Kia crossovers are already in hot demand, with premiums on the Sorento and Telluride being particularly high. But wait until the all-new 2023 Kia Sportage comes out because it's going to rock the CUV segment.
CUVs or Crossover Utility Vehicles are some of the most popular vehicles in America, and they have become quite competitive in the design department. You've got the Toyota RAV4 looking like a Jeep from the future and the Hyundai Tucson shaped by aliens.
Somewhere in between that, the new Sportage is going to fit in perfectly. We often joke that while the old one resembled a Porsche Cayenne, with its headlights sitting up high, this 2022 model is an angular Lamborghini Urus at a 90% discount.
A few days ago, Kia released a set of teasers, announcing the CUV is on schedule for a June 8th reveal. Although the NQ5 model is often called the 2022 Sportage online, we're going to go with "2023" for a couple of reasons.
The most obvious one: the 2022 Sportage just went on sale in America with only a handful of changes. Also, the current generation is still pretty fresh, having made its debut for the 2017 model year (in the U.S.).
Going hand in hand with those renderings, we have fresh CGIs by the Korean YouTube artist Gotcha Cars. And he certainly captured all the right angles.
The front end of the 2023 Sportage is dominated by the enlarged, geometric Tiger Nose grille, flanked by streamlined headlights. It's like the rugged version of the K5. The only reason not to buy this is if you're into understated designs.
The lower bumper is reminiscent of the new EV6 all-electric vehicle, and that's not a coincidence. Meanwhile, the rear shows a wrap-around set of taillights and a large chrome section inserted into the bumper. In profile, the Sportage is quite simple, with only a few straight character lines.
Kia didn't want to reveal any technical details, but it's reasonable to expect all the powertrains are shared with the Hyundai counterpart. The primary units are going to be the 1.6-liter turbo and 2.5-liter GDI. Diesel engines are becoming unpopular in Europe, so fuel-sipping duties are likely to be taken by one or two hybrids.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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