1995 Kia Sportage | Retro Review
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- Опубликовано: 21 янв 2023
- Who thinks we need another fresh automaker to offer a low budget 4-wheel drive SUV? With a manual trans!!!
Show 1431 | Original Airdate 04-05-1995
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As someone who was born in the Rust Belt in '98, I don't think I've ever seen a 1st gen Sportage in my conscious life. That's why I appreciate these Retro Reviews - they give me an insight into a world of cars that existed and faded away before I could recognize their existence.
I live in The Toledo area and the first time I saw a Kia was in 1998, when a dealer opened here. In 1995 though, I had never even heard of Kia.
I saw them in Cleveland, Ohio for a short time. Sportages were dissolved by salt within 5-7 years
I owned an 01. It had 50k miles when I bought it (for $300) and the frame was shot. It got my around town until 108k when the timing belt snapped. The 4WD never worked either. Awful car but great memories.
I grew up in Cleveland, and when these first came out they were EVERYWHERE. I could say it was rust that took them all off the road, but I don't see any survivors down here in SoCal either. More than likely they just didn't hold up mechanically, like the Yugo.
In the early 2000’s I had a roommate who had one of these that was maroon, currently trying to think how long ago it’s been since I’ve seen one….
Back in Pakistan in 2005, my family bought a brand new Kia Grand Sportage (imagine this US-spec sportage with a longer rear-section grafted on, some graphics on the outside, a 2.0L diesel making 85 horse and 150 lbft torque with a top mount intercooler and a giant Subaru WRX style functioning hood scoop to cool the intercooler. That Kia was a fun/cheaper alternative to all the Land Cruisers and Mitsubishi Pajero‘s that used to cost 3x to 5x more new!
Only issue we had with it until 2017 was replacing the glowplugs and a boost leak. That’s it!
Driving it was a little agrarian with the gap in power delivery between 1st and 2nd gear was huge. Once you were in the high gears it was all good. Power band was between 2000 and 4000rpm when the turbo would wake up. You could hear the turbo spool up every time, Fast and Furious style! Was fun riding the boost in 2nd and 3rd gear. Did decently well climbing up the Himalayas (10000ft+) with a full family in it. Climbing steep stuff required staying just in 1st since shifting from 1st to 2nd would make you lose momentum. Probably could climb up a cliff in first if you kept it above 2500rpm. Would hold 120kmph/75mph all day on the motorways no problem.
Ride was floaty in a nice way and the chunky tires helped with that. Miss that thing! Was a fun (if slow) turbo diesel family hauler “wagon” with the turbo spool sound between every gear.
Hard to believe 28 years later SUV's, Crossovers, "Sport Activity Vehicles,".....Hybrids, electrics would be everywhere. Also hard to believe in 1995 no airbags and a cassette player? Love these MW retro vids.
My 09 Accent had air conditioning as an option lol. I love Hyundai/Kia for making such cheap cars all these years later.
@@smuckerst8355 At least Viper will always have business lol.
This was a true 4WD too, the Suzuki Jimny is the only true compact 4WD left in existence, all the former compact 4WD's have all kept their name whilst moving over to poor AWD systems.
@@koneking2569 thank you!
The 1996 Sportage was the very first vehicle to offer a knee airbag, which came at the same time when the driver airbag was added. The passenger airbag wasn’t added until the 1998 model.
A question so can you tell me the 1996/1997 model has knee airbag or nothing at all??
@@Alexandre92425 It does
A 28 year old Kia looks better than the latest Chevy Blazer.
That's because the Chevy Blazers are trash
That's hardly any competition.
It’s great to see how far Kia has progressed. No one wanted these cars back then but everyone wants a Telluride now!
Yeah when I bought my EV6 the salesman told me good thing I didn't want a Telluride. 11 month wait for one last summer.
@@millerliteguru I'd stay with Japanese manufacturers too, but at least they're not a laughing stock and an actual viable option now.
