A funkier looking sibling to the Hyundai Tucson, the new generation Kia Sportage is about to make its way to North America. The official unveiling of the U.S.-spec compact crossover will take place later today, at 2:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. PDT / 20:00 CET), and will be streamed online.
Thus, if you want to catch the first official glimpse of the vehicle, then you have come to the right place, because the live stream is embedded at the bottom of the page.
We already know what the 2023 Kia Sportage will look like, because it will mirror the design of the one sold in South Korea. It will feature a wide front grille, flanked by the boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights, smaller taillights than its predecessor, and the company’s new corporate logo bedecking various parts of the exterior.
The badge will also be displayed on the new multi-function steering wheel inside, which sits in front of the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, next to the infotainment system that has an identical size in the Asian variant. The seats are separated by a wide armrest, and in front of it, Kia incorporated the push-start button, gear selector, controls for the heated seats, and other buttons. Premium audio, smartphone integration, and the brand’s latest driver assistance functions will be on deck.
Details surrounding the powertrain family will be announced in a few hours. Meanwhile, we will remind you that the international variant is offered with different engines, including the 1.6-liter turbo-four with 177 hp, 227 hp self-charging hybrid, 261 hp plug-in hybrid, and 183 hp 2.0-liter diesel that we wouldn’t hold our breath for over here. An all-wheel drive system will be included in the upper specs, but lesser models will have to make do with front-wheel drive only.
Pricing is expected to be announced sometime next year, as that is when the first units of the car will start arriving at dealers nationwide.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News