2005 Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage: For Chronic S.U.V. Itch, a 2nd Opinion

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BEHIND THE WHEEL

2005 Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage: For Chronic S.U.V. Itch, a 2nd Opinion


The Tucson (left) is an entirely adequate vehicle, if a bit less interesting than its Kia cousin. Meanwhile, Kia's Sportage is suddenly a contender among small S.U.V.'s.

By JEFF SABATINI

Published: May 8, 2005


OVER the last couple of years, three significant things have happened to me. First, I turned 30. Then I married. And friends and acquaintances stopped asking me about driving expensive sports cars and started posing a question that I found frustrating: "What kind of compact S.U.V. should I get?"

While this may seem like a perfectly reasonable query, I have never enjoyed answering it. I don't much like S.U.V.'s outside of using them to transport other snowboarders and gear up a mountain, or to tow a boat, neither of which a compact S.U.V. does well. So I would fire back: "Why do you want one? Wouldn't your needs be better served with a midsize sedan, or a hatchback, or a small station wagon, or a minivan, or..."

I would explain in detail the drawbacks of vehicles that offer little in the way of sportiness, utility or styling, while forcing buyers to pay a premium over a standard car and spend more money on gas to boot. And in each and every case, my soapbox rant was met with the same earnest response: "Yeah, I know all those things. But which compact S.U.V. should I buy?"

That's when I'd just give up and tell them to get a Honda CR-V.

The compact S.U.V. market used to be this easy to navigate. A few years ago it consisted primarily of the CR-V, the Toyota RAV4, the Subaru Forester, the Ford Escape and the Hyundai Santa Fe. All sold for around $20,000. All were unit-body vehicles based on the mechanical underpinnings of sedans, rather than real trucks built with bodies mounted on separate frames.

Sure, there were other small S.U.V.'s, but they were mostly the body-on-frame kind, like the original Kia Sportage. These were heavier and rougher-riding than the car-based models, with smaller passenger compartments and even worse fuel economy, especially the ones with V-6 engines.

These were entirely not what my friends were looking for, whether they realized it or not. (Regardless of what the marketers want us to think, people do not need real trucks if their closest encounters with off-roading come in construction zones at new housing developments.)

While the distinction between car- and truck-based S.U.V.'s may have been lost on these people, they were all sure they wanted to drive something that felt less claustrophobic than the Saturns, Escorts and Civics already parked in front of their apartments.

I figured that if I couldn't convince them that the elevated seating position of an S.U.V. was overrated, I might as well help them get a vehicle they wouldn't end up hating. The Honda had quite a few things going for it, at least compared with the competition. It was bigger than the tiny RAV4. It was less homely than some of the others, and it promised to be reliable. So the CR-V became my boilerplate answer.

Today the question is the same but I no longer simply send people to the Honda dealer; the answer is no longer so simple.

The number of compact S.U.V.'s has ballooned, as has the size and price of much of the competition. The Chevrolet Equinox is nearly as big as some midsize models, and the BMW X3 can carry a sticker over $40,000. Despite gas prices hovering around $2.50 a gallon in my Chicago neighborhood, a six-cylinder engine has become the de facto power plant for most buyers.

Choices abound. After working through all the new options, my most recent answer to the dreaded question was somewhat shocking - I told a friend he should drive the new Kia Sportage.

This is a surprise only because three years ago, the Sportage was among the worst S.U.V.'s extant. A horrible body-on-frame clunker, it disappeared - let us give thanks - after 2002, about the time when Kia grew serious about improving its image in the United States. Subsequent Kias have shown promise - their interiors no longer smell like industrial cleaning products, for one thing - but the Sportage is the first that truly vies for best-in-class honors.

This new-for-2005 version shares nothing but its name with the old Sportage. It is now a car-based S.U.V. that is 10 inches shorter than the CR-V, with proportionally less cargo room, though it is otherwise similar in size. It comes with either front drive or all-wheel drive. The base model has a four-cylinder engine, like the CR-V, though a 2.7-liter, 173-horsepower V-6 is available.

The Kia is styled as attractively as any competitor, looking well-proportioned with clean lines - kind of like a smaller Acura MDX with a splash of Volvo in the taillights. In other words, there's no pretense to toughness in the Sportage's smooth edges.

The base four-cylinder version comes with a standard five-speed manual transmission, though a four-speed automatic (with a manual shift mode) is standard with the V-6. The Sportage has a host of safety features, including four-wheel antilock disc brakes; front, side and side-curtain air bags; and electronic stability control. All this equipment is included even on the bargain-basement model that starts at $16,490.

I recently drove an all-wheel-drive Sportage EX with the V-6 and was impressed with its ride and handling. Rough pavement did not jostle passengers and cargo, as it often does in this class, and the Kia cruised at freeway speed with little road noise and a confident and solid stance. Many other small S.U.V.'s have a soft suspension - or worse, steering that is light and has too much power assistance. While the Sportage is by no means a sports car, Kia put some effort into tuning it for a firm and responsive feel, with steering that is nicely weighted.

My test car had the optional leather package, which added $800 to the $22,090 base price of the all-wheel-drive Sportage EX.

The two-tone beige interior was smartly adorned with nicely textured, tight-fitting plastics. The modern instrument panel wouldn't look out of place in a more expensive sedan; the perforated leather inserts on the doors could have been lifted out of a previous-generation Acura. The seats were comfortable, the cabin roomy enough and the overall package designed for maximum passenger space.

My one serious complaint was about gas mileage. The Environmental Protection Agency rates the V-6 with all-wheel drive at 19 miles per gallon in town and 23 on the highway, which is not so great. I managed a miserable 16 m.p.g. in combined duty, thanks partly to my admittedly leaden foot. Oh well, if the people who drive these things really cared much about fuel economy, they wouldn't buy an S.U.V. in the first place.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the Sportage has a doppelgänger in the new 2005 Hyundai Tucson. According to Hyundai, this is exactly the same vehicle from a mechanical standpoint, though with distinct styling. To my eyes, the Tucson's exterior looks as if Hyundai went to great lengths to create the most utterly generic design possible. Inside, the look is more conservative than the Kia's as well.

While I was less impressed with the Tucson, the one I tested was a front-drive model. Make of this apples-to-oranges comparison what you will.

The Tucson is an entirely adequate vehicle, if a bit less interesting than its Kia cousin. The same thing could be said for nearly all the car-based compact S.U.V.'s on the market. As a class, their similarities are greater than their differences - I could just as easily stick with recommending the tried-and-true CR-V as make a case for the Equinox.

Really, I'd rather go back to talking to my friends about sports cars. But since Kia predicts that the market for compact S.U.V.'s will double within a year, I don't see that happening. I suppose I can expect to continue answering the question until everyone I meet owns a small S.U.V. For the time being, I'll tell them that the Kia Sportage is the vehicle that's come closest to awakening my desire to drive one - and hope that yearning remains dormant.
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