Faults:

Intermittent, non related electrical problems, seems to happen in high heat (ambient not engine) remote door locks, intermittent windshield wipers, esp, cruise control, brake lights, will work properly at times, and then not work, then work again.

'ESP OFF' light will come on, stay on, until restart, then the next week will be fine.

'Cruise' light comes on, but will not set, then an later will work fine.

Remote door lock clicker will work fine and later, the car will not respond.

The problems occurred in Denver area during summer of 06, and now again in summer of 07. Had problems last weekend on a road trip through dry, hot (high 90's low 100's) SW Colorado and New Mexico. Weather has been cooler this week, and have had no problems.

At the end of last summer, I took it to the dealer, they could not diagnose any issues, but it seemed to 'fix' itself. No issues through the winter. Started up again mid June. Read about similar issues with 2000 Sephia.

Faults:

So far so good.

General Comments:

This vehicle is great for someone switching from a car to an SUV. It has all the room and features of an SUV, but handles much like a car. The turning radius is fantastic. Plenty of space in the back seat for three adults and even my tallest of friends fit comfortably in all seats.

Faults:

Nothing so far (knock on wood).

General Comments:

I purchased this car in February 2005. I had recently rented a 2005 KIA Optima and was so impressed with it that I decided to give the sportage a look when shopping for a compact SUV. I considered the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Honda CRX, Toyota RAV4 and a few others. I have always been a Ford man and really tried to convince myself to buy the escape (I almost always own American cars). I guess in my old age I am getting cheap. I just could not justify an almost $7000 difference for the comparably equipped escape, especially when I preferred the way the Sportage drives. The EX with the heated leather seats, moonroof, 6-disc CD changer and very smooth automatic transmission is just fun to drive (even after driving my mustang GT on a daily basis). The reclining rear seats are a treat my passengers really enjoy, especially on long drives. At this time I highly recommend this car!

Faults:

A vacuum hose connector was reversed. It caused the engine to shift very erratically. Dealer fixed it in 5 minutes with no charge.

General Comments:

This car handles very well.

The EX Luxury package is well worth it.

The heated leather seats are a real treat now that winter has arrived.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing, I think that this car is extremely amazing and KIA has really shaped up from their old models.

General Comments:

I love this car so much. I have driven it to work for the past 5 weeks and have received so many comments form co-workers about the styling of it. I got it with the luxury/leather package and the leather seats are very comfortable. when going up steep hills I use the manual transmission and it works fine. the only problem with the car is it gets less gas mileage then it says it will. I get about 15 city and 19 highway. I recommend this car to anyone who is shopping for a compact SUV.