Kia reinvents Sportage as prime compact SUV
Remember the old Kia Sportage? If you do, you have a means to measure the amazing and onrushing development of the Korean auto industry. And, if you remember the original Kia Sportage, you can now forget it.
Not that there was anything markedly wrong with the Sportage, it’s just that it was sort of a miniature sport-utility vehicle – a die-cast, 5/8 scale version of a real SUV. For that, it was fine, a sturdy, dependable little beast, but few mourned its passing when Kia’s fortunes took a downturn and the Sportage was shelved.
Flash forward, and now Hyundai has taken over financial and mechanical guidance for Kia. So after the recently introduced Hyundai Tucson made a big impression as a compact SUV, a slightly revised version of the Tucson has now been introduced under the Kia name – and Kia graced it by retrieving the Sportage name.
There are some outstanding vehicles in the compact SUV segment, starting with the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, and going on through the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Nissan Xterra, and Jeep Liberty, and while the Tucson is a worthy contender there, I think the new Kia Sportage is the best looking vehicle of the bunch.
The test Sportage I drove was stunning, in black, with tastefully understated trim pieces. The front looks vaguely similar to the Honda Pilot or CR-V, the side has a nice silhouette, with the bulges over the wheelwells forming nice contours that are extra-subtle in black, and the rear end being my favorite angle to view the thing. On most cars, as well as trucks and SUVs, it almost seems as though the designers worked so hard on the front and sides that by the time they got to the rear they just closed it up without much imagination.
The others don’t necessarily look bad from the rear, just uninspired. That includes the Tucson. But the Sportage has nicely angled contours to the rear, tapering in from the large, vertical taillights. The rear window is nicely outlined by dark charcoal ridges that rise up over the top and become one-piece anchors for the roof rack. A pair of bright silver-tipped tailpipes jut out from underneath, nicely accenting the rear of the black Sportage.
The other surprise came when the sun came out, shining brightly. Remember the sun? Anyhow, close scrutiny in the sun revealed neat highlights coming through the black, and, sure enough, the Sportage wasnÂ’t JUST black, but black cherry. Very tastefully done. The side contours include side claddings and wheel arch moldings in black, blending perfectly in a subtle manner, even if they didnÂ’t have the cherry-toned highlights shining through. As long as they absorb rock chips and mud, owners will be happy.
The new Sportage is nothing whatsoever like the quarter-midget predecessor. It is now long enough to carry four, or even five in a pinch, with surprisingly adequate storage space behind the fold-down second row seats.
It shares the Hyundai 2.7-liter V6 engine, with dual-overhead camshafts and very adequate pep. The four-speed automatic transmission has a separate gate to the right where the floor shifter can be placed if you want to shift manually – a nice touch in any vehicle, and particularly novel in a compact SUV.
It also has power rack and pinion steering, and added stability from 16-inch alloy wheels. The four-wheel disc brakes have antilock standard, and also standard are both a traction-control system and an electronic stability program, which coordinate to keep you headed straight ahead in all circumstances. The structural safety of the Sportage is bolstered by front seat mounted side airbags and front and rear side curtain airbags, with side-impact door beams.
Other standard equipment includes air-conditioning and a sunroof, power windows, locks and heated outside mirrors, and an AM-FM-cassette-CD-MP3 audio system with six speakers, as well as a trip computer, keyless entry with alarm, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, cruise, and eight-way driverÂ’s seat adjustment with lumbar support.
ThatÂ’s an impressive standard list, and the test vehicle also included installed options that ranged from heated leather seats, an audio upgrade with a subwoofer, automatic headlights, and body-color bumpers. And yet the whole package came to $19,999. With delivery charges, it crept up to $20,589.
The point is, without the options the vehicle costs only about $18,000.
