Should You Buy a KIA SPORTAGE MK3? (Test Drive & Review 2015 2.0 CRDi KX4) 

Before buying any used car, it's important to check it's history. Use the link below for a 10% discount or Discount Code HIGHPEAK : www.carvertical.com/gb/landing/v3?a=HighPeakAutos&b=38b26e3a&voucher=highpeakautos

I can't say too much, but I'm from a main dealer workshop. If one of these has a 1.6 GDI engine, it has to have been looked after (no services missed), biggest problem being disappearing oil and compression loss in the end. The oil change interval is quite long, and many don't have a service reminder - so not every owner cared enough! Missing a service can mean game over. Scenarios like that aren't uncommon and not at moon mileages. A new 'short block' is the common route - but remember, that 7 year cover is gone for most of these. So be prepared for a big bill unless you buy wisely. The 1.6, 1.7 and 2.0 diesels are quite good and can last a long while. The 2.0 is a downsized Sorento engine and although agricultural, is very tough. Oil changes are very important for the 1.6/1.7s too as they can suffer sludge problems if not maintained properly. Check for bowed radiator bases on the diesels. Warranty covers this, it's likely been replaced already but worth checking the history. Early in the model run there was actually a 2.0 petrol, twin cam, which was port injected. That's a great engine. If you're looking at these SLs for yourself, by all means buy one of those, it's the pick of the bunch if you don't want a diesel. Overall a good buy if reasonably priced/cared for - comfortable, good driving position and very practical. I could write a book about this model but not for public viewing!

My 2011 sportage has 312k+ miles and is still running great!

This is a very popular car here in Australia. They are very reliable and competitively priced. The seven-year warranty was a smart move by Kia. With fixed-price servicing and seven-year warranty they represent safe, reliable motoring with no nasty surprises. I bought a Kia Optima in 2010, over the next 11 years I did 220,000 kilometres and the only issue I had was an air-conditioning compressor. It still had the same brake pads and discs when I sold it. The new Kia Sportage is a beautiful car.

I was a long time Ceed owner, same year as this Sportage. Did 90,000 miles in it. Overall very reliable and Kia were good with the warranty, Ironically had all the issues you mentioned other than the sunroof.

If you want a genuine review of a vehicle no other channel comes close, thanks Matt..👍🏻😁

As far as small SUV’s are concerned, very well designed.

Thanks Matt, great to see the real world motors for real world people getting the road test treatment.

I drove a Sportage 2017 2.0D KX3 for a while as a business car. Leather front and rear seats, Lane assist, amazing JBL audio, and loads of spec. Great car, just underpowered.

Great video once again, Matt! Really impressed with your attention to detail! I know where to come for my next car! 😊

Another winner Matt. I had the ix35 counterpart until recently. Just edged it over the Kia with the interior and push button go. I'm always a bit giddy to see a new videos up and you never disappoint. Keep on truckin'

Thank you Matt. I thought u didn't bother about the comment i did on one of your previous vids asking for a review on the sportage, but u actually did make a review.🙏

Yes! I’ve been waiting for this. Recently bought a 2021 GTLine-S 1.6 petrol turbo with DCT and love it! It’s been a long time since I had a car that I go for a drive in for no particular reason but I do with this one. First thing I did was open the pan roof, clean and dress the rubber seals and lithium grease the running tracks. Thanks for the video Matt, your assessment was fair and true as always 😎

Blinder Matt, liked this video 👌👏they’re great little run arounds on A Roads and fantastic family run around town and easy for parking spaces in blighty. Affordable to run with a good solid warranty too

Hi Matt, great video, thank you. I had the 1.7 diesel and put 160,000 miles on it, over 4 and a half years. Apart from EGR valve , all was good. They look great in white

Matt great video as ever giving you real facts on good and bad things on cars.

Ive had a mk3 sportage,and i would highly recommened one,ive owned bmw's,a jag and hot hatches and the sportage was the best car ive owned.

