Us Malaysians should 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 an enormous one.
The Sportage’s outlandish design has definitely divided opinion, with probably the most controversial half being its entrance finish with its diamond-shaped headlights, massive arrow-shaped daytime working lights and big grille. Even via these shadowy teaser photos, it’s clear that Kia is trying to stroll again on among the extra radical design cues, bringing the automotive extra according to the remainder of its lineup.
Probably the most evident of those adjustments 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 high) somewhat simpler to swallow.
On the rear, the tweaks are extra delicate, with the revised taillight graphics being the one observable change, though a redesigned rear bumper also needs to function. This being a contemporary Kia facelift, you can even count on 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 recent.
The facelifted Sportage ought to carry over the identical powertrain choices as earlier than, albeit with just a few tweaks. The automotive is at the moment provided 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 automotive 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 automotive shall be provided right here in pre-facelift type first – hopefully distributor Bermaz will as a substitute go straight to the facelift model from the get-go, on condition that it’s speculated to be the model’s quantity vendor right here.
GALLERY: Fifth-generation Kia Sportage, pre-facelift
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