The only drawback to the test vehicle is that it was two-wheel drive, but the two wheels are the front wheels, so it’s easy to think of getting through rough weather, even Minnesota winters, with a front-wheel-drive compact SUV. Still, adding four-wheel drive to the Sportage only adds about $2,000, and where can you get a fully-loaded four-wheel-drive SUV for under $22,000? On four-wheel-drive models, while the Sportage isn’t intended to keep up with Jeep Wranglers, or Xterras off the road, it does have a switch that allows you to lock both axles for rugged going – off-road or in snow or mud.
Another benefit of the connection with Hyundai is the Kia warranty. The Sportage has KiaÂ’s amazing 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, with five-year, unlimited-mile overall warranty with 24-hour roadside assistance. We arenÂ’t about to claim the Hyundai/Kia engines are as good as the Honda or Toyota engines, but Honda and Toyota offer three-year, 30,000-mile warranty coverage. So if Kia offers 100,000 miles, itÂ’s one of those canÂ’t-miss gambles where KiaÂ’s engine has a chance to prove itself with no risk to the owner.
IÂ’ve joked with some Hyundai engineers about how they have worked so hard to revive KiaÂ’s models, that many of the new Kias are flashier looking than HyundaiÂ’s own vehicles. The Kia Sedona minivan is outstanding, the Sorento SUV is very impressive, and several of the Kia sedans have a flair that Hyundai is now scrambling to match.
One of those is the Spectra. In fact, a month ago, the Midwest Auto Media Association (cry MAMA) held its annual Spring Rally at Elkhart Lake, Wis., on the scenic Road America race course. About 70 vehicles were there for all of us to try out, on hot laps of the four-mile road-racing track, on a superb off-road setting, and on a timed autocross run set up in the paddock area. We all got to run an assortment of cars, and I felt I did well in the Acura RSX, the Subaru WRX STi, the Cobalt SS and the Mini Cooper. Later they gave away little model cars as awards for whoever had the fastest time around the autocross cones in each vehicle. I tried as many cars as time would allow, and I won for having the fastest time in — the Kia Spectra5.
I was surprised, but then I realized the Spectra5 may lack the sportiest handling, but its steering and handling were coordinated and predictable, and the engineÂ’s power was sufficient to allow you to toss it around in a fun and enjoyable manner. Those are the same attributes of the Sportage. IÂ’m not suggesting you can go out and conquer the autocross world in the Kia Sportage, but it will handle with the best compact SUVs. Plus, it has adequate power, decent fuel economy, costs only $20,000 while looking like it should be twice as muchÂ…and it has that warranty.
WhatÂ’s wrong with that picture?
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Saab 9.5 gains and retains purist-level traditions
Driving the new Saab 9.5 Arc SportWagon is like a slice of Saab history. And that is a good thing, even if it is an ironic twist for a car that began life as least-likely-to-succeed to Saab purists.
Saab’s takeover by General Motors – which began with a 50-percent investment in 1990, and the remaining segment bought in 2000 – meant new life for the Swedish manufacturer, but the loss of some Saab eccentricities. That might have been an asset, but Saabs were sought by well-educated, individualistic types because of their offbeat character.
For Saab purists, GM’s takeover of the Swedish car-maker was sad, even though it undoubtedly kept the company in business. “We should all be thankful to GM that Saab is still around,†said Jan-Willem Vester, GM’s new, Detroit-based public relations director for Saab.
Saab now boasts an expanded crop of new vehicles, including the 9.2, 9.3, 9.5 and 9.7, with more decimal places to come. Those vehicles all look like Saabs, outside and in, but they are compromises. The result may be thriving sales for Saab as a division of GM, right there next to Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn, Buick and Cadillac, but as much as Swedish executives insist on the new-modelsÂ’ Saabness, the gain in profit may be paralleled by a loss of innocence.
Saab was a company that built aircraft and cars. The old 96 model was a strange little front-wheel-drive car that looked like a Honda Insight on steroids, 40 years before the Insight. It was like an upside-down bathtub, as impenetrable as a bank vault, with a two-cycle engine that would go pretty well, get phenomenal gas mileage, and free-wheeled when you took your foot off the gas. That car gave way to the 99, which was a leap above and beyond car-making in the 1960s, even though it used a Triumph engine.