Back in 2015 I hired a Focus, but they 'upgraded' me to a Sportage in the same spec as this one. I thought it was a downgrade at first as I always thought of Kia as a budget brand, but quickly changed my mind. Did just over 1000 miles over a few days, me and three others, all our luggage and it was brilliantly comfortable, refined and surprisingly economical. Tried to talk my mum into one when she was changing her car. She went for a Qashqai instead which was horrifically unreliable!

Hi Matt, been following you for a while now and I was hoping you'd do a Kia Sportage as I've recently purchased a 2016 Axis model. Everything you mention in this video, I would 100% agree with. Top man 👍

Hello Matt, nice review, seem like good cars. Thanks for taking the time to upload another video. Ged

You answered my question I asked in a previous video about the nissan qashqai, cheers mate. Great videos and very knowledgeable

Great car. Owned KX4 for 4 years from new and it never missed a beat. Dealers were excellent too. Free puncture repairs and washes. Only downside seats not that comfy on long trips. Still had 3 years warranty left and dealer snatched my hand off when I eventually sold it.

Thanks for Posting This Matt! I found by using preventative maintenance was my best bet. I tend to change the oil and filters every 5K and service every 10K. Mostly with that my cars ran sweetly.

Looks a decent motor matt another great video wouldn't hesitate to buy a car off you just pay the money and drive off your honesty and knowledge is brilliant keep em coming 👍

Hey Matt, We love the one we bought from you a couple of years back. Reasonable on Diesel and very reliable. Always loved the Sportage shape and driving position. Glad we found a good one!

Great review, very informative, many thanks.

I had a 2011, 2.0 petrol; similar colour as the one reviewed. I absolutely loved it. I had to sell it though as I just couldn't live with horrible fuel consumption. I'm now planning to get the 2.0 CRDi, ideally; same colour.

Always just super content mate. Cheers

'hired one of these when visiting the in-laws a couple of years back I was very impressed. Good smooth diesel and handling when fully loaded. They (the in-laws) were in their 90s and it was a perfect height for getting them in and out. Did a sprint from York to Pickering to catch the Whitby steam train. I did test drive the petrol version here in NZ but prefer the diesel or frankly, the newer Kia models which seem quieter and more modern all round. Still, it's a good solid looking and competent car for a good price.

I really like these. Had a 2017 GT a few years ago. Great car and spec. Really impressed by the new electric. One of the best looking on the market.

Here in NZ these seem very popular with young mums. There's always heaps turning up at the local playcentre. That ease of loading and unloading seems to give them a big advantage over traditional family wagons.

Hi Matt Kia have come a long way since they first arrived in the uk great video hope you are well best wishes ian

Such a brilliant car. My dad had an IX35 with the 1.7 diesel as a company car and he was extremely impressed with it’s equipment and reliability. Without wishing to sound like every armchair-toyota expert, it did 60k and genuinely didn’t need anything apart from servicing, brakes and tyres. The only issue he had was a breakdown which was the result of some dodgy fuel (my mum had exactly the same issue at exactly the same time from the exact same diesel). Very impressive cars, id say the sofa-caster wheels that some models of Sportage came on ride very well too. Cheers Matt, great video 👍🏼👍🏼

I got 2 of these. Absolutely love them .mine 2012 absolutely mint. And is stunning. Love them mate.

I had one when they first came out. Brilliant car never went wrong loved it

Matt, a fantastic review of the Kia Sportage. I have the model that you were driving. I did 160,000 miles before the clutch had to be changed with sensible driving it would have gone on a little longer; however, the majority of my driving was on the motorway. The seats on a long journey are extremely comfortable. The sunroof issue is easily resolved with a little WD-40; the rear parking camera went fairly quickly, but I decided not to incur the expense of having it repaired. I have had many cars over the years; this is one of the very best for comfort on a long journey.

