SPY PICS: New Kia Sportage here next year

The next-generation Kia Sportage has been spied for the first time, providing the first – albeit camouflaged – look at the hotly-anticipated new mid-size SUV.

Spotted undergoing testing in Europe, Kia’s new Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 rival will deliver a sportier, more daring exterior design and is scheduled to arrive in Australia later in 2021 sporting loads of tech technology and new engines.

However, hybrid powertrains that will be available in Europe have all but been ruled out for Australia, which means Kia will not have a direct rival for Toyota’s super-popular hybrid RAV4 after local executives previously poured cold water on petrol-electric engines.

It’s not yet clear whether the new Kia Sportage, codenamed NQ5, will get new engines or carryover the current powerplants like its twin-under-the-skin, the all-new (and equally radically-styled) Hyundai Tucson.

But the 2022 Kia Sportage is certain to benefit from a host of cutting-edge features, including a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluser complete with live blind-spot video feeds when you flick on the indicator.

The central touch-screen infotainment display will grow to 10.2 inches as well, at least on top-spec models, equipped with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging and more USB ports than before.

The new Kia Sportage could also come with a remote parking function, allowing owners to exit the vehicle and back it into a car park with the key fob.

It will be a larger vehicle too, offering more passenger and cargo space to take on rivals like the RAV4 and to further distance itself from the smaller Kia Seltos, which has proved popular with buyers and is shooting up the sales charts.

Expect the Sportage’s bigger size to go close to the new Tucson’s dimensions of 4630mm long, 1865mm wide and 1665mm high, making it yet another solid new entry in Australia’s sprawling mid-size SUV market, which continues to outpace all other segments.

However, it’s now clear the new Sportage will not mimic the recently-launch Kia Sorento’s design, since these spy photos indicate it will adopt a sharper, urban-chic design closer in tone to that of the smaller Kia Seltos.

Kia executives have suggested to carsales the new Sportage SUV will also be offered with class-leading safety and autonomous driving tech, expected to include Level 2 autonomous steering, acceleration and braking functionality via lane keeping assist, lane following assist, highway driving assist advanced smart cruise control and autonomous emergency braking.

Indeed, Kia is expected to go all out with its technology and safety features, which could also include a safe exit warning function and reverse parking collision avoidance assist.

Kia Australia’s product planning chief Roland Rivero recently told carsales: “Those advanced active safety features are almost going to become a non-negotiable if you want to stay five-star,” he said, referring to ANCAP and NCAP safety ratings.

“With the new model [Sportage] coming, and we’ve already seen the new Tucson – and as you know they’re very closely related – it would be safe to assume a whole new Sportage isn’t that far away,” said Rivero.