2002 Kia Sportage from North America - Comments

Left rear window motor siezed.

Since My last review of my Sportage, "Steal Of A Deal", I thought this update would interest many. The vehicle has performed flawlessly with basically no problems. I am an aggressive driver and tend to be hard on vehicles. I consistently cruise my Sportage at speeds of 80 to 90 MPH on expressways and drive in Fort Lauderdale and Miami in stop-n-go traffic. In addition I have towed my 1,600 lb. boat all over the south and middle of the state of Florida at speeds to about 70 MPH. Oil has been changed every 5,000 miles using Castrol Syntec 5W-50W oil for pumpability to the overhead cams when the engine is started and KIA oil filters. Every 10,000 miles I have changed the transfer case oil, rear end oil and transmission fluid. I'm getting a consistent 22-MPG without the boat trailer and about 19-MPG towing it with my aggressive driving habits. I know the earlier models had some electrical problems with the windows and ignition key switch B+ lead, but as I stated before, these problems have been resolved with this latest model. The window motors have also been updated or superceded with new replacement types. They were NOT installed on the last Sportages made and are available only as warranty replacement. It would behoove the owner of a Sportage to MAKE SURE the dealer has used NEW stock and NOT the OLD window motors. In all of my experiences with KIA, I have found their vehicles WELL made for being in the ECONOMY class. My only squawk has been the dealers and their deceptive and irresponsible practices of maintaince. The first time I took my Sportage to the dealer to have the transfer case oil changed, the mechanic used a chisel to take the oil drain plug out marking and damaging my transfer case. This guy was ASE certified! I chewed his ass out and called KIA about this little incident alone. I have a KIA RIO also which has been fine except for an alignment problem with the front end and the sending unit in the tank that has the low fuel light on all the time. The dealer has basically refused to fix the two RIO problems. My only problem is finding a good dealer in my area. The RIO problem was at one dealer and the Sportage at another. AS a result I have reverted to doing my own maintainence on my vehicles now because I can't trust the overpriced dealers. Aside from dealer problems my Sportage has been a blast to drive, even took it "mudding" once, and would recommend it to any one looking for this class of small TRUCK. All the body parts, engine and interior have no flaws to date. I would like to remind all that this is a HEAVY TRUCK (3,600 lbs. with no people) and not a Honda CRV fake SUV type car which has no chassis. KIA Sportages were raced in the BAJA and won their class many times. Sadly the Sportage has been temporarily discontinued here in the states to bump up the sales of the Sorrento. However they are still made for overseas markets AND available with diesel engines. (wish I had one!)

I would just like to agree with this review. I have upgraded from the 2 dr convertible to a 4 dr KIA Sportage and I have never had a problem with either car. The only issues I had were with my 2 dr, and that was because of dealer where I took it for maintenance than a problem with the actual car. My mother-in-law has a KIA Optima and my mother and sister-in-law have just purchased KIA Sorrentos. Overall, we all love our KIA's.

You said that they discontinued the sportage. On their website and on tv they have a redesigned 2005 model. This one comes in 4 and 6 cylinder choices. Maybe the old style was discontinued.

I just purchased a used 2002 Kia Sportage, after reading several of these reviews I was thinking that I got a raw deal again (being a woman buying a car.) Thank you for saying something good about the SUV, I needed to hear it. I went from a 94 Camaro 5 sp to the Sportage, I do miss the speed of the Camaro, but my back doesn't miss the 5 speed. Thank you again.

I bought a 2000 2 door this past spring and have loved it.

The thing to remember this is in a true 4 wheel drive small truck class.

I've hooked up a trailor for doing light towing of capming supplies and the occasional piece of furnature and I can hardley even tell I'm pulling anything.

It's now winter in NY and I had my first drive in the snow. The 2000 2door Kia Sportage is the absolute best vehicle in snow that I have ever driven. This includes a Jeep CJ7.

I'm not looking forward to the day this vehicle has to be retired because there is no other vehicle I want to drive. It's my daily transportation, very fun to drive with the top off (in the summer), and as reliable as any vehicle in it's class.