I was provided a KIA Sportage SX (2017) to test drive and review. This is my opinion, and these are my photos. Your opinions may differ!
It’s time to celebrate the KIA 2017 Sportage SX, a compact sports utility vehicle. Hoot, holler, and get excited because there are 5 big reasons to love this car. I just got done test driving the Sportage, and I can tell you it is a sporty drive and does not make me feel like a ‘MOM’ when I am behind the wheel.
Finally, KIA sent me a compact SUV to test drive instead of those sedans, which really don’t fit my lifestyle and I couldn’t be more excited to share this ride with you.
Get ready for fabulous amenities, a reasonable sticker price, brilliant shining lights, and gas mileage that will let your credit card make bank! Let’s hit the road and check out the 5 reasons to get excited and love the 2017 KIA Sportage SX and lavishly live travel out loud.
Table of Contents
Who Will Love A Kia Sportage SX?
The perfect compact SUV for any family not ready to commit to a really big SUV or those transitioning out of sedans and trying an SUV for the first time.
Seating for up to 5 passengers and a generous cargo area really make the vehicle prime for those newly expanding families that need both sportability and cargo space for kid gear and shopping hauls.
Get Excited About the 2017 KIA SPORTAGE SX
The vehicle color was Burnished Copper with a black interior.
I loved the test drive in this car, and we have put some serious mileage on the vehicle. I have driven over the hills and through the woods for the holidays, driving on highways, and back roads, which leads me to my first favorite reason to Drive Kia!
My Video Overview Of The Kia Sportage SX
The MSRP on the KIA 2017 Sportage was $33,395 so a whole lot of amenities were built into this compact SUV.
This blows away the Kia Credenza from features to space, so skip that vehicle and look at this one instead!
Fuel Economy In The Kia Sportage SX Compact SUV
The 2017 KIA SPORTAGE compact SUV boasts a fuel economy of 21 MPG around town (starting, stopping, and city driving) while offering about 25 MPG on highway driving. You can tighten up the fuel economy using different drive modes, and that’s what we shall chat about next.
Kia Sportage SX Compact SUV + Drive Modes and Fuel Economy
Eco, Sport, and Standard are the three drive modes in the KIA SPORTAGE.
ECO
Now, while ECO is great for reducing air conditioner and acceleration, I might refer to it as sluggish to start. I would never suggest using ECO mode for highway merging or where the call for acceleration is very necessary, as it is like waking someone out of a nap during slug mode.
It seems to me, after trying all of the modes over and over again, that ECO is also good for once you have achieved the speed you want (highway driving), I would then kick into ECO mode. ECO mode is not for that fast responsiveness you need unless you will bare down hard on the acceleration to make it respond.
Normal Mode
I used normal a lot at the beginning until I could figure out which mode made the most sense. I call Normal Mode the catch-all mode. If I did not know if I was spending time in town or on the highway, I just touched the button and left it in Normal. Acceleration was available when needed, and normal starts and stops at red lights, with no hesitancy like in ECO mode.
I am okay using it to make a difference in our environment and around town where the car sits in traffic or stops a lot, but in that pickup-and-go situations, not so much!
Sport
Let ’em rip, baby is what I can say here because WOW, the car just pulls ahead, and it’s great for lane changing. The steering on SPORT rocks the ride, and honestly, I tried to get into situations that would call for sport (highway driving –merging, lane changing, etc.). I just got giddy every time I changed into this mode and had fun with it; what can I say I love my test drives.
Light em’ Up
Want to talk about an exciting lighting package on a vehicle? The KIA SPORTAGE will light your drive up! We have been high-beamed on a regular occasion, and I snickered every time, and then, of course, I ‘showed em’ what I got! Let me translate this for you: “Yeah, that’s right, I flicked on the high beams to show them my car was just exceptionally lit and that the crisp illumination from the Dynamic Bending lights is what I truly love.
The lights are bright, and the bending lights improve your cornering visibility because the headlight beam moves into the upcoming turn, which makes it brilliant and smart, and very functional for traveling at night!
High Beam Assist
As I have already discussed how many times I was ‘flashed’ by oncoming cars to let me know I had my high beams on, I know they were wrong because the 2017 KIA SPORTAGE has High Beam Assist.
High Beam Assist detects oncoming cars (when you have it activated), and it AUTOMATICALLY Dims those headlights from high beams to low beams. All you do is put your high beams on, and the vehicle takes over from there auto adjusting the lights!
Let The Sun Shine In
This is an oversized panoramic sunroof that starts at the front of the driver’s seat and ends behind the passenger backseats truly letting you take in the fresh air or enjoy the free lighting!
Overall Impression + The Cargo Space
I will say that the vehicle is perfect for those who have never had a compact SUV Or SUV.
I did not like the interior lighting, as I felt it indeed lacked spectacular illumination, especially when I was searching for buttons or items I had with me. So a no-go as far as interior lights.
The day that we went and picked up a bike for home use, it fit, but if I had had kids with me, the decision of “the bike or the kids” would need to have been answered as I had to fold the seats down and move my the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat up a lot to make it fit. This car is best for smaller families or couples wanting a sporty ride without blowing the budget.
A video with a forewarning: Let me apologize for the windiness ahead of time, as you will hear in the video.
The vehicle provided for the test drive, story, and images is my own.