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Kia Sportage 2005 and newer

704 messages,  Last post on Dec 18, 2011 at 4:35 AM

You are in the Kia Sportage Forum.

What is this discussion about? Kia Sportage, SUV

Messages Page 56 of 71

#551 of 704 4 or 6-Cylinder Sportage? by dreamcruiser

Jan 22, 2006 (11:21 am)

My wife and I are moving to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and we are giving serious thought to buying a slightly used 2005 or new 2006 Kia Sportage. We have not decided whether we will buy the car stateside and have it shipped, or instead whether we will buy the car from the Kia dealer on the islands.
 
St. Thomas is very hilly and some of the grades are fairly steep. I read a favorable (internet) magazine review of the 2005 Sportage which had this to say about the 4-cylinder automatic transmission model:
 
"Driving up the hilly streets in downtown San Francisco we found the four-cylinder Sportage LX was fine as long as you pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor and didn't mind listening to a high-revved four banger. The Sportmatic automatic transmission lets the driver shift manually when desired, allowing him or her to keep the engine revving in one gear. From a performance point of view the four-cylinder engine is fine if you drive solo and spend most of your time around town."
 
I am wondering if anybody on this forum has experience with either the 4-cylinder manual or automatic Sportage in hilly terrain, and whether the performance of the car is adequate. 80% of the driving will be solo; 20% will be with two adults who collectively weigh about 360 lbs (220 + 140). We would not need the four-wheel drive, and I believe the four-wheel is about 200 pounds heavier than the front-wheel drive.
 
My inclination is to buy the manual transmission, because: a) the manual has five speeds versus the automatic's four; b) a manual lets you stay in one gear longer, and thus would give the 4-cylinder a bit more power than the automatic in certain situations; c) the manual helps brake the car while driving down inclines; and d) the gas mileage with the manual may be a couple of miles to the gallon better. (I don't know much about the clutchless manual option on the Sportronic, but even if it has most of the advantages of a manual, it still only has four gears.)
 
If the manual was available in the 6, we would probably purchase it, but it is not. Any thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages of the manual 4 versus the automatic 6 for hilly terrain would be much appreciated.

#552 of 704 Re: 4 or 6-Cylinder Sportage? [dreamcruiser] by hfxns

Jan 23, 2006 (6:05 am)

Replying to: dreamcruiser (Jan 22, 2006 11:21 am)
Its up to you, but I would consider the V6, because I have heard some complaints about the lack of HP and torque in the I4. I like the V6, I do use the sportmatic quite a bit for engine braking and quick upshifting. You definitely don't need the 4WD. Probably worthwhile to try them both out. My issue is that I have my wife and I and two kids, and all of our junk (strollers, etc.), so the I4 wasn't an issue.
 
The good thing about the I4 is that it has better gas mileage, and its nice to have a stick. Plus you are not going to be doing much highway driving - which is where the V6 really shows its advantage over the I4.
 
Good luck.
 
HFX NS

#553 of 704 Question? Kia Sportage 2000 by mercado4

Jan 23, 2006 (7:51 pm)

My control for the fan blower for heat & ac. only works on speed 4,,1-2 and 3 don't work,,,.I already change the switch to one tha I got from the yunk yard and still does the same thing..I need some advice,, Thank you.

#554 of 704 Re: 4 or 6-Cylinder Sportage? [hfxns] by dreamcruiser

Jan 24, 2006 (9:55 pm)

Replying to: hfxns (Jan 23, 2006 6:05 am)
Thanks for the advice. Maybe I wouldn't miss the stick in the six cylinder because the Sportmatic will serve most of the purposes of a stick. I've just never driven a car that had an automatic with the clutchless shift option. (Mitsubishi has one that I think they call the Sportronic, and I believe Porsche introduced one many years ago called the Triptonic.) I did find a professional review of the Kia Sportage that was very favorable, but that did not care much for the manual transmission in the 4 cylinder Sportage. The reviewer preferred stick shifts to automatics generally, but said that the Kia stick did not really make the drive more enjoyable, as sticks in other cars do.

#555 of 704 Re: 4 or 6-Cylinder Sportage? [dreamcruiser] by hfxns

Jan 27, 2006 (7:49 am)

Replying to: dreamcruiser (Jan 22, 2006 11:21 am)
I have been to the BVI's, beautiful area - fantastic sailing. I am keen to get down there again to charter sailboat again. Are you sailors?

#556 of 704 Re: Jolting shock! [kcrnmale] by fbk4

Jan 29, 2006 (1:47 pm)

Replying to: kcrnmale (Nov 17, 2005 10:35 am)
Use the door handle built into the armrest on the inside of the door.

#557 of 704 rattle from right front - 2005 sportage 4k miles by fbk4

Jan 29, 2006 (2:26 pm)

I am getting a slight rattle from the right front which the dealer acknowledges but cannot remedy. He said he spoke to the factory and they claim it is a known problem which they are working on. Related or not, I also get a "onetime" clunk from the same wheel after backing out of the driveway and attaining a forward speed of about 10 mph... this happens whether the car is in drive or neutral. Otherwise the car has been fine. Has anyone else experienced this problem.

#558 of 704 Kia Sportage v6 guzzling update reply to hfxns by jacques

Jan 30, 2006 (7:49 pm)

Well things got better highway milage wise. I ran 160 miles on 8 imp. gall or 20 miles/gal
 
much better than 12 !!
 
So much for highway miles.
 
My most recent fill-up has been more city driving & pointing to better than 12 miles/imp. gal but nothing to brag about.
 
Winter is weird this year and comparing appels to appels is proving a challenge in itself.
 
I would say things have improved slightly city milagewise...just slightly
 
I think this baby need warm air to feel better and suck less gas!
 
I will try another run and report back latter.
 
Suffice to say I still am not please with gas milage on my kia Sportage because it is no better than my previous 4000 pound Sorento! and it should be
 
32 more payments and... bye bye Sportage for me if things don't improve.

#559 of 704 Re: Kia Sportage v6 guzzling update reply to hfxns [jacques] by gasc

Feb 01, 2006 (7:10 pm)

Replying to: jacques (Jan 30, 2006 7:49 pm)
I live in the Ottawa area, have a 2006 Sportage V6 and get between 420 to 440 Km per tank (mix of city and highway roughly 60/40 split). You should be getting a little better mileage than you are if it is all highway driving.

#560 of 704 Re: stuck key problem...fixed (I hope). [hfxns] by bethnla

Feb 02, 2006 (3:32 am)

Replying to: hfxns (Jan 09, 2006 8:39 am)
I've had to jerk the wheel hard twice now because of this problem. I make sure the wheels are straight when I put the car in park, and try not to pull on the wheel when I get in or out of the car. I am noticing an area on the steering wheel around the key insert is coming loose. I am planning on talking to the service dept. about this problem this week. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone else?

Messages Page 56 of 71

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