Kia Sportage SUV - Practicality & boot space

It didn’t matter that the outgoing Sportage didn’t have the biggest boot in its class because it was still one of the most popular midsize SUVs, regularly appearing in our list of the UK’s best-selling cars. That the new one has a much bigger boot should make it even more appealing.

Kia Sportage interior space & storage

Four six-foot-tall adults will be comfortable in the Sportage because there’s plenty of legroom and shoulder room. There’s even enough headroom if you pick a trim level with the panoramic sunroof and doing so also ensures the cabin is flooded with light. Travelling with five adults on board will be a bit more of a squeeze but that’s true of most of the rivals to the Sportage.

It seems like Kia has channelled Skoda when it comes to useful features. The front seat headrests incorporate coat hangers, while there are additional hangers and even USB chargers in the seatbacks.

Boot space

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The Kia Sportage is blessed with up to 587 litres of boot space. That’s not only a huge increase on the previous model but a size that beats nearly all its main rivals too. It’s on a par with a family estate car, which should give some idea as to how useful the Sportage is at carrying big loads.

Fold the rear seats (this can be done individually using levers in the boot), and you’ll have a huge 1,780 litres to fill. The floor is flat to make loading easier and there isn’t a large load lip either.

We don’t have boot space figures for the plug-in hybrid yet but expect them to be lower due to the battery’s positioning.

Towing

In the old Sportage, the 134bhp diesel with an automatic gearbox could tow 1,600kg, so that’s likely to be the case for the same engine in this new model. The mechanically similar Hyundai Tucson can tow 1,650kg with a petrol engine but it’s not clear if the hybrid models will be able to tow.