Adjusted for inflation, the base model would be $26,291.07 today. A modern Sportage starts at $27,615, so incredibly close actually, although the modern one is a much larger vehicle (not to mention safer, more powerful, etc.).
And useless off-road
@@DavidVoxDem i doubt anyone really took these off-road either
Larger, Safer, more powerful..... But you forget lower mpg also.
@@rebelusa6585 this lamb would take the fuel economy penalty of the newer one.
@@noahh.8737 They do. It's got a solid rear axle, ladder frame chassis, transfer case and limited slip differential - it's a genuine off-roader. There's videos.
This looks surprisingly ahead of its time. It almost looks early-mid 2000’s in design.
My friend and this car is well regarded to this day.
2:22 John: BUT SOMEONE AT KIA WAS SHARP ENOUGH TO DESIGN A CUP HOLDER THAT ACTUALLY HOLDS BIG CUPS! LOL
My relatives had brought a brand new Kia Sephia in 1997. They took it on a road trip on their annual family vacation, and it broke down on them. Kia wasn't known for their quality back then.
However, a few years later, my cousin brought a brand new Sportage, and she had it for over a decade.
The forgotten generation Sportage. Kia's first SUV.
Like pretty much all Kia's of the time the first Sportage was based on a Mazda platform specifically the Bongo van chassis
And certainly better suited for what it’s actually made for than later models
Not forgotten my friend here in Brazil she is remembered until today I myself have a 97 black with silver,Still envy in owners of the 5th generation Volkswagen VW
Owned one for 18 years . Very low maintenance vehicles. Broke a timing belt once on the highway, replaced it and put another 90000 miles on it. Regret selling the little beast as it was very good off road and unstoppable in bad weather. The dohc 2.0 has all forged internals and the automatic transmission is unbreakable. The engine is non interference despite what some manuals say. Sold it with 200000 miles and it still had 60 psi of oil pressure at highway speeds. Never once serviced the a/c system it always worked flawlessly. Guess I had a factory freak.
I never knew Kia had ever made a non interference engine. I thought that was only a Toyota thing.
Wow..
@@millerkiller6496 kia used mazda engines in the 90s.
Todo lo que dices es verdad: lo compruebo a diario cuando manejo todos los días mi Kia Sportage año 1995 motor 2.0 4x4 nafta Y tan solo tiene 133.000 kms. Es toda una joya, irrompibles los coches hechos hasta los años 90. Hoy los milenian asexuados sin saber cuál es su género solo se preocupan por el tamaño de la pantalla táctil del auto que piensan comprar. Rodeado de un mar de idiotas descerebrados qué nostalgia me da recordar los años felices años 90...
My granddad bought one new in 2001, because he needed it to get to his summer house in the polish countryside (if it hadn’t been for that, he would have purchased an Alfa 156). It was surprisingly good for its low price and quite capable off road too.
I remember when my city (Fayetteville, NC) opened a Kia dealer. I wanna say it was 1998.
Back then they carried 2 cars. I started working there in 2001 as a Kia sales rep. It was an auto mall set up, so from a sales perspective, it was a nice setup. We could sell any car line on the lot. I remember thinking how cheap the interior plastic was on the 98' Sephia. It was a sea of black and gray, with woven fabric seat facing and the rest covered in vinyl. My uncle purchased my cousin one for high school/college years. It never let her down. She babied it until she traded it for a 2005 Accord EXL-4. In 2001, Kia introduced the Optima (based on the Hyundai Sonata). Now, Kia has such an extensive lineup of incredible vehicles. A lot of them weren't best sellers but have proven to be good vehicles. I've owned a 14' Kia Optima SX Turbo, and it was a wonderful car. Power, great hwy fuel economy, loaded with features, and one of the most stylish sedans of its generation. The engine failed around 97k, but it was replaced at no charge. It drove perfect until a beaver crossed my path in 21' and caused it to be totaled due to the amount of repairs. It still drove after the collision, but the cosmetic damage exceeded the value of the car. I had to let her go😥 In place of it, I purchased a 22' Hyundai Tucson. SEL premium. Also, it's a great vehicle. It could be faster, but it's all good in terms of getting up to speed. You gotta put your foot in it sometimes to get what you want😂. Speaking of Hyundai, they're the parent company of Kia. Once Kia cut ties with Ford/Mazda, they were adopted by Hyundai, which has birthed a third brand called Genesis. Genesis is making big moves and turning heads with their luxurious appeal while racking up several automotive awards along the way. Kia's success story just shows that crummy beginnings don't always indicate failure.
We had one of the 1999 versions. Was a fine car. Only issue was the front vacuum hubs went out every snow season. Kia warrantied them every year until there was no warranty left, then threw on a set of manually locking hubs after that. No more issues.
how many miles did you get out of it?
@@MrTaxiRob about 140k miles. Got rid of it in 2015.
@@foxtrot685 not too shabby, sounds like you babied it though. To be fair to Kia, the 1st gen Rav4 didn't last too long either. Pretty sure they got driven into the ground by the same types of owners who bought the Sportage. Except you, apparently...
There is one I see on my daily commute each day. Still in good shape
Power door locks, but they pushed lock down as if locks were manual. Love the retro episodes
That’s the power lock. There was no switch, you push the driver lock down and all the doors locked. Pull up and all the doors unlocked.
This lamb remembers the power locks in the 1995 Mazda 626 were like that too.
@@upeedinalamb5297 04-11 Chevy Aveo (Daewoo Kalos) also has power door locks that the drivers plunger operates all 4.
2:35 i've never heard anyone refer to anything in a Chevy Blazer as "refined." You still see CR-Vs and RAV4s from this era in decent condition, but these Sportages are all but gone now.
I actually see a good number of these things around the rural parts of Oregon. Simple, durable, cheap; I understand why some people've kept them going.
Probably never sold as good as the CR-V und RAV4.
@@Timico1000 I think that's one thing people forget about older Hyundai and Kia. They may sell in big numbers now, but they were really small for the first 15 years or so they were here. I think Hyundai sold >100k cars here a few years in the '90's.
@@aquaticko I´ve grown up in Germany, where Hyundai launched in 1991 and Kia in `93 and it took them both several years to "arrive" on the streets. First time ever that Kia got proper recognition was when they came up with the first Sorento which was the first Kia that people bought because they wanted it - and not only because it was cheap.
Fun fact: for a short (1995-98) period Kia built the first Sportage at the german Karmann factory in Osnabrück, at least for the european market. I don´t know if it was to gain a better reputation or if they tried to learn.
@@aquaticko I don't see any in San Diego, which is odd. You generally see survivors of all types down here.
“Cup holder that can hold big cups” shows what’s a medium/small cup almost 30 years later
Couldn't help but notice the sportage drove past a Borrego sign in the opening shot. Another now-forgotten Kia SUV that showed up about twelve years later.
Fast forward to 2023, Kia is everywhere and no longer cheap!!
I'm Brazilian and this car marked Kia's history here in Brazil., this car really deserves a retro review or even more than that because this car was historic.
Seen plenty of those around here in the 90s. Very popular.
I remember those little SUVs back then. Impressive that it had manual 4x4 shift and manual transmission at the time. We got too much electronically crap nowadays.
that's right my friend let's respect real manual subs with real off road characteristics
2:34 “lacks the refined design of the Chevrolet Blazer” LOL. I LOL’d
To this day, all his cars are a spaceship, mine is a manual gearbox, something rare, but it doesn't have a leather seat, it's fabric, I have a side step in aluminum, it's black with silver.
Quite nice seeing this as I still use one as a daily vehicle, 1997 model so it has a few little touches. I'd love of these early types though.
In 1995 I had never even heard of Kia , although I remember in 1998 when a Kia dealer opened up in Toledo Ohio, which was not too far away ,and the first time seeing this vehicle. It reminded me of a Geo Tracker honestly.
The quality of these wasn't so good but for the price that had to be expected.
You could get a Rav4 for $16k that year. The Kia were absolute junk.
@@AlphanumericCharacters right, a lady my mom worked with had a 2000 Sportage, I heard it wasn't too good.
Taylor Kia
@@tyo8223 I wanna see ya in Kia!
My college roommate had one 5spd 4wd and we got stuck in Mulholland mountain LoL
I had a friend who bought that brand new when it first came out, right after he wrecked his Sophia. It was really small and cramped. Another friend's geo tracker felt slightly larger.
My godmother still has her 1st gen Sportage to this day, crazy to think that little SUV has survived so much
It is well deserved when they talk about this Sportage, there is one that I am trying to recover that my father left before he died, last year of manufacture 96/97
Kia Sportage - what put Kia on the map.
Glad to be born in ‘92. Look at an episode of Seinfeld and the shots of the New York street is literally a cars-on-the-road time capsule.
My mom purchased one 2001 and sold it 2009 with 200k! I was surprised it lasted that long 😂
Look like WhistlinDiesel testing that shifter
My sister has a 1999 Sportage XT manual rwd with the 2.0 130hp
It's soooo much fun 😊
Yes, this guy's best configuration, better than the 65 to 95 hp intercooled turbo
Every family 4x4 had a solid rear axle, ladder frame chassis and at least a limited slip differential in those years nowadays they're tearing up the woods off-road in Europe. They just don't make 'em like they used to.
I keep seeing OG Kia sportage's around Charlotte.
My buddies wife had one similar to this when they met in 2003. Of course it rusted out. As others have stated, Kia has come a LONG way.
I remember motoring TV just ripping on this thing....the Shifter having more play IN GEAR than most cars in neutral.
I had one Diesel for twenty years and more than 300k odometer (km)
Slow as hell but a good small 4x4! Good to work on the farm, and very reliable
I'm from Toronto Canada and I haven't seen a first generation Kia Sportage in a long time. ( the last time I saw one was in 2001 but that was a second generation one)
A couple of notes: 1) The wheels have Kia's old flag logo on them, I think it's supposed to be smoke from a factory smokestack, instead of the then newer oval logo as seen on its grille. 2) Back when I was into Miatas, one of the mods people would do is to pull the rear differential gears out and swap them with the ones from first gen Sportages. They fit, I assume on purpose as Mazda and Kia were tight for decades by this point, and give you a much lower ratio for better off the line performance.
Kia Sportage is great SUV, here in Brazil sold with imported
Isso ai meu amigo mais um brasileiro aqui realmente esse caro e magnífico foi a porta de entrada da kia no nosso país.
Mine is the last one that came out before here I spoke with the tigers crisis and on top of that it has 128 horsepower gasoline.
I haven't seen one of these in a few years I'm guessing not to many still around
It's surprising that the 1st generation Sportage and Sorento was a body on frame vehicle.
They all were at that time, before the first RAV4 started the CUV boom.
@@ThisGuyRides Cherokee offered unit body since 1984. Way before Rav4
Kia also offered the Borrego as a BoF SUV, but it failed in the US due to poor timing with the 2008 recession.
Grandfather said pay the extra $1000 for the Rav4 or CRV and he was 100% correct.
I think the next kia sportage should be a 4x4. It's the hot segment right now and enthusiasts would love a compact 4x4 similar in size to a Jimny
You’ve come a long way baby
It's a shame companies aren't making small econobox 4WD's like this anymore, they were rather popular in poorest Eastern European countries that had rough terrain. I'd love to own something like this today, the Suzuki Jimny is the only option left.
These had a Mazda FE 2.0 engine and a Aisin Warner Automatic transmission. If the timing belt snaps on these old Sportages No damage will happen it was great! Bad thing hydraulic lifters love to