Kia Goes Smaller to Get Bigger
In Canada compact vehicles sell best, with the number one vehicle purchased a battle between Mazda's hot new 3 and Honda's
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| The first official photos of Kia's new updated Sportage were released earlier this month. (Photo: Kia Canada) |
Kia Motors plans to get in on the compact SUV action once again, an arena it helped originate in the early '90s with its 4x4 capable Sportage. While the new 2005 Sportage may not be able to emulate a mountain goat with quite as much agility off-road, it should be much more athletic when paved surfaces begin to wind on the way to the summer cottage.
Kia released the first official photos and technical specifications for its upcoming compact sport utility vehicle earlier this month, and by early account it looks on track to become another top seller for the burgeoning Korean automaker.
The original Sportage was an instrumental model for Kia when introduced in 1993, as the brand was new to North America at that time and needed a competitive SUV to initially gain market share. Along with zany advertising, that featured a wacky character
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| The original Sportage (shown here) was an instrumental model for Kia, racking up 568,720 sales outside of Korea. (Photo: Kia Canada) |
With time, the Sportage became uncompetitive in North America and was dropped from Kia's lineup soon after the much larger Sorento was introduced in 2002 as a 2003 model. Now the Hyundai-owned division is bolstering its SUV ranks with a second model that is representative of the original in name only. Unlike the 1993 version, the 2005 Sportage will lose its body-on-frame design for a car-like monocoque architecture, which will promote a more civilized ride and improved handling.