Customers Prefer Kia Sportage First Edition in Petrol

The recently launched Kia Sportage First Edition version has met an overwhelming demand, with most British customers going for the petrol alternative. The manufacturer has therefore announced that additional factory production has been secured for 300 petrol engined versions of the new crossover.

The Sportage First Edition 2.0 AWD is powered by Kia’s Theta-II 2.0 petrol engine and comes with a 5-speed manual transmission delivering 161 bhp and 194 Nm of torque.

The vehicle has a top speed of 113 mph (182 km/h), accelerates from rest to 60 mph in 10.3 seconds and achieves a combined cycle fuel consumption of 35.8 mpg (6.5 l/100km). The crossover emits 188g/km of CO2.

The First Edition version comes with Black leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, Bluetooth, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers and a color rear parking camera system integrated into the rear view mirror.  Four exterior colours are available on this version: Clyde Blue, Phantom Black metallic, Silver Storm metallic and Techno Orange metallic.

“From the moment we announced the all-new Sportage our dealers were under siege from new and existing customers who wanted to be among the first to get hold of this exciting car. But it was clear that many wanted a petrol option – so we are very happy to have secured 300 units to meet that demand,” Michael Cole, Managing Director of Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said in a release.

“We will not have too long to wait for the full range of new Sportage – from November we will have 2WD and AWD versions featuring four engines including a 1.6GDI and a 1.7 Turbo-Diesel, but such is the excitement about new Sportage that we simply couldn’t disappoint those customers who wanted First Edition but with a petrol engine,” he added.

New Sportage First Edition 2.0 AWD is priced at GBP19,495 OTR, with orders being accepted now and deliveries to begin in October.