This new third generation Sportage is so vastly different in almost every way from its predecessors, that it’s amazing that they sport the same name.

The exterior of the new Sportage looks like it fell out of the awesome tree and hit every branch on its way down. Beginning in the front, Sportage sports Kia’s new signature grill, flanked by swept back headlights. The headlights on upper trim models (like this EX) each have a strip of LED eye liner. Chrome trim above the fog lights finishes off the front end.

The sides have sculpting near the bottom of the doors while a character line runs beneath the window sills into the rear tail lights. Door handles and window sills are trimmed in chrome and the roof rails are covered in a with a satin metal-like finish. The side mirrors also feature LED repeaters, which is a nice touch in this class.

Around back the rear is very stylized, with what can only be described as a bubble butt. The rear view almost looks like an alien scowling at you, especially at night. The rear tail lights feature LED lighting.

With the rear window being somewhat small and the large C-pillars being kind of large, it makes for limited rearward visibility. It is clear that style played a larger role than function when it came to the exterior design – the exterior is probably the best looking exterior of any compact CUV on the market currently.

The interior is also stylized, though not to the extent the exterior is. The dash features two different finishes, one smooth and one textured, both are hard and have a low sheen to them.

The center console has a upward slant to it and it rises to meet the dashboard. The climate controls have a shiny piano black finish to them, but it is not distracting. I could imagine this plastic getting scratched easily over time though.

Both front seats were all day comfortable, with terrific seat heaters. Though only the front drivers seat features a cooling function. The front passenger will have to settle for only heat.

As I mentioned on the exterior, visibility is somewhat limited by the rear design. The C-pillars are quite large and the back glass is quite small. Further enhancing the problem are the somewhat large A-pillars in the front. While not as large as some of the competition, they are still large enough to cause some visibility issues. As with the current trend, the belt line on the Sportage is high, so resting your elbow on the window sill while driving is somewhat uncomfortable. The design also cuts into rear seat headroom. Taller passengers will need to sit up front.

Like the exterior, I found the interior to be a huge win. Button placement was all within arms reach and everything was clearly labeled. My only major gripe would be the style over function of some of the design characteristics.

Currently the new Sportage features one engine  2.4-liter inline four-cylinder that pumps out 176 horsepower and 168 pound-feet to either the front or all four wheels. The power is routed through a six speed automatic transmission that has manual shift capabilities. The Sportage EX I was in came equipped with all-wheel drive and an electronic locking differential. The current powertrain combined with all-wheel drive is rated at 21/28 mpg, and I saw an average of 19 mpg in mixed suburban driving.

As with the new Sorento, I found the ride in the Sportage to be surprisingly stiff. While I can appreciate a stiff ride, over bumpy roads the suspension can feel jittery at times. Also, the steering is light when at parking lots speeds but firms up a little too much once underway.

While I had the Sportage, Minneapolis was whacked with the largest blizzard we have had in over ten years. I drove the Sportage out into the blizzard and must say I was highly impressed. I did not get stuck once. With over 20 inches of snow in less than 24 hours, I drove this Sportage through worse road conditions than almost any owner will ever drive through. The 18″ wheels with Hankook tires where very impressive and the stability control kept everything in line. I did lock the all-wheel drive a few times, though ground clearance did help as well. I am sure the cold and blizzard driving affected my gas mileage.

The EX AWD is currently the top trim model of the Sportage model. This Sportage featured both the Navigation/Premium Audio package as well as the Premium Package with Leather. Combined with these options and destination, the total price on this Sportage was $29,990.

The Sportage lands in a crowded market. The new Chevrolet Equinox is very competitive, and the Honda CR-V along with the Toyota RAV4 are both segment leaders. So is the new little Sportage finally ready to sell on more than price? The answer is absolutely. With more style, or flair if you will, than nearly all the competition, this Kia is ready to finally sell on design and features rather than a warranty and low price.

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Kia

The first generation SRX was really never the sales success that Cadillac hoped for.  Styling on the the first generation made it look like a tall, boxy station wagon.  With both an optional third row and V8, the first generation was rear wheel drive with all wheel drive as an option.  None of this really lined up with what the mainstream rivals were offering.

For the second generation, Cadillac has taken a much more mainstream approach.  The third row option was ditched, front wheel drive and all wheel drive replaced the old drive train and there is no more V8. The largest change is the price.  This generation is starting at $33,330 where the first generation was $38,880 for the V6 and $45,880 for the V8.  The new SRX is much more competitively priced.  You can immediately tell that Cadillac is gunning straight for the RX in every sense of the word.  A base SRX is now almost $4,000 less then the starting price of a Lexus RX.  So how does it stack up?

