BY THE end of its product lifecycle, the previous, third-generation Kia Sportage had been polished into a thoroughly likeable little SUV.

As a result – and given Kia’s recent goal-kicking form with stunners like the Sorento and Optima – we eagerly anticipated the all-new fourth-gen Sportage and got even more interested when the mechanically related but earlier-arriving Tucson from Kia’s sister brand Hyundai knocked our socks off with its ability and charm.

Perhaps all this high expectation set the Sportage up for a fall, because we came away less impressed than we had hoped.

The top-spec Platinum model we tested might come with all the fruit, but we’d cherry-pick a cheaper model from lower down in the the range.

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