MOTORS: Kia Sportage is a solid well-built machine that's great to drive

As someone who has difficulty drawing a straight line, the whole concept of art and design is as incomprehensible as the handwritten workings of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

I’m happy to leave it to the experts who presumably know what they’re doing after years of study and gallons of creative juices.

However, I find myself questioning what goes through their minds as they come up with their latest creations. Do they still enjoy the occasional Eureka moment or do they just doodle on a pad – or in the case of the Virgin empire’s, on a napkin – until something emerges from the scribblings?

I’ve been focusing on the latest Kia logo which replaced the former simple KIA (without the horizontal line in the A). You see it everywhere and the company must be spending a fortune on sponsorship but when I first encountered it, I read it as KN, not realising that it was the South Korean brand.

I’m used to it now and appreciate how clever it is, simply by keeping the line-less A and slanting it at an angle to project a modern image of the brand.

It’s also a symbol of just how much the company has developed over the years from trying to sell us bargain-basement, lumpy and boring four-wheeled boxes to leading design and style coupled with brilliant technology, encapsulated in one of the best electric cars on the market, the EV6.

The badge appears across the range and also sits happily on the less-advanced and straightforward models, like the featured test car, the basic 1.6 litre petrol Sportage.

It’s the simple version in a range which also includes diesels, mild, self-charging and plug-in hybrids, four-wheel-drive and manual or auto gearboxes.

While it is the entry level model it still comes in at £32,000 but what you get for your money is a solid well-built machine which is great to drive and in the case of the mid-range ‘3’ trim of the test car a whole load of equipment to make the journey comfortable and safe.

It’s designed specifically for European roads and built in Kia’s splendid production centre in Slovakia. I saw round the place a few years ago and although my hosts didn’t ask me to, I would happily have eaten my dinner off the factory floor. The whole place was pristine, with a relaxed atmosphere and looked like a great place to work.

Production standards are at the highest level and that’s reflected in the quality of the cars they turn out.

The test car had done only a few thousand miles in the hands of countless motoring journalists, but it still felt brand-new with a quality finish.

I managed a tour of southern Scotland while it was in my custody and although its performance couldn’t be described as sporty, the response from the steering, manual gearbox and front-wheel drive with 18-inch alloys was excellent and a delight whether on fast dual carriageway or the twisting, muddy side roads of East Lothian.

Importantly, it was also easy to achieve and improve on, the claimed economy of 41 mpg without having to be over-easy with the right foot.

The current model is bigger than its predecessor and space inside is generous thanks to the lack of a central tunnel which means that two full-size adults can settle in comfortably in the back.

The test car in ‘3’ trim came with the larger 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and adjoining central display which sweeps in a curve across the dashboard and the graphics were clear and concise.

The heated seats, including in the back, are comfortable with good lumbar support for the driver and the heated steering wheel is welcome on a chilly morning, although there’s no rake adjustment which meant the speedo was partly obscured so I used the digital speed counter on the central display to keep on the right side of the law.

Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi ‘3’ six speed manual

PRICE: £32,000

ENGINE: 1598cc 4 cyl petrol

POWER: 148bhp

TORQUE: 250 Nm

TOP SPEED: 113mph

0-60mph: 9.9 secs

TOWING ABILITY: 1650kgs (braked)

ECONOMY: 41 mpg combined

CO2 EMISSIONS: 154 g/km

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