Inside, the theme of the Sportage maturing takes the form of a growth spurt; there’s more room in all directions than there used to be (+5 mm front headroom, +16 mm rear headroom, +2 mm front legroom, +7 mm rear legroom and +10 mm front shoulder room; rear shoulder room remains the same) and an additional 58 L of cargo space, which grows by 70 L if you lower the adjustable cargo floor. Add the fact that the standard panoramic moonroof you get on EX Premium models and above has grown by 213 mm in length, and the cockpit is an airy place to be.

It’s also spacious enough in the back seat, even for six-foot-plus people like myself. The cockpit is, for the most part, a very comfortable place to be. It looks great, too; two new brown leather interior tints have been added to the greys and black that were available previously, and they look fantastic. Yes, they’re only available on the EX Premium and up, but if you’re going to go that way, it’s nice to have the choice. Otherwise, though, you’re left with two cloth seating options and one leather, all finished in black. The interior ergonomics, styling and space usage is mostly very good.

Except for one notable problem.

A six-speed automatic transmission is standard, and there is a manual mode that’s activated by bumping the shift lever to the left. This is nothing new. The trouble is, when you do this, the shape of the lever had it digging into my leg, and we’re not talking just brushing here; it’s uncomfortable to the point where I couldn’t stand it for more than 5-10 minutes. SX models provide paddle shifters that can be used to activate manual mode (leaving the lever in “D” and thus, out of your way), so that’s good; trouble is, you only get them on the SX. Anything else, and I know I would hardly be using the manual mode.

Everything else, though, is good; the view out has been improved by using more high-tensile steel for the A-pillars, allowing them to be thinner, thereby obstructing less of your view out. The rear window is nicely sized, too (it’s grown 30 mm in height), which is nice. And hey, if your rear passengers’ heads are in your way, just tell them to recline the seat, right? Well, maybe not, but it’s nice that the option is there.

If the modifiable floor and the almost 870 L of cargo space it provides in its low setting isn’t enough, the rear seats can be folded nearly flat, eventually resting at 8 degrees, which isn’t too bad and shouldn’t infringe too much on long-item storage and transport.

Kia’s UVO infotainment system hasn’t changed all that much from previous, which is no bad thing as it’s an intuitive, responsive interface that looks modern enough. Could it have a brighter colour palette? Maybe. Larger buttons? Perhaps, but the only real fault that we found was a navi map that could use a little more detail.

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