Love your work 👍

Hey Matt, I think you got the title mixed with the other Kia you got

great review matt ive just bought the exact same car the kx4 model i find it a real nice car to drive

I have the 2022 Sportage and tbh I love it! Especially on the motorway, cruise on, auto steering (ish) on...I even like the weird styling of it 😂

I quite like these, will be on the shortlist for next time.

I have the facelifted 2019 version of this (gas, auto, no sunroof but otherwise loaded), and its been an A+ ownership experience just like my 2013 Forte 5-door before it.

Loved the video

I'm starting to reach 80k now in my 2004 Corsa 1.2, I bought it for £600 nearly 4 years ago with 27912 miles on the clock, 2 owners (Husband then Widow, so technically 1 owner). I'm thinking of changing but I do all my own Maintenance and getting anything newer is daunting, the Electronics now means the Home diy Mechanic can't afford to maintain their own Car.

Perfect video, cheap affordable car with general rule of thumb repairs

Good review Matt.Not as competant as 2015 on CRV i dtec but still much better than a lot out there.Prefer the video's with no music Matt...the Eos one was a bit 54173.

I think about Kia Sportage as the tool you need to do the job with low costs . Has any off-road capability? I know that the Sorento use to have. Awesome vid, as always Matt

Hi Matt, excellent video as per usual. How about a BMW Z4 2016 hard top convertible for a raffle. Thanks 👍👍👍😎

Nice video the wife has has the sportage kx3 and ix35 premium great cars and yep clutch went on the 4x4. I have 2016 sorrento kx3 equally a great car and dealers do honour it even 6 yrs and 11 months in.

Great video as always. Love this channel!! I have a 2017 MK4 Sportage 2 and am considering selling it soon. Nothing wrong with it, but I find the 1.6l petrol a bit gutless. Not sure what to go for next? I want another SUV and want something sub-20K.

I can agree that the Sportage III and the ix35 are pretty good cars, not perfect but they're nice. In 2021 we bought a 2012 ix35 2.0 2WD with low 15.000miles the touchscreen froze when I handed the car over to the second owner, unfortunite but happens. The 2.0 Theta 4 cylinder gas engines are somewhat noisy for being gas port injection engines and the later 2.0 GDI had lots of recalls in the U.S don't know about the European market but I guess they got all of the fire risk problems solved. The 1.6 GDI is a quiet and fine unite not super fast but pretty good if it's used mainly in town and outside of city. The 2.0 CRDi is acutally pulling good on the autobahn and not to loud I agree on the MPG in the midrange, the 1.7 CRDi is more conversative but also does the job well. No particular problems with DPF, EGR valves or timing chains like you'd get on a much more expensive X3 or turbo problems like in a GLK :) The steering wheel gets shabby real fast tho on every Kia of that era but not Hyundais idk why.

I’ve actually driven one of these and the ix35 because I live on a farm where I drive my family’s cars. They drive quite nicely

My next door neighbour has had one for a few years with no issues so can't be that bad. His is a 2015 model and it looks really nice.

An ex-gf bought a new one ( 1.6 petrol ) when they came out in early 2011. I liked it. She loved it. She changed it after 3 years to a similar shape Mazda something (though it was a bit bigger) with a 2.0 litre engine. Counter-intuitively (at least for me), the Mazda with a bigger engine got 25% better mileage.

I got to stage where i just simply like the video before, I’ve even watched as i know it will be a great review. And most importantly balanced and fair judged as we know nothing compares to your Range Rover haha.

I have owned a kia sorento from New. I had a major problem ie engine seized 96000 miles I called kia and they replaced engine free of charge OUT OF THE GARANTEE no quibble.

Had a2017 gt line 1.6 petrol turbo, lovely reliable car, also have owned 2 sorento’s reliable hassle free motoring on a budget.

