Just curious, are there any owners of the latest Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson here? There seems to be very little interest on these vehicles as nobody seems to be talking about them.

I've watched a Youtube review on the Kia Sportage and the reviewer found that the ride and NVH of the vehicle to be exceptional in its class and a class above all Japanese equivalent SUVs. I presume the major downside of the Koreans is the low resale value which deters most people from considering them, apart from the slightly higher price when compared to the common Honda CRV/HRV and Toyota Corolla Cross.

If there are no owners lurking around on this forum, has anyone test driven the Sportage and compared the 2.0 to 1.6 turbo versions? Is the Nakamichi sound system in the highest spec 1.6 turbo a significant improvement to the audio system of the cheaper spec models?

Thanks for the information. That's unfortunate if really the case

Good observation which reminds me of the Nissan Sylphy which I previously owned. Your description may apply to the Sylphy as well. It's generally quiet in all driving conditions and you hear the whistling wind noise at higher speeds due to the lack of noise inside the cabin.

Another way to evaluate the NVH levels is to do hard acceleration and hear the roar of the engine. With good soundproofing cars, the sound of the roaring engine is more muted or refined whereas other vehicles will show a much louder and prominent engine growl.

It appears that the inherent characteristics of the DCT is carried over from the Sportage to the Ford Focus as well. Being an ex-owner of the Focus, I can surely relate. On the upside the DCT gives a more immediate acceleration feel as the gear changes are more rapid.

Sounds like the older generation Sportage model which I used for about a year. The vehicle doesn't react instantly upon hard acceleration as there is about 0.5s to 1.0s delay before it picks up speed. Also, the noise from the engine is quite loud and unrefined, sounding like a diesel. I would expect the current model to be improved in NVH levels

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Apr 4 2025, 10:15 PM

I would appreciate if you can update after 1 year if the vehicle still maintains its good NVH and quietness, and if any new rattling sound inside the cabin when going over potholes or uneven poor quality roads. These days, a quiet and low noise with minimal rattling sound inside the cabin is the top priority apart from comfort. When it's time for a new vehicle, I may put this is the shortlist and test-drive it. Similarly I don't care much about the latest technology incorporated into the dashboard as I'm more to old-school too as long as the physical knobs and buttons all work as intended. However, some comments on the uncomfortable seats of the Tucson seems to be a concern, so it needs to be experienced by the user to see if it's acceptable or not.