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:

    Audio system
    Antenna Roof type antenna If your vehicle has an audio system, an amplifying antenna is installed in your vehicle. This antenna can be removed from the vehicle when you wash your vehicle. NO ...

    Parking brake
    Checking the parking brake Check the stroke of the parking brake by counting the number of “clicks’’ heard while fully applying it from the released position. Also, the parking brake alone ...

    Theft-alarm system
    This system is designed to provide protection from unauthorized entry into the car. This system is operated in three stages: the first is the "Armed" stage, the second is the "Al ...