He envied the jazz and alternative rock we kept pumping through our truck. To be fair, asking the Sportage, with its diminutive powerplant, to climb and descend roads in the Rocky Mountains is not a legitimate test of its intended function. During a gas stop, a woman in a V8 Ford F-150 assessed the situation perfectly. That's not a car for the mountains. Generating only 130 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 127 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000, the Sportage is somewhat of a weakling.
Takeoffs are slow and there's no real sweet spot to the power band.
Loaded with gear and passengers, it's wise to leave extra room for merging and passing. We had a few white-knuckle moments even when we thought we were being prudent. Of course, the trade-off is great gas mileage. Kia estimates the Sportage fuel consumption at 21 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. Good economy to be sure.