Exclusive spy shots: 2010 Kia Sportage, codenamed SL, gets caught while undergoing final testing in the suburbs of Kia’s Hwasung manufacturing plant in South Korea!
Have you seen our first Kia Sportage spy report issued sometime ago? Well, that was a miss and we showed you a prototype of a heavily camouflaged Ssangyong C-200 prototype instead of the 2010 Kia Sportage.
Now, just a couple of months later - in our second attempt, we can finally show you the very first spy shots of the 2010 Kia Sportage. The new Sportage development has come to a stage when Kia engineers need to gather as much information from real-life testing as possible, so they have brought a fleet of Sportage prototypes to Korean streets. As usual, it did not take long and Kia’s future compact crossover got caught in the “wild”.
Compared to the current Sportage the new model will be sportier and more aerodynamic. Although the vehicle is heavily disguised, it’s already apparent that the new Sportage will have a much sleeker shape than the rather ungainly current version. As any other new Kia, the new Sportage will also adopt Kia’s new corporate signature grille, penned by Peter Schreyer.
Under the hood, the 2010 Kia Sportage is expected to use a range of fuel efficient four-cylinder diesel and gasoline engines, while a well known 2.7 V6 is going to be discontinued. Base power will likely come from the 2.0L Theta II gasoline engine currently found on the all-new Forte sedan. There will also be a 2.4L gasoline powerplant and a range topping 2.0L R-diesel engine, developed in conjunction with Hyundai.
Developed over the period of 42 months, the R-diesel engine comes available in two sizes, as a 2.0L and 2.2L engine. The smaller one churns out 184 horsepower and will also be used to propel the 2010 Hyundai Tucson, while the larger one generates a class-leading 200 hp and is used in the next generation Kia Sorento. Both diesel engines are compliant with Euro5 emission regulations!
Also new to the next generation Kia Sportage will be the all-new 6-speed automatic transmission, which has also been developed together with Hyundai.
These are only the first spy shots of the 2010 Kia Sportage and no doubt we will see more before it goes on sale. As we learned from a leaked Kia document that reveals the timeline of future Kia models, the next generation Sportage crossover will go on sale in South Korea in February 2010.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:14 am
panorama sunroof.. side line.. front headramp.. rearamp.. so..so so sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
it’s really sportage..?? but the grill isn’t tiger grill
June 4th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Yup, This is the 2010 Sportage! And it looks good!
June 4th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
i guess it’s based kue concept
June 4th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I hope its bigger, more X-Trail size, and has an alright 4WD system like the X-Trail.
June 4th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
So does that mean there won’t be any V6 engines available in the Sportage now?
June 4th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Looks like they are upsizing a little doesn’t it?
June 4th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Gee, if you can tell anything from that you’re good!!
June 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
According to latest reports, the new Sportage is not going to feature the V6!
June 4th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
i like the idea of a 4 cylinder only. We can go after the CRV crowd. Customers who want a 6V can get a Sorrento
June 4th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
The next Sportage should just offer the 2.0 and 2.4L in the states. I am sure it would be able to tow a small trailer or jet ski. The V6 would be nice but that is what the Sorento is for.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
It looks like it’s targeting the Mazda CX-7.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
It has the KND-4′s A piller and roofline. That’s all I can see so far.
June 5th, 2009 at 3:00 am
“It looks like it’s targeting the Mazda CX-7″
You’re joking aren’t you jtz?? I’m not a 100% sure about the CX7 but I know the CX9 is huge, people across my street have one, they are much bigger than the new Sorento even.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:17 am
It would be a joke if the Mazda CX-7 offered a V6 like the Mazda Tribute did. But since it doesn’t have a V6 it can’t compete with the Sorento. Just like this next Sportage doesn’t have a V6. So either the 2010 Sorento will be a CX-9 rival or the Mazda Tribute. Pssst. it has a 3.5L engine I really think that’s too much to to be considred a CX-7 rival and the CX-9 is more for the Sorento. So I’m pretty sure I know what I’m talking about. Now just give it turbo like the CX-7.
