KIA SPORTAGE

Was this family-focused hybrid SUV able to take some of the stress out of being a busy journalist with a young child?

- RACHEL BURGESS

FINAL REPORT

MILEAGE 4235

WHY WE RAN IT

Does Kia still hold its own in the throng of sensible crossovers?

Hardly an encounter during which I said I was driving a Kia Sportage ever went by without the response: "Oh, they're meant to be good, aren't they?" or "Oh, we're looking at one of those."

Such is the power of Kia these days: its overall sales rose 10% last year and it now accounts for a not inconsiderable 6% of the market. The Sportage could be called its mainstream flagship. No car is more relevant than a decent family-sized SUV these days, right? The Sportage isn't an exciting car, but that's not its modus operandi.

Where it excels is in its practical everyday abilities, proving time and time again how easy it is to take on a local shop run or to munch miles on longer trips while full to the brim with passengers and their luggage.

It's an irrelevant comparison, I know, but I was lucky enough to have some time in a Bentley Flying Spur S Hybrid recently, and while it's every bit as brilliant as our 4.5star road test suggests, sometimes (perhaps foolishly) I found myself opting for the Sportage. It was just easier to do the farm shop run or parallel park on the road. But yes, of course I would still love to have a Flying Spur S Hybrid...