Us Malaysians should still be awaiting the most recent Kia Sportage, however in Korea the fifth-generation C-segment SUV is already getting a facelift. It’s fairly a well timed one, coming three years after it was revealed globally, and so far as revisions go, that is fairly a giant one.
The Sportage’s outlandish design has actually divided opinion, with probably the most controversial half being its entrance finish with its diamond-shaped headlights, massive arrow-shaped daytime working lights and large grille. Even by means of these shadowy teaser photos, it’s clear that Kia is making an attempt to stroll again on a few of the extra radical design cues, bringing the automobile extra consistent with the remainder of its lineup.
Probably the most evident of those modifications are the headlights, that are vertical and incorporate Kia’s constellation-inspired Star Map DRLs, just like the EV9 and K4. This redesign ought to make the still-enormous grille (with the “tiger nostril” insert up prime) a little bit simpler to swallow.
On the rear, the tweaks are extra refined, with the revised taillight graphics being the one observable change, though a redesigned rear bumper also needs to characteristic. This being a contemporary Kia facelift, you may as well anticipate far-reaching updates to the inside – together with maybe a brand new dashboard, as was additionally fitted to the brand new Sorento – to maintain issues contemporary.
The facelifted Sportage ought to carry over the identical powertrain choices as earlier than, albeit with a number of tweaks. The automobile is presently supplied with 1.6 litre petrol and a couple of.0 litre diesel turbocharged engines, together with hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants.
The fifth-gen Sportage has lengthy been earmarked for the Malaysian market – information of its impending arrival surfaced as early as late 2021 with an anticipated 2023 launch. In July, it was reported that the automobile was nonetheless coming, and in CKD type too, however nothing has come out of that since.
It stays to be seen whether or not the automobile will likely be supplied right here in pre-facelift type first – hopefully distributor Bermaz will as an alternative go straight to the facelift model from the get-go, provided that it’s imagined to be the model’s quantity vendor right here.
GALLERY: Fifth-generation Kia Sportage, pre-facelift
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