The interior is closely related to the CTS, which is not a bad thing.  The center stack with the rising screen is directly lifted from the CTS.  The software used in the touchscreen is definitely upgraded.  I could pair my phone using only the screen in the SRX while I had to dig out the manual to figure out phone pairing with the voice command system in the CTS.  The gauge cluster has a trick screen in the center of the speedometer.  This screen essentially had all the trip computer functions while also displaying the speed limit on most major roads.  Navigation directions are also shown with this display.  The interior has non-overpowering white LED “mood” lighting at night.  The seats are supportive but not firm.  They are much softer than the seats in the CTS Sportwagon which, in my opinion, were better.  The cargo area has a track running around it that sliders can be placed in to secure cargo.  This is a very nice feature that is executed quite well.

The styling of the SRX is strong both inside and out.  From the outside, the evolution of Cadillac’s arts and science styling is in full swing.  The sharp creases and strong character lines all play together to create a rather good looking CUV.  The rear end has the classic Cadillac “tail fin” tail lights.  The angular styling leaves a D pillar in the back that creates a large blind spot.  The rear window is very small, causing visibility to be less than stellar when backing up.  The back-up camera is a much needed feature.  The front air dam is low and I actually asked people at GM about this.  They said it was both for aerodynamics and it looks better in their opinion.  I do not know about all that, but in deep snow it acts as a plow.  The little touches on the outside caught my eye.  For example, the headlight has the Cadillac symbol stamped in the reflector.  One thing that did not add up was the GM chiclet.  This “Mark of Excellence” has now been removed from new models, but I assume the tooling for the SRX was already in place before the decision was made to ditch this “Old GM” symbol.

The engine in the vehicle I had was the base 3.0 liter direct injection V6 putting out 265 hp and 223 ft-lb to the front wheels.  All wheel drive is optional with this engine.  The optional 2.8 liter turbo V6 puts out 300 hp and 295 ft-lb to standard all wheel drive with torque vectoring.  Both engines feed out to six speed automatic transmissions with manual shift capabilities.  The base 3.0 liter is some what of a dog.  The lack of torque is the main problem here.  The SRX is not light weight, as such you can feel every one of those 265 hp and 223 ft-lb trying to get underway.  The vehicle is more engaging than the class champion, Lexus RX, but feeling the engine trying to cope with the vehicle’s weight is not the best experience even though it does get up to speed just fine.  More power would be welcome via the optional 2.8 liter turbo.  The problem with this option is the mileage, which is rated at 15/21 mpg while the front wheel drive 3.0 liter is rated at 18/25 mpg.  People seem to take these numbers very seriously these days and that turbo looks thirsty on paper for this vehicle segment.

The particular SRX I had was a premium collection vehicle with a sticker price of $47,010.  This is the top level non-turbo model.  There were not many options, but rear seat entertainment was on board for $1,295 and of course GM’s crystal red tintcoat for $995.  Each rear seat has a flip up monitor attached to the back of the front seats with two wireless headphones and  a wireless remote control that comes standard with the system.  I liked the set up, and in my opinion, was done correctly.  The upgraded stereo that was in this package was a 10 speaker 5.1 digital surround sound by Bose.  I was not really that impressed with the system.  It sounded decent enough but the optional Mark Levinson system in the Lexus RX is better.  I would have liked to have seen something like the optional Harmon Kardon system from the LaCrosse in the SRX.

Equipped with 20 inch wheels, low profile tires and front wheel drive, I will admit I was a little nervous when the blizzard came through town.  In fact, I drove through three blizzards and over 1000 miles within three days while driving the SRX.  The only problem that I saw was with the front air dam.  It is so low that it plowed through the snow and getting started down an unplowed street was not easy.  It is worth mentioning that I was able to make it up a driveway that was covered in 2.5 feet of snow.  To do this I had to turn off traction control and slam the gas in order for it to crawl its way up.  Overall, I was impressed with everything it did in the snow.  I somehow managed to eek out 26.5 mpg on the highway back through one of those storms.  That is 1.5 mpg more then the EPA’s 25 mpg highway rating.

So we have gone from a rear wheel drive with an optional third row and V8 to a front wheel drive and optional turbo V6.  How did we fare?  The SRX is now officially a competitive vehicle.  The last generation was not a mainstream approach and sales reflected that.  Yes, I do think the base engine is under powered.  In reality, the general public might not even notice.  They will notice the mileage numbers that the turbo gets and will not be that impressed with them.  I am guessing most SRX’s will leave the lot with the base 3.0 engine and customers will be content.  The vehicle has distinctive styling and I like the overall packaging.  While some powertrain improvements are needed, this new SRX is a solid contender in this hotly contested segment.

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by General Motors