June 5th, 2009 at 5:04 am
CX-7 is not a big Utility at all, Id also say CX-7 competitor and RAV-4 nuker.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Big multi cilinders are archaisms…. If it performs well, I would even be happy with a three cilinder 1.6! And anyone who h
as never driven 1.1 CRDI Picanto should stop laughin’
June 5th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Kia’s got the state of the art R engine for diesel. dont need to make another 1.6 now…
June 5th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
The next new diesel engine from KIA will be the new 1.4 diesel first is on the no3 with great BHP.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
The Tribute is 174 inches long, the CX-7 is 184 inches long, and the CX-9 is about 200 inches long. The new Sorento is probably just a few inches bigger than the CX-7. The current Sportage is around 172 inches long so it’s more of a Tribute competitor. Kia doesn’t really have a crossover that competes with the CX-9. Even the larger Hyundai Veracruz barely competes with the CX-9 in terms of size.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Isn’t that the new hyundai tucson?????? thas is the same picture that appears in hyundaiblog.com
June 5th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Inches alone doesn’t make it a rival. What about the Kia Soul huh? It’s smaller than Cube and XB why are they rivals then if they have to be the same size? The CRV is smaller than the Rav 4 why are they rivals then? The Treverse is bigger than the Highlander? Why is GM always comparing that to the Highlander everytime it’s shown on TV and not the 4 Runner (because it’s a bof?) So if the Sorento is in the same class as the Highlander, isn’t the very big Treverse in the same class? Specking of class, when the CX-9 first came out, they compared it to the Highlander. The HHR is much bigger than the PT Cruiser why are they in the same class? usally, small SUVs have standard I4 engines and opional V6s.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
And speaking of size, the new Sportage looks around the same size as the CX-7. The Sorento is about the same size as the Lexus RX and they’re not in the same class. The BMW X6 looks like the size of the Ford Edge they’re not in the same class. I could go on forever. Engine sizes and horspower really determines what clas a car is in and not size. The VW bettle and Mini Coop is about the same size as the Rio but they aren’t in the same class are they?
June 6th, 2009 at 1:23 am
JTZ- I think interior volume is what decides “class”. The Honda Accord used to be a mid-sized sedan, but because it’s interior volume has increased so much it is now a full sized sedan.
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I need to see more of this vehicle to make any judgements on appearance. Sportage take off your clothes!
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June 6th, 2009 at 4:31 am
If engine size and hp define class, then the Mercedes C300 (3.0L V6 228 hp) and the Mercedes C63 AMG (6.2L V8 451 hp) are surely in differently classes.
June 6th, 2009 at 7:04 am
the pics cant tell us anything! more spy pics pls! pls! pls!
June 6th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Nah Manuel, thats the KIA picture above dawg. By the way, The Rio is in the B-Segment, though its the size of a C-segment Toyota Corolla.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
The Corolla is about a foot longer than the Rio sedan. The Yaris sedan is about the same size as the Rio sedan. The Forte is C-segment, like the Corolla.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I certainly hope that they don’t use the awful and antiquated 2.7 V6.
That engine gave the current generation Tucson/Sportage HORRIBLE fuel mileage figures. Owners were reporting averages as low as 17MPG combined. I have a neighbor who has a 2007 CR-V who is averaging around 25MPG combined over a 45,000 mile period.
With that being said, I think that this new Sportage is going to be a huge step up from the current Sportage. I am really looking forward to seeing the vehicle!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
The Theta II 2.4L has 2 more horsepower and only 9 less lb-ft of torque than the Sportage’s 2.7L V6, and it achieves 2-4 MPG better in the city, and 4-9 MPG better on the highway. (According to the figures in the Optima and Rondo)
June 28th, 2009 at 2:49 am
the Best automobile
August 24th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Интересно. Автору, как говорится, респект и уважуха.
December 27th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Что-то мне кажется, на вашем сайте развелось слишком много так называемых говн*комментатров, которым лишь бы ляпнуть чего-нибудь:)