Price puzzle prize winner
CAR South Africa|CAR July 2023
Kia cleverly adds three diesel options to the popular Sportage range, two of which have no direct price-range rivals
Braam Peens
Price puzzle prize winner

Price: R735 995
Engine: 1,6-litre, inline-four, turbo diesel 
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch 
Power: 100 kW @ 4 000 r/min
Torque: 320 N.m @ 2000-2 250 r/min 0-100 km/h: 11,4 seconds 
Top speed: 180 km/h* 
Fuel consumption: 4,9 L/100km (combined)*
CO₂ emissions: 129 g/km*
Rivals: Haval H6, Volkswagen Tiguan, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro, Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4

A quick - and considering the prime sometimes A the prices of new cars, scary and always cursory - glance across automotive segments provides a revelatory snapshot of buying trends across the South African passenger vehicle market.

Key takeaways are that nearly two-thirds of new-vehicle sales now originate from compact and medium-sized SUVs, within which manual-transmission equipped models have been continually losing their appeal, making petrol automatics almost the default choice.

And what of diesels?

There are a handful of options at the R300k-R400k entry point, a similar number between R700k and R900k and a raft of seven-digit price picks thereafter.

Between R500k and R700k, though, where what's left of the country's economically active middle-class is being forced to shop - there is not one.

Enter Kia, which trotted out a petrol derivative of the fifth generation Sportage in September 2022 (incidentally, a contender for the 2023 South African Car of the Year), and have finally gotten around to adding a trio of oil-burning derivatives to the five strong incumbent petrol-engined line-up.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة CAR July 2023 من CAR South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة CAR July 2023 من CAR South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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