The Kia’s good value is its strongest virtue. By Roy Lewis.

9:00am Thursday 17th July 2008

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YOU could be throwing money away by choosing an MPV, 4x4 or an estate when something more compact might make financial and environmental sense.

In these belt-tightening times, a lot of families wanting a new vehicle are trying something smaller and cheaper to buy and run.

Take the Kia Sportage, a robust and good-looking soft-roader, which has been regularly one of the UK’s seven best-selling SUVs, chiefly because its value is a strong virtue. It is reasonable on the pocket to run and has good build qualities.

It may wear the Kia badge, but for some time the Sportage was assembled in Germany while, more recently, production is at the company’s state-of-the-art factory in Slovakia where Kia is so confident about the quality and refinement, it has given the vehicle an industry-beating seven-year, bumper-to-bumper 100,000-mile warranty which will give buyers peace of mind.

Besides the advantage of being very well-built, the five-seat Sportage is looking better than ever and improving sales show that it is meeting the expectations of buyers.

The growing stature of the Kia brand has also helped the well-equipped Sportage climb the pecking order against fairly well-established rivals and boast sell-on values equal to, if not far better, than some rivals.

The exterior has come in for some subtle re-styling, the interior has been refreshed with better-quality materials and there is the option if fuel-saving two-wheel-drive and diesel automatic versions, offered for the first time. Kia decided to produce the front-wheel-drive-only versions in answer to buying patterns and tastes. Motorists say they want them mainly for their better fuel economy and CO2 emissions when compared to their four-wheel-drive counterparts.

Well worth considering is the 2.0-litre turbo diesel with automatic transmission and two-weel-drive. The lighter two-wheel-drive cars are also cheeper to buy at under £14,000 as against the four-wheel-drive priced at a touch over £15,000.

As one might expect, the frugal 2.0-litre diesel unit is proving the favourite but there is a popular 2.0-litre petrol with variable valve timing and a compact all-alloy 2.7-litre V6 petrol with a standard four-speed automatic gearbox for those wanting plenty of pace.

Take to the road and you’ll find the Sportage is now better to drive and handles more like a saloon. Suspension changes have benefited the ride no end and have helped to virtually eliminate the body roll that used to be prevalent.

The disc brakes are bigger and better and the steering has been tuned to give more positive feedback, particularly for the press-on driver.

Most noticeable changes inside are the size and positioning of the seats. They are longer and wider with the driver’s seat getting extra lumbar support which makes it very comfortable. Finding a good driving position easy.

The rear seats split 60:40, fold flat and are now mounted lower to give a little more comfort for passengers.

Thankfully, the newer cars carry the spare wheel internally rather than having it mounted on the rear door which used to make boot access cumbersome. Now the large tailgate lifts high and sports an independent flip-up rear window for handy access to the large luggage area.

All versions have plenty of the latest electronic wizardry and embrace a strong security and safety package. All the cars get six airbags, air-conditioning, remote central locking, all-round electric windows, mirrors and alloy wheels.

XS versions have climate control, cruise control and leather upholstery while the Titan models supplement this with ESP stability control, privacy glass, heated seats and an electric sunroof.

At-a-glance.

Kia Sportage 2.0-litre CRDi 2WD automatic XS.

Price: £17,695.

Top speed: 108mph.

0-62mph: 15.1 seconds.

Fuel: 35.3mpg (combined figure).

C02 emissions (g/km): 210.

Verdict: Great value with reasonable running costs. Industry-leading warranty, well-built, improved driving.