LEAKED! - 2011 Kia Sportage appears ahead of Geneva

These images from the 2011 Kia Sportage have leaked from the European patent office and they present the car in full details. They would only be better if the interior of the vehicle had also been revealed, but the images already allow us to know what to expect from the new crossover when it is officially released at the Geneva Motor Show, which will take place in March.



Based on the Hyundai ix35, also named Tucson in some markets, such as the USA, the new Sportage is ahead of its sibling due to the visual identity Peter Schreyer has given Kia (and Hyundai still did not manage to present). We can see the high waistline as a promise for a crossover that has a good handling, but this is something we will only be sure about when we drive it.

Considering ix35 and Sportage have so much in common, we can try to guess its final technical specifications: 4.41 m long, 1.82 m wide, 1.66 m tall and a wheelbase of 2.64 m. Engines will probably be a petrol 2-litre four-cylinder able to generate 123 kW (165 bhp) and a turbodiesel 2-litre four-cylinder that produces 135 kW (180 bhp), both managed by a 6-speed automatic transmission.

If the new-generation Sportage is not presented at the Geneva Motor Show (what is not very likely, considering these images have leaked from the European patent office), it will make its world premiere in April, back in its homeland, South Korea.







Source: Autoblog.bnl