Internally known as the Kia Project QL, what we mortals refer to as the 2016 Kia Sportage leaked ahead of debut. Courtesy of South Korea's Bobaedream, the following two photos showcase the front fascia and rear end design of the high-riding vehicle one month ahead of its first outing.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the 2016 Kia Sportage will be present in Euro-spec format. What we have here is a Korean model, but fret not – there will be minimal differences between the two. At the front, the first element that makes you raise a brow is represented by the ice cube-shaped LED daytime running lights, a cue borrowed from the Cee'd GT.
Still, the 'Tiger Nose' grille dominates the front fascia in a manner that will polarise public opinion into the "love it" and "hate it" crowds. A similar thing can be said about the squinty look of the headlights. The 2016 Kia Sportage will never win a beauty contest, but we have to give it to Kia for the groovy visual identity.
As for the rear and rear three-quarter view, all is well from our point of view. There's not a single aesthetic element outside the norm, nor anything that could be described as boring for the younger audience. The C-pillar's shape, muscular wheel arches, integrated roof spoiler, and dual exhaust pipes positioned at the extremities of the silver-painted rear diffuser give the 2016 Kia Sportage a fairly dynamic physique.
On the inside, there's a Sorento-inspired dashboard with a touchscreen placed in the center. Underneath the latter, we can see the air conditioning system's controls, which appear to have been inspired by Land Rover's parts bin. Under the hood, Kia confirmed that the 2016 Sportage will get one all-new engine. At the present moment, there's no official intel from the company on what kind of powerhouse it could be.
Our two cents go on a 1.6-liter GDI petrol, joined by a 1.2-liter T-GDI. A 1.7 CRDi and a 2-liter CRDi are expected to take care of the needs of those who prefer turbo diesel grunt and those extra miles per gallon. A seven-speed DCT automatic transmission will be the option over the standard manual gearbox.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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