#IAA: CONFIRMED! Kia Debuts The All-New Sportage Before Its Frankfurt Launch

As we inch closer to the start of the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) the automakers are starting to come out of the woodwork to show off their latest and greatest wares. The latest to do so? Kia.

Kia will be rolling out its all-new Sportage to the masses.

If you ask me, this is an interesting move mostly due to the fact it is a Korean auto manufacturer. Typically a lot of roll outs are held closer to home field, but I assume Kia will be taking its Sportage to the European market.

I mean, just look at it. While we may only have three official images, this thing is looking pretty damn decent.

Go Kia!

**Scope out the company-issued release that waxes poetic about the all-new Sporage's design, below!









Kia's press release follows:

FIRST EXTERIOR IMAGES OF ALL-NEW SPORTAGE

All-new Sportage to be unveiled at IAA Frankfurt
New "face" is biggest design change
European Design Centre led styling
Kia Motors has today revealed the first official exterior images of the all-new Kia Sportage, featuring a dynamic and strong new design. The all-new Sportage will make its global debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show on 15 September 2015.

Entering its fourth-generation, the all-new Kia Sportage features a bold, progressive design, with the vehicle's designers creating a sense of power and agility from every angle. Echoing the contrast of smooth and sharp shapes found on some of the most iconic modern fighter jets, the Sportage creates visual harmony out of the tension between sharp, defined feature lines and smooth surfacing.

The 'face' of the all-new Sportage represents the biggest change to the car's design, with the car's headlamps no longer integrated with the grille for the new model, instead sweeping back along the outer edges of the more sharply-detailed bonnet and bolder wheel arches. Immediately recognisable as a Kia, the Sportage's lower, wider 'tiger-nose' grille adds more volume to the lower half of the Sportage's face, resulting in a more imposing appearance and a more stable-looking stance.

The all-new Sportage is characterised by its sportier, more raked profile. From the side, the all-new Sportage retains the swept-back silhouette of the outgoing model, with a roofline that tapers slightly towards the rear of the car, longer front overhangs, shorter rear overhangs and longer wheelbase. Smooth bodywork, bolder wheel arches and sharp lines endow the Sportage with a more dynamic, muscular look.

At the rear, the horizontal forms and surface volume emphasise the car's width and give the compact SUV a more stable appearance. Inspired by the 2013 Kia Provo concept car, the slim combination lamps are joined by a strip that runs the width of the rear, while turn signals and reversing lights are separated, relocated lower down to add more visual weight and a greater sense of stability to the lower half of the car.

The design of the new Sportage has been led by Kia's European design studio in Frankfurt, Germany, with input from the brand's Namyang, Korea and Irvine, California design centres.

cidflekken - 8/30/2015 1:36:56 PM

+5 Boost

Looks like a bug.

MDarringer - 8/30/2015 2:15:13 PM

-3 Boost

The Cherokee looks like an insect but it sells big time.

cidflekken - 8/30/2015 5:08:59 PM

+4 Boost

Right, because its' a JEEP. Not a KIA.

MDarringer - 8/30/2015 10:25:43 PM

-3 Boost

@cidflekken...trust me...this will sell like mad. It has the same bug-eyed quirkiness in the face as the Soul and the Soul is a great performer for us.

cidflekken - 8/31/2015 3:03:07 PM

+1 Boost

Actually, the Soul is the least quirky-looking in its segment and the cheapest, so it makes sense that it sells well. And its larger standard wheels make it look more mini-SUV, which is very appealing vs. the shrunken-breadbox-on-bike-tires look of the Cube and Scion. And let's face it, those the Kia Soul Hamsters are the coolest!

Dexter1 - 8/30/2015 3:47:01 PM

+3 Boost

Whoa. Serious fish mouth. Don't the designers ever look at what they create BEFORE it goes to the production line?

TomM - 8/30/2015 7:53:08 PM

-1 Boost

That is simply a smaller edition of the current Kia grille look. And that - along with the change in headlamps seem to be the major changes. I'll bet it looks decent in person.
The problem with the Sportage is that at $28000 MSRP - it has now gotten a little more expensive than the market it was aimed at. While you can still get MAJOR discounts on Kias after their initial introduction - the big price advantage that once sold them is going away.

trmckin - 8/30/2015 9:10:15 PM

+6 Boost

Looks like a mediocre attempt to use some leftover grilles, headlamps and fog lights. The rest is okay I guess.

dumpsty - 8/31/2015 10:37:59 AM

+4 Boost

Right.

And I wouldn't call it "all-new" either. More like a major refresh to keep it looking like the other vehicles in their lineup. Not surprised though, they screwed up the updated Optima as well this year. Most of that corporate R&D money went into the new Sonata & Genesis. I'd wait a few more years to see real updates to these Kia's.

jtz7 - 8/31/2015 11:48:59 AM

-2 Boost

Will I like it.