The 99 of the 1970s gave way in the ’80s to the Saab 900, a fantastic car that not only retained and expanded on SaabÂ’s colorful idiosyncracies, but led the way with an overhead-camshaft Saab engine that was adequately potent, and made moreso by turbocharging. Back when Saab and Swedish contemporary Volvo were introducing seatbelts, Saab was using ergonomics before it became a buzzword – creating a driverÂ’s position similar to a pilotÂ’s in one of those Saab jet fighters. The ignition key was located on the floor, between the wonderfully supportive bucket seats, because in a collision, a driverÂ’s knee could get torn up if it hit the key in place on the dashboard.
That was particularly true in the early seatbelt days, before usage was mandatory, and before the key slot moved to the steering column. It became a Saab trademark, along with the front-hinged clamshell hood, designed to crumple into a triangular shape to help protect occupants in a frontal crash, while tiny but tough little casters held the collapsing hood on steel tracks for stability.
The 900 developed a cult-like following, but the cult wasn’t big enough for future success. So Saab came out with a new and larger car, called the 9000, in 1984. It met with some glowing impressions – from those who had never been Saab owners. The car was luxurious, with its multi-button, flat instrument panel and generic looks, but in its attempt to flow in the mainstream, the 9000 could attract Buick owners, but was flat unacceptable to Saab purists.
While the Saab personal touches remain, a cynic could say that the new 9.3 is a Saturn or Malibu with a GM Ecotec engine and a Saab body; the new 9.7 is a true SUV because it is a Chevy TrailBlazer with a GM engine and a Saab front end; and the new 9.2 is a Subaru Impreza, with Subaru engine, and a Saab face.
That leaves the 9.5, a vehicle which has an interesting history. Essentially, it is the modernized version of the 9000. The 9000 was based on a shared platform with Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, and when the 9.5 replaced the 9000 in 1998 as a 1999 model, on an all-new platform shared with Opel, a German branch of GM, and the whole thing came out more than a year before GM completed its takeover.
As a confirmed Saab zealot, who owned a 1980 Saab 900 for more than a decade of dependable service, I drove the 9.3, and the 9.2, and something inside caused me to season my impressions with a “look what they’ve done to my car†undercurrent.
So when a new 9.5 SportWagon showed up for a week’s test drive, I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed. The car looked very sleek, however. And when I walked around it, I noted the “2.3†emblem on the rear. True, it’s a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, turbocharged. The basic block is shared with Opel, but Saab reworks everything from the intake system to the turbocharger and the transmission, all of which are pure Saab.
Inside, the view from the driverÂ’s seat is clearly more 900 than 9000 for Saab traditionalists. The center stack of audio and heat-air controls is on a panel angled toward the driver, and the main speed, tachometer, fuel instruments are readily visible through the top half of a nicely padded steering wheel. Not only that, but along with the usual audio remote buttons located lower on the inside of the steering wheel, there also is a small, slim, triangular switch located higher and behind the audio switch on both sides.
The five-speed automatic transmission works fine in “D†but if you shift it down to a manual setting, you can use the paddles for manual shifting, upshifting with the right paddle and downshifting by hitting the left paddle. I find that far superior to the systems that allow upshifts and downshifts by either paddle, depending on whether you push down or pull back. It’s definitely more error-proof and instinctive to learn that the right paddle upshifts and the left downshifts.
The 9.5 SportWagon comes in three models, with the same four-cylinder engine and weather-beating front-wheel drive. The Linear has a light-pressure turbo with 185 horsepower and 207 foot-pounds of torque; the middle Arc model has more boost for an impressive 220 horsepower and 228 foot-pounds; and the top Aero model with the high-output version has 250 horses and 258 foot-pounds. The test car was the Arc, the middle one, and it had plenty of zip.
