HIS BRILLIANT KOREA

WHO BETTER THAN A FORMER TUCSON CUSTODIAN TO LIVE WITH KIA’S IN-HOUSE RIVAL?

- MIKE STEVENS

KIA SPORTAGE GT-LINE

Price as tested $55,510 (inc paint; D/A)

This month 258km @ 10.1L/100km

Overall 258km @ 10.1L/100km

WHAT IS IT with Korea right now? Who’s spiking their cereal? From the widening range of warm and hot sports variants in the Hyundai and Kia line-ups, to the growing number of electrified models and the genre-bending bold designs of their latest models, the Republic’s on a roll.

I’ve just come out of five months in the new-gen Hyundai Tucson, in both 2.0-litre petrol and 2.0 turbo diesel forms – along with a week in the 1.6 turbo petrol – concluding that the diesel is comfortably the pick of the bunch for power and fuel consumption.

Now I’m moving into its newly launched stablemate, the 2022 Kia Sportage, which I’ll hold onto for a few months. This again is a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, configured in all-wheel drive form with Hyundai Motor Group’s own in-house eight-speed torque-converter automatic.

That diesel delivers 137kW and 416Nm, with official fuel figures of 6.3L/100km on the combined cycle. I’ve mostly done local urban driving so far, which is claimed at 7.7L/100km – whereas I’ve been getting 10.1L/100km. Out here in reality, that’s the number I’d expect, but more relaxed drivers should come a little closer to the claim.