Kia Motors has once again reiterated its credentials as one of the most reliable car manufacturers in the world, after its bestselling Sportage compact SUV passed Auto Motor und Sport’s (AMS) rigorous two-year reliability test without producing a single fault.
The German automotive enthusiast magazine challenged Kia’s famous quality credentials with a 100,000-kilometre endurance test over varying terrains to replicate a common ownership experience over 24 months. During all of AMS’s extensive and respected road-test history, no other SUV has achieved an entirely faultless record, placing the Kia Sportage as the highest-ever ranking SUV for all-round reliability. The Kia Sportage replaces the Skoda Yeti at the top of the class-related defect index, followed by the Audi Q5, Mercedes ML and Hyundai Tucson.
Since mid-2014, AMS’s editorial team has put the Kia Sportage through its paces with everyday operational use in a variety of driving conditions. While testing overall performance and reliability, the compact SUV was praised for its notable amount of space for the passengers, the generous cargo space, the smooth-running engine and the user-friendliness of the navigation system. The magazine tested a Kia Sportage 2.0 CRDi 184 Automatic with 135 kW (184 PS) and 4-wheel drive – Spirit version.
“We are very proud of the performance of our bestseller and this ‘Record for Eternity’ –
because zero defects are very difficult to undercut”, commented Steffen Cost, Managing Director (COO) of Kia Motors Deutschland. “In this demanding endurance test the Kia Sportage has proved that in addition to first-class design, modern technologies and comprehensive comfort, our brand also has an exceptionally high level of quality. This quality had already allowed Kia to secure first place in Auto Bild’s ‘Qualitätsreport 2015’.”
On the history of the Sportage, Cost noted, “When the first Kia Sportage rolled off the production line in 1993 it was one of the pioneers of the SUV category, which today is booming, and which Kia has decisively shaped. The fourth generation of the Kia Sportage has been on sale since January 2016 – a highly-developed compact SUV with a premium level interior, an award-winning exterior design, innovative comfort and safety technologies, a choice of highly efficient engines, the new GT Line sports version – and, naturally, the expected superior Kia quality.”
In addition to its class-leading quality, the Kia Sportage boasts the highest levels of safety and an industry-best warranty.
In 2015, the new Kia Sportage passed the safety test Euro NCAP with the highest rating of “5 stars”. The assistive safety technologies available as standard on the new Sportage include traffic sign recognition, lane keeping assist system, lane change assist, cross traffic alert and autonomous emergency braking assistant. City, Urban and pedestrian protection features are also available, depending on the trim line.
The 7-year Kia quality pledge includes the 7-year Kia mobility guarantee, the 7-year Kia navigation maps update (for models with factory-installed map navigation systems) and Kia’s famous 7-year Kia manufacturer's warranty (or 150,000 kilometers).
