Kia Sportage Malaysia gets cheaper for 2WD variant

Kuala Lumpur: Naza Kia brings a 2WD variant of its successful SUV, Kia Sportage which gets cheaper than the earlier variants. This traditional sport-utility vehicle is priced at RM118,888 on-the-road, including insurance. Looking after the pricing trait for the 2WD variant and 4WD variant of Kia Sportage, there is nearly RM19k of difference. With this retail value of Sportage, it gives stiff competition to range-topping Honda HR-V 1.8 V.

Generally, you won't find words like 'sporty' used for the Kia Sportage, it is more of a responsive and fun-to-drive vehicle. Offering further choice to its customers and raising the competitiveness in SUV segment (cutting down the price), new 2WD variant gets fewer detailing than 4WD.

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In between all disguise, 2WD Sportage plays the same game as other successful 2WD SUVs. It combines the same fundamental styling as the all-wheel drive (AWD) versions of the same vehicle, but it’s significantly cheaper and lighter. The projector headlights integrated with LEDs are less bright than the AWD’s daytime running lights. You also get 17-inch dual-tone alloys and bulb-type tail lights rather than LED units. These are the only dissimilarities in the exterior profile of Sportage.

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Insides of Sportage 2WD comes packaged with a lot less standard equipment, but if all you want is adequate SUV vehicle this is a good take. You will miss the reversing camera, dusk-sensing auto headlights, privacy glass, full-length panorama glass roof, smart key and auto-dimming central rear view mirror. Provided to stretch the seats, manual efforts will be required due to the absence pf power adjustment seats in Sportage 2WD. The leather trim has been replaced by CleanTex fabric upholstery with some tablet-shaped rubber ribbing on the seat backs.

You also get three 12V power outlets in the cabin, plus an engine immobiliser, remote keyless entry, Bluetooth connectivity for phone and media streaming, as well as a 6-speaker audio system with ‘aux’ and USB inputs and iPod compatibility. The dual-pod instrument cluster and 4.2-inch Supervision TFT LCD colour multi-info display will be surely missed.

Thankfully, you get better safety equipment as well as a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. There are six airbags, stability control, hill start assist, Downhill Brake Control (DBC), 17-inch alloy wheels standard (same size as of SportageAWD) plus air conditioning, a very basic trip computer, indicator repeater lamps built into the wing mirrors, power windows and cruise control together.

The 2.0-litre petrol engine in the 2WD Sportage is similar to powertrain offered with 4WD Sportage. The 2.0-litre Nu MPI four-cylinder petrol engine sprints power of about 154 PS at 6,200 rpm and torque of 191 Nm at 4,700 rpm mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. So, with all the configurations, Sportage 2WD might be a little less than you ultimately want but it has got all the 'SUV must haves'.