Great car and a golden warrenty. I had a few issues. All was dealt with by KIA. I sold it when moving abroad with 2 years remaining warranty. I didn't even get it advertised. Waiting for the ferry to Norway, my phone rang. A friend called me. He has heard around town, that I wanted to sell, and a deale was sealed going in to the "belly" of the boat.

Hang on here a minute, we have a problem here from the Korean peninsula !!!! So instead of sending general MacArthur to sort things out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bloody brilliant 🙏🙏

Another common issue with the 4th gen kia Sportage, especially 1.7 diesel, The synchromesh in the gearbox fails. Just had mine done. 6th gear was crunching. Cost me £1500 and kia wanted to charge me just to see if it was under the 7 year warranty. Other than that ive had my kia for 12 months and i love it! Proper family car

Matts sharp wit is super scalpel sharp here. The general McArthur reference was slick and witty, even more than usual

Please review kia optima diesel if you get a chance great video

Honest, calm, and informative. What exactly do you need more? One question though, Matt, on this particular model, do you hear, a few minutes after starting the car, some kind of "whine" sound when you're inside. I have the same model and I have this type of "noise". It's pretty quiet though, just wondering if it's normal, maybe coming from the turbine? And another thing, you've said that the auto transmission should get service about 80K or 90K. I've spoken with the official dealer in my country and they said this particular model does not require changing the oil at all. At least this is the official KIA advice.

Hi Matt and thanks for this latest review, I drive a 2014 1.7 KIA Sportage with the level 4 trim, I bought it 3 years ago as I had suffered a back injury and I needed something that was going to easy to get in and out of, the Sportage fitted the bill perfectly, I had initially intended to keep it for a year until I got my fitness back, but here I am three years later and still driving it. The reason is that I haven't found anything else yet that gives me the room and versatility that the KIA does. It has most of the options that I need, most importantly the heated steering wheel, first World problems eh? I agree with your summation, that it does everything well but does nothing great. Test drove a Mazda CX5 on Sunday but found that my left leg was trapped against the centre console and just a bit too tight for my needs. Anyway great review, all the best...🙂

I had an ix35 Hyundai, which is very similar. I still wish I hadn’t got rid of it. I loved it.

Man, you would FLIP over the 2023 edition!!!

I love my mk4. Bought it with 87k on. It's a 1.7 and spec 2, Other than a few stonechips it's been great. Came with an issue with the synchro in 4th gear but had it replaced along with a new dual mass flywheel and clutch under warranty. Its an odd one as some of the 1.7's have a dual mass and some don't.

🎶🎶🎶🎶Blasting out the High Peak intro to cure my hangover (and man-flu) woes! 🎶🎶🎶🎶

I did smile at the MacArthur reference, you really do like you your history and I enjoy it when it comes through in the videos :)

Great review as always Matt! We’ve just traded a 1.6 petrol Hyundai IX35 for a Disco Sport. I’ve always thought the Sportage and IX35 are overlooked. They offer far better value than their Japanese equivalents

We have a 71 plate diesel mild hybrid and had over 60mpg from the border to Silverstone. Its a great car as you say . It had the tensioner problem but it was a quick one fortunately. We also kept the 10 reg Qashqai 2.0dci we have had since new and has 177k on the clock and tbh it's been fine so far . And a thanks to some of your earlier videos we got a diesel Rav 4 to replace my MSport E46 coupe and its great too so thanks for the advice . All I have to do now is actually get rid of the German lodger!!

I had this exact model. Great car.

Isn't it amazing how South Korea can produce such competent cars that now look good and highly competitive. 'Such a shame the UK has barely any presence at all...

