The facelifted 2025 Kia Sportage has been revealed and we’re expecting this medium-sized SUV to be touching down on South African shores before the end of 2025.
The 2025 Kia Sportage facelift has been gradually rolled out globally with the US-grade and Korean market derivatives already confirmed, the latter is the car you see here.
The current shape Sportage’s sharp and futuristic looks have served it well, it still retains that fresh feel – not bad for a car that’s three years old. Yes, you read that correctly, this generation of Kia Sportage was launched in South Africa in September 2022.
The Sportage has been well received, with numerous awards (included a coveted #CarsAwards category win) and comfortably nestles in towards the top spot in terms of sales in many markets. However, its time for the facelift and as you can see, the visual updates aren’t too radical.
There’s an upgraded front with restyled LED headlights, new-look bumpers and new LED tail-lamp designs. It appears that quite a few design elements have been taken from the flagship electric car, the Kia EV9. There are new wheel designs, ranging from 17- to 19-inch in size.
The cabin gets a makeover too, with some additional sound deadening in the door pillars and panels, as well as digitalisation and tech enhancements in the form of upgraded software for the digital instrument cluster and infotainment screens, and over-the-air updates have been introduced. A head-up display makes its debut on the top-of-the-range derivatives.
There’s a posh-looking steering wheel that looks similar to the one found in the Kia Sportage, augmented reality views integrated into the satnav, built-in dashcam and the mirrors now dip down when you engage reverse gear. Kia has also updated its safety tech, noting the lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking have been upgraded.
In terms of powertrain, the Korean model has ditched the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission in favour of a new 8-speed torqe-converter automatic gearbox for the 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol motor, itself unchanged. We hope the 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel engine is retained as that powertrain is a class example for balancing of performance and economy.
When will the 2025 Kia Sportage come to South Africa?
Kia SA has confirmed the updated Sorento and Carnival range in the first half of 2025, with the Carens and Tasman indicated to arrive from the middle of 2025. There was no mention of the Sportage when we contacted the Korean brand for its 2025 plans at the end of 2024, so we suspect its local arrival will be right at the very end of the year.
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