Kia ups Sportage price and spec

KIA has released a 2012 model year Sportage line-up just eight months after the stylish new compact SUV was released in Australia, bringing more standard equipment and a $230 price increase across the board.

Amounting to less than one per cent for all models, the price rise sees base Sportage pricing increase from $26,490 to $26,720 for the entry-level 2.0-litre front-wheel-drive Si manual.

At the same time, a folding key, dash light dimmer and rubber floor mats become standard on the Si, automatic versions of which continue to cost $2000 extra, at $28,720.

On top of those extras, 2.4-litre SLi models also add stain-resistant seat trim and 12-inch front brake discs (up from 11-inch), bringing the price of the most affordable AWD Sportage to $32,720 in standard auto guise.

At $35,720, the popular diesel-powered Sportage 2.0 CRDi SLi auto continues to cost $3000 more than its petrol-powered equivalent.



Finally, a $230 price hike for the range-topping Sportage Platinum, which brings the same interior and braking upgrades as the mid-range SLi, takes the price of 2.4-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel versions to a respective $36,720 and $39,720.

Platinum and SLi diesel variants have proved a hit since the new Sportage was launched here last August, with some models attracting waiting lists of up to eight months locally due to strong Sportage demand worldwide.

That unprecedented situation has now improved for most Kia dealers, with increased supplies returning waiting lists back to an average six to eight weeks, despite an industrial dispute that halted production at Hyundai-Kia’s giant Ulsan plant in Korea last week.

“At the moment we’ve satisfied all back orders, so the days of being out of stock for many, many months are behind us,” confirmed Kia Motors Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth.

“We were just getting towards the bottom of the bins as they we went back to work, so it (the strike) didn’t affect us. We had enough stock on hand to get away with it.”Sportage sales are up 9.3 per cent to April this year, outstripping Kia’s overall sales increase of 2.3 per cent, which is in contrast with the total industry’s 3.2 per cent fall in new-vehicle sales so far in 2011.

Having launched its mould-breaking new Platinum-only Optima medium sedan in January and an MY12 Carnival alongside the MY12 Sportage this month, Kia will continue its new model onslaught with the local release of the all-new light-sized Rio hatch in August.

MY12 Kia Sportagepricing:
2.0 Si 2WD	$26,720
2.0 Si 2WD (a)	$28,720
2.4 SLi AWD (a)	$32,720
2.0 CDRi SLi AWD (a)	$35,720
2.4 Platinum AWD (a)	$36,720
2.0 CRDi Platinum AWD (a)	$39,720