Nice review for the more everyday car. We own the same model called a Platinum here in Australia. 80k ks auto, great little car, just missing the rear vents for rear passengers. Not sure if I'll get 300k ks like my 2010 camry v6 though..

next edition looks better inside and out. 2016 onwards. although avoid the 1.6 petrol if you want to move

At the time they came out I loved the styling of the Sportage mk3 but now I feel its dated quite badly, in contrast I have always hated the look of the mk4 and the new Sportage I absolutely love the look of. 7 year warranty is real peace of mind and could save you a huge amount of money over a car that has a 3 year warranty and ends up with transmission or engine failure after 3 years, not that uncommon sadly. I prefer Japanese cars but my current car is Korean made and I've had it for about 9 years and done nothing to it and not had a single fault.

Great video, I have the LX.

I had the mk4 for a few years now great cars no problem with it

I think the mk 3 set the standard for suv style. When you think about the tat vauxhall were turining out and then all of a sudden kia made the category stylish.

A turbo diesel? Wish we got those in America. (Even though diesel engines are only popular in large, commercial trucks over here.) Would have made the Sportage reliable. Instead we get petrol engine ones only. The kind that were recalled about 2 years back for setting themselves on fire.... while parked! Funny thing is, KIA didn't actually fix the issue. Just put a Stop-gap measure in place, but then did nothing. Good to know that reliable and safe Sportages exist in other parts of the world.

I have a 2018 sport age and love it, may trade up to new one next year.

Double thumbs up 👍

Another good video 🚘🚙🚗⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍👍

Big up from Scotland 👍

Need to see a video on the d-max u got in stock lad.

Im on my second petrol Sportage and I actually prefer the 16 reg one over my 19 reg. The newer car comes with a lot of useless gizmos and the steering is woeful. The older car like yours had the sun roof, and full leather and was actually more pleasant to drive. Also the mpg is rubbish for a modern car. So there you go - so 6 years Sportage ownership makes me a sort of expert. Next car will probably be a Toyota

Now on my 3rd Sportage, 2012,2016 and now 2018. Gets all my fishing gear in.

Hi Matt.. Have you heard about the huge engine problems for the Kia Mild Hybrid 1.6 diesel. My father in law's partner has one (from new) and its been in for repairs 3 times now. Looking on the WWW it seems to be a huge problem that Kia are NOT being up front / honest about and trying to sweep under the carpet.. Anyway i have watched several of your reviews and found them to be very informative.. Cheers

Hi Matt have you repaired a Skoda VRS recently and would you auction one . great show as per .

I sat in a Mazda3 at the weekend, wow what a place.

Can you review a ssangyoung please love the vids

Thanks Matt for more Korean car reviews. The ix35 looks a bit better in my opinion

I do like his videos, very straight talking (prefer people like this) your review of the Golf R made me laugh, I'm not a typical Golf R driver I obey the rules, only thing to work on are your Dad jokes, (I host classes to help) great video 👊🏽

All very similar as my old Hyundai Tucson MK1 05 I got a same and more on my ,. you'll love to see old review on Hyundai Tucson MK1

The 3rd gen was a wake up for sure , I really like the sportage but never had one .

Thank you 👍👍

As ever good honest review. The old Kia’s styling leaves a bit to be desired n they’re a big lump of Korean plastic but good value if on a budget. Like to see you do a review of the Kia “Robert De” Niro hybrid when u get 1 in as seem to be a popular hybrid mid SUV and think the mk3 series on look good.

Absolutely loved my 2014 KX3 but unfortunately i had an accident and it got written off. Currently driving a 2019 Skoda karoq 2.0 TSI sportline which is great, its much faster and has loads more tech, but for some reason I'm still really missing my sporty 😒

My only issue is rattling noises at 80,000 miles. That doesn't bold well in terms of interior quality over time. My 2012 Outback with 110,000 miles runs perfectly without any rattles or squeaks from the buttons

Matt, my understanding is that the Hyundai IX35 of 2015 is basically the same car.... do you have one of those around you can review? We're looking at part exing our SX4 for one and it seems to fit the bill. Probably the 2.0 CRDI, maybe the 1.7 diesel. If it is the same car, then they are £2k cheaper roughly. **edit just seen you mention the IX35. I should learn patience.