Reviews of Kia Sportage R in the West

• Source: Global Times
• [14:43 October 22 2010]
• Comments

Handling

1. Carspondent.com
Engineers did an excellent job tuning the electric power steering system to provide feedback similar to a hydraulic unit. The electric power steering takes up less room under the hood than a conventional system, with fewer mechanical parts to wear out over time. The inline four-cylinder engine delivers plenty of low-end torque for merging into high-speed traffic and climbing up hills. A standard hill-start assist feature holds the brakes for a moment after the driver releases the pedal, to prevent the car from rolling backwards.

2.Reviews.cnet.com
Although our EX model with all-wheel drive didn't exactly roar when we pushed the ignition button, it took off into city traffic with a reasonable amount of power. The steering wheel felt good, with a thick, leather-lined rim. The transmission shifted smoothly through its six gears. Going over some rough pavement, the suspension softened the jolts reasonably well, without a lot of bouncing around.

3. Leftlanenews.com
On paper, the new four-banger sounds almost too good to be true. In practice, we found the Sportage to be very much in line with the rest of the segment - making us wonder where the horsepower went. Although the Sportage's drivetrain is certainly very competitive for the class, we found that it stopped slightly short of offering a truly sporty appeal.