Powertrains and Performance
Two engines are offered on the Sportage LX: a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder (140 hp and 136 pound-feet of torque) and a 2.7-liter V6 (173 hp and 178 lb-ft). The Sportage EX comes standard with the V6. The inline-4 can be had with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic, while the V6 is automatic only. One may also choose front- or all-wheel drive in either trim.
We timed a Sportage V6 at 10.7 seconds from zero to 60 mph, about a second or so off the quicker four-cylinders in the segment and more than three ticks off the class hot rod, the RAV4 V6. Fuel mileage estimates for a 2008 Sportage V6 with AWD are 17 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, a few mpg under the class average. The four-cylinder gets only a few city mpg better.
See also:
Air cleaner
Element replacement
Have the air cleaner element
checked and replaced in accordance
with the maintenance schedule.
NOTICE
Do not drive with the air cleaner
removed; this will result in excessi ...
Other Cars to Consider
In a class crowed with cars that offer a fair price, numerous standard
features and good performance, the Kia Rio has difficulty competing. Kia offers
another car, the Kia Forte, that makes up for ...
Additional Horsepower
The 2.4-liter 161-horsepower 4-cylinder engine has gained 23 horsepower from
the early-2006 model and provides good acceleration below 60 mph—but average
performance above that speed. The 2.7-li ...