All three have a transverse-mounted 2290 cc. engine, with dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder — a concept still stubbornly suppressed by pushrod-mad GM — and dual balance shafts to offset the inherent vibration of four-cylinder engines. In the Arc, the result is not only a smooth and responsive application of power, but SaabÂ’s engine-management system and long expertise in the art of turbocharging manipulates the torque to peak at a plateau from 1,900-4,500 RPMs, meaning youÂ’ve got great acceleration from the torque, which carries right on up to the 5,500-RPM horsepower peak.
The 9.5 SportWagon seats four very nicely, and five if you must, with a large storage expanse behind the rear seat, where tie-down straps and nets can be adjusted by sliding the anchors along rails embedded in the floor. The 37-cubic foot area expands to 73 cubic feet if you fold down the rear seats. The floor of the rear area slides out 18 inches to ease loading, and because it will support 440 pounds, it can serve as a table for a very hefty picnic, or a seat for a couple of quite hefty adults.
Performance handling capabilities make the 9.5 SportWagon feel much sportier than your basic station wagon, and the traction-control system helps the front-wheel-drive vehicleÂ’s traction, while the Electronic Stability Program reduces engine power and applies the brakes to prevent any detectable skid.
Beyond all the performance and handling, and the traditional Saab crumple-zone safety, with airbags, and electronic brake distribution on top of the antilock brakes, I surprised myself by getting over 28 miles per gallon while driving the 9.5 SportWagon in a manner we shall call “enthusiastic.Ââ€
In addition, Saab is at the forefront of producing ethanol-friendly engines. The 9.5 can be bought to use E-85, the far less-expensive fuel that is 85 percent ethanol, without the conventional concern of scorching valves with the hotter-burning alternative to gasoline.
The Arc test car had a base price of $37,000 and was $43,684 as equipped. The Linear costs less, and the Aero costs more. Without driving those two, IÂ’ll pick the Arc as the right compromise for sporty driving and fuel-efficient flexibility.
Without question, however, the best feature of the 9.5 is that it feels like a genuine, traditional Saab. ThatÂ’s where the irony comes in: The upscale sedan/wagon model, once scorned by Saab cultists as not being pure-enough Saab, has evolved into being the last remaining example of all that was the best of traditional Saabs.
(John Gilbert writes weekly new-car reviews, and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon grows in name, body
If you were to take a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon into your home, you might never call it by its proper name. It would simply be “the Jeep.†Company name-makers can explain to you what each word means, but the best definition is that the 2005 model is longer – by more than a foot – and that lengthening has more effect on the Wrangler than the longer name.
The 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon met me for three distinctly different evaluations. The longer wheelbase smoothed out the trademark bounciness of the vehicle on the incredibly treacherous terrain of UtahÂ’s Moab Desert, in the harshness of Northern MinnesotaÂ’s winter roadways, and in normal everyday driving in the early warmth of springtime.
The timing wasnÂ’t all logical. For example, the neat soft-top convertible version that I drove up cliffs, down rock faces, and astride deep-V crevasses at Moab was also the one I got for a sub-freezing winter week. Just recently I got the hardtop version, on days when I was wishing I could swap the solid, but very bulky, hard roof for the convertible, which has a unique fold-back front section for creating the rarity of a 45-by-23-inch sunroof in a ragtop.
Jeeps have always been accomplished off-road performers, from World War II and ever since. The Wrangler can never be confused with the quite-civilized Liberty, and the super-civilized Grand Cherokee, which is a virtual urban wagon for hauling kids and groceries, but with serious off-road capabilities. The Wrangler instead is aimed at tackling the most rugged off-road situations, and even after Chrysler, and then DaimlerChrysler, took over the company. It has maintained its status as a somewhat primitive icon, required for a vehicle that is ready for any off-road challenge for fun or necessity.
The problem is more how Wranglers operate ON the road. Because it has always been a fairly tall (for ground clearance) vehicle with a short wheelbase (for agility), the Wrangler ride could always be compared to a pogo stick. Now, pogo sticks can be fun for hopping around the yard, but less fun if youÂ’re heading for a destination four hours away, when you seem to travel as many miles vertically, in short but constant bounces.
