2022 Kia Sportage shares its underpinnings with its cousin Hyundai Tucson and is also expected to borrow the latter’s engine options
Kia will be introducing the new generation Kia Sportage globally later this year. The SUV holds a lot of significance for the Korean automaker’s international line of products. Test mules of the upcoming crossover SUV wrapped under heavy camouflage have been spotted on multiple occasions.
A speculative rendering based on a recent spy video under a similar camouflaged prototype has come up on the internet. A video of the rendered design has been uploaded on YouTube that suggests possible design highlights for the upcoming mid-size SUV.
Rendered Exterior Styling
The front end of this rendered Sportage gives Lamborghini Urus vibes that feature trapezoidal-shaped LED headlamp clusters with integrated LED turn indicators. Headlights are flanked by a larger Tiger Nose front grille while front bumper houses wider and longer central air intake vents. Lower fascia comprises twin horizontal slats that run across the entire width and are flanked by LED fog lamps on each side.
Moving towards the side profile, we witness a slightly redesigned window area along with new door-mounted ORVMs. At rear, the SUV is expected to flaunt a pair of new single-piece LED taillamps and completely revised tailgate and bumpers.
The previous spy shots didn’t show any signs of a faux skid plate on either end of the crossover. The blacked-out roof extends into the tailgate-mounted spoiler. Other exterior highlights include a pair of roof rails and black cladding around the wheel arches and side body.
Expected Powertrain options
There are no clear images of its interior as of now but we expect the cabin to be as impressive as its exterior design. The SUV is underpinned by the same platform as Hyundai Tucson and will feature multiple powertrain options across different international markets including diesel, petrol and hybrid power plants.
The base variants are likely to be offered with a 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol motor that churns out 187 bhp and 241 Nm of peak torque. The hybrid powertrain option is expected to feature a 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine paired to an electric motor that returns a combined output of 226 bhp and 350 Nm of peak torque. A plug-in hybrid variant is also speculated to be in development which is slated for a launch at a later stage.
It will be made available in both 2WD and 4WD setups with additional options of short wheelbase and long wheelbase configurations. New Kia Sportage is scheduled to make its global debut within a few weeks and is expected to go on sale towards the end of this year or early 2022 in the US and European markets.
