Sportage makes a splash

Suspension settings in Kia's Sportage CUV have been tailored for New Zealand driving conditions and the rally car-like chassis is longer, lower and wider than previous variants. Photo / Supplied

The car industry has become a world of alphabet soup since 4WD became a commonplace abbreviation in print for four-wheel drive.

Rarely is 2WD used, unless to tell the difference in the same sentence between four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive variants from the same carmaker.

FWD, or front-wheel drive, isn't the same as 2WD, because 2WD can also mean RWD, or rear-wheel drive. Sometimes FWD can mean 4WD. No such confusion with 4WS though - it means that both the front and rear wheels turn to steer the vehicle, hence 4-wheel-steer.

SUV found its way here from the United States. It means sports utility vehicle, a more marketable handle for a family wagon mostly based on a truck chassis. It doesn't always mean 4WD.

The use of AWD cropped up too. It stands for all-wheel drive and is often used to soften the hulking image of a big 4WD.

AWD means pretty much the same as 4WD anyway, although AWD is more a car-like reference, suiting Subarus and some Audis, for example.

As a rule, 4WDs can go further off road than AWDs. Some 4WDs go further into the bush than other 4WDs. Some SUVs have 4WD and go off-road too. Those SUVs with 2WD don't.

Along the way more alphabet soup appeared. ABS is short German for anti-lock brakes. The first car to get ABS was an RWD Mercedes-Benz. Soon after ABS began to appear in the same sentence as 4WD, AWD, FWD, 2WD and RWD.

The development of electronic aids added more acronyms. Things like CPU (central processing unit), EBC (electronic brake control), EBA (electronic brake assist), ESC (electronic stability control), ACC (adaptive cruise control), ACE (active cornering enhancement), ADC (automatic distance control), ARC (active roll control), CVVT (continuously variable valve timing), AHR (active head restraint), ASR (acceleration slip regulation), AYC (active yaw control), CDA (cylinder de-activation), CVT (continuously variable transmission), CZS (crash zone sensor) ... thousands of abbreviations.

BMW coined sports activity vehicle to move its X6 away from the SUV carpark, although its X5 had long been an SUV. It said SAV better suited the X6's dynamic pedigree than SUV. The X5 is an SAV now, too.

South Korea's Kia has also had a couple of bob each way. It calls its new Sportage a CUV, for crossover utility vehicle. That means it's softer than an SUV or 4WD.

The CUV Sportage will be available with AWD and 2WD but compete in the SUV/CUV segment.

Although it's not an SUV, it's built on the same platform as the Hyundai ix35, from Kia's affiliate company. The ix35 used to be called the Tucson SUV before it was renamed.

The x means the Hyundai's an AWD and a crossover all in the same sentence. If it didn't have the x it would be a 2WD/FWD.

Confused? Kia isn't. It has high hopes for the new five-seat Sportage, especially now that its MacPherson strut front and new multi-link rear suspension system has been tailored for New Zealand and Australian roads.

The Sportage is the first Kia to get the Downunder treatment, but won't be the last, says the carmaker. It ran prototype Sportages on a mix of roads in both countries to find a suspension set-up it was comfortable with.

It also went with a hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering unit, rather than an electrically assisted arrangement. The steering offers 2.99 turns lock-to-lock and, like the suspension, is mounted on a lightweight subframe designed to improve handling and ride and reduce noise, vibration and harshness into the cabin.

The Sportage comes with a reworked AWD set-up, too, called Dynamax and made by Magna Powertrain. Kia says it transfers torque quicker to the rear wheels when traction is lost.

Kia is launching the Sportage in October with the choice of two petrol models, a 2-litre unit driving the front wheels only and a 2.4-litre sending power to both ends. A 2-litre AWD turbodiesel won't be available in New Zealand until the New Year. All models will run a six-speed automatic gearbox, although a manual unit will be available to order.

The 2-litre engine produces 122kW/197Nm, the 2.4-litre 130kW/227Nm and the 2-litre diesel 130kW/392Nm.

The range comprises 2WD LX Urban and EX Urban, expected to be priced between $32,990 and $38,990, and the EX AWD and Ltd AWD, likely to come in between $41,990 and $47,990. Kia's HQ in South Korea hasn't yet signed off on prices.

The Sportage marks a shift in design direction for Kia's SUV/CUV family. It is longer, lower and wider than the previous model but carries the company's trademark "tiger" face, design chief Peter Schreyer's signature grille design. The key design element is the relationship between the Sportage's high shoulders and narrow glasshouse, says Schreyer.

"We've created a vehicle with a sports car-like ratio between sheet metal and glass," he said.

"The side-windows are very narrow and give an almost rally-car feeling. Follow the shoulder and roof lines and they meet at the striking reverse-angled C-pillar.

"The size, the shape and the proportion of the C-pillar on any car is absolutely crucial to its appearance, and as you can see on our new Sportage, it determines the entire look and feel of the car.

"The new Sportage is fresh and bold and could not be mistaken for anything other than a Kia.

"It embodies Kia's new-found visual dynamism by successfully taking the key features of an off-road vehicle - the raised ground clearance, the commanding driving position and heightened sense of security - and enveloping them in a sleek and urban-friendly design with global appeal."

The new model is 90mm longer and 15mm wider than the outgoing model but is 60mm lower and has 23mm less ground clearance. The shape helps to bring the Cd aerodynamic drag figure down from 0.40 to 0.37.

Weight is also down by up to 91kg, ranging from 1385kg for the 2WD two-wheel drive version to 1609kg for the AWD diesel.

Interior space has grown, helped largely by the cab forward design. The wheelbase is 10mm longer and the front and rear tracks are appreciably wider.

There is also more room in the rear, with an 80mm longer and 110mm wider floor. Maximum luggage space is 1547 litres. That's with the rear seats folded.