The ever-expanding world of SUVs includes a number of modern vehicles which might be seen as challenging to Jeep’s realm, however, without the bounciness. So Jeep added a badge that says “Trail Rated†to all Wranglers, as evidence that they can handle any trail, conquering five performance categories: traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation, and water-crossing capability. Then came the word Unlimited, which only gets added to mean it’s more specialized than the normal Wrangler. The Rubicon name is taken from the Rubicon Trail, signifying that you got the new, big one, which can conquer that most grueling off-road adventure.
The Rubicon is 15 inches longer than the normal Wrangler, with 13 of those inches going to the cargo area behind the rear seat, and the other two inches added to second-row legroom. The added rear space increases cargo volume from 9.5 to 22.3 cubic feet. Wheelbase is also stretched 10 inches, to 103 inches. That, and revised shock-absorber tuning, eliminates any comparison to pogo sticks when on the road.
The Rubicon model was introduced in 2002, in response to Jeep buyers who wanted normally after-market parts to be supplied from the factory. Meanwhile, the Unlimited version had more room. The Trail-Rated tag came from a Nevada Auto Test Center test that required splashing through water that is 19 inches deep at 5 miles per hour.
Combining all those things gets you the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and we should just be thankful the official name isn’t “Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Trail Rated.†Locking front and rear differentials, front and rear Dana 44 axles, with a 4-to-1 low-range transfer case, with a Rock-Trac ability to limit descending speed while increasing available torque. The Tru-Lok differentials front and rear are air-actuated.
The full-boat Jeep Wranger Unlimited Rubicon is $28,825. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (excising the “UnlimitedÂâ€) drops the base to $27,825. Dropping “Rubicon,†the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited costs $24,355. And dropping both Unlimited and Rubicon, the Jeep Wrangler SE coasts a mere $18,510 (and you can get used to the standard pogo-stick ride).
The longer Rubicon actually is quite pleasant to drive on a freeway trip, which is more of a surprise than the poise with which it conquered any icy and snow-covered roads, or the extreme Moab driving challenges.
My biggest criticism is that in its attempt to stay true to tradition, Jeep left the windshield in its usual near-vertical attitude. On sunny days – remember sunny days? – if you drive toward the sun, you can watch the reflection of the sun off your windshield as it lights up road signs a half-mile ahead, and causes drivers ahead of you to flinch noticeably when they are temporarily blinded through their own rear-view mirrors.
Tilt the windshield five or ten more degrees, eliminate the prominent direct reflection, and Jeep purists might either applaud or not notice.
The 4.0-liter Power Tech in-line six-cylinder has 190 horsepower at 4,600 RPMs and 235 foot-pounds of torque at 3,200 RPMs. Standard is a six-speed manual transmission, with a four-speed automatic available. It will tow a 3,500-pound trailer, which almost doubles the 2,000-pound limit of the standard Wrangler.
Over-engineered for the rigors of off-roading, the Wranglers we drove at introduction time did some amazing things on the Moab test course. Some of the climbs and descents were only done by experienced drivers. That was OK with the rest of us, who watched as one driver hesitated just before reaching the crest of a 100-foot vertical wash, and starting up again meant raising both front wheels, much like a rearing horse in an old cowboy movie. It appeared likely to roll back over on its back, and give the rollbars an improvisational test, but instead, it settled back down and finished the climb.
On dry highways, and in city driving, rear-drive was smooth and efficient. On those not-too-distant days of snow and ice, shifting to lock the axles assured all four to churn their way up any hill and over any icy terrain.
Jeep Wranglers have always been fun, although I’ve had difficulty identifying with anyone who could afford to have a vehicle just for the fun of off-roading, and who was willing to pogo-stick through the real world. Adding names – and length – eliminates that problem. So now it’s fun, with definite everyday benefits added in.
(John Gilbert writes weekly vehicle reviews, and can be contacted at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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