had to offer last night at SFO, im seriously considering switching over to them. Consistent upgrades from midsize to fullsize/SUV's and cool specialties like Prius and VW Bug. The service isn't as good as Hertz, however the vehicles ive seen 70% of the time have lower mileage then those I receive from Hertz.
Jan 23, 2008, 2:53 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: CO *G, UA 2P, Starwood Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 149
I got stuck with one of these God forsaken KIAs @ MCO for 10 days earlier this month instead of the advertised "Chevrolet Trailblazer or similar". I really could've used the extra cargo space of the Trailblazer because you COULD NOT fit 5 adult sized people, three large suitcases and two small ones into a KIA. It was a highly mileage vehicle with 18k+ with me putting another 1500 on it put it in the high 19s and I noticed that at highway speed the windshield wipers are quite notoriously skipping as if there were no water on the windows while it was pouring cats and dogs. Also another downside was when getting up to highway speed (aka pedal to the metal) that the transmission would get confused shifting from 2nd it would hiccup and go straight to 4th creating a slight annoying jerk. I got #1 Gold from United so I figured Id give Hertz a try, if this is the norm, I won't be back!