The interior of the 2016 Kia Sportage has been revealed ahead of its official reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
THE 2016 KIA SPORTAGE has already begun its local ride and handling program (Practical Motoring spied one heading out of Sydney on Monday this week). And the brand is continuing its drip feed of information an pictures ahead of the global reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
Kia reckons the interior of this fourth-generation Sportage represents “one of the most significant improvements” of the whole vehicle.
Here’s how Kia described it: “The focus for the design team behind the new interior was to create a cabin which offered a wide, driver-oriented dashboard, with a simple, modern design. The interior blends metalwork with soft-touch materials and clearly defined horizontal lines, portraying a high level of mechanical precision.
“The Sportage’s all-new cabin boasts a high standard of material quality, with a far greater proportion of soft-touch materials and the use of cloth, leather and stitching creating a more luxurious ambience.”
The Korean car maker claims the interior will be the most practical yet for the Sportage. The Sportage offers more room inside thanks to the wheelbase being stretched by 40mm to 2670mm. Inside, passenger space is increased, with headroom rising to 997mm (+5mm) and 993mm (+16mm) for front and rear passengers respectively, while maximum legroom has expanded to 1129mm (+19mm) and 970mm (+7mm).
Stiffer seat frames, with greater use of high tensile steel, and redesigned springs and pads – for front and rear – have allegedly cut the level of vibration in the seats, while reducing seat weight by 2.5kg and “improving durability”.
In the rear, a 40mm lower interior floor and 30mm higher rear bench hip point mean “second-row passengers benefit from a more natural and comfortable seating posture and improved under-thigh support”. The Sportage’s reclining rear seats now offer 17 steps – from 23 to 37 degrees, with the reclining lever relocated from the upper seat-back to the lower side of the seat.
For all models, visibility is improved out of the front and rear. Forward visibility is aided by a lowered A-pillar base, while the A-pillar itself has been made thinner. Side mirrors sit slightly lower on the door without impairing the driver’s rear view – this is further aided by the new thinner C-pillars (62mm thinner compared to the third-generation Sportage) and taller rear glass (+30 mm).
The new body’s larger dimensions mean cargo space in the fourth-generation Sportage has expanded from 465litres to 503litres, “made more practical by a dual-height luggage floor, allowing taller items to fit into the boot and still remain hidden by the tonneau cover”.
The Sportage also features a new under-floor tonneau cover storage area – unique in the class. Despite the new Sportage being no wider than the outgoing model, by re-engineering the rear section of the body the luggage area is 35 mm wider, while the upper edge of the boot lip is lowered so the lift-over height for heavy items is just 732 mm (down 47 mm).
The all-new Sportage has greater fuel capacity than the third-generation model, with the fuel tank increasing from 58 litres to 62.
