Kia Sportage Service Manuals

About The Kia Sportage

When the Kia Sportage first came on sale it was a compact SUV much like the Hyundai Santa Fe at that time.

The first models were produced during the early 1990s and the company used a Mazda Bongo platform to construct it.

Kia provided the low-cost manufacturing side while Ford and Mazda provided the technology to make the Sportage possible.

First Generation Sportage

The Sportage wasn’t a successful line for the company partly due to its poor crash-testing results from the Australian agency ANCAP who found the structure would collapse.

It was however offered in a variety of different forms in order to take advantage of the market including a convertible that was produced in low volume.

After several embarrassing recalls and Kia being acquired by Hyundai the name was barely used but retained for the second generation when it would be revived.

Second Generation Sportage

Kia took the Sportage name and completely changed the line for the 2005 model year.

They took the platform that the Hyundai Elantra is built upon and added an SUV-style body to it in order to create a compact crossover SUV.

This led to a vehicle that handled like a normal road-going car with many other benefits including lower running costs due to its reduced weight.

It was a much higher quality car than the first generation Sportage and instantly won an audience of admirers.

Hyundai also introduced their own compact crossover SUV using the same platform that they marketed as the Tucson.

Motoring publications were pointing out that it was cheap to insure as well as much more reliable than the average car on the market.

Safety ratings for the car had improved from one star to two stars with side protection improving but roof protection remaining weak.

Third Generation Sportage

In 2010 the third generation came onto the market for the first time and now the car had a wider range of engines.

It continued to go on to gain more awards including “Top Safety Pick”, a fair sight from the previous model that occupied the lower end of the safety scale.

This new Sportage boasted five out of five stars for safety with the American crash testing agency IIHS.

Fourth Generation Sportage

For the 2015 fourth-generation Sportage the safety ratings for the car continued to improve with all tests scoring “Good” or better with no disciplines letting it down.

The IIHS again awarded the car “Top Safety Pick” which when paired with its budget price helped the car stick out on the market.

Its range of engines was further extended with three different diesel options available now and six different gasoline powerplants.

Fifth Generation Sportage

For the 2021 model year, the fifth-generation Kia Sportage was introduced and now the car had been moved onto the Hyundai-Kia N3 platform.

It now shares its platform with a wider variety of lines from Kia and Hyundai including the Sonata, Santa Fe and Sorento.

This new model has options for various hybrid drivetrains along with new all-terrain features that embrace technology to help with traction rather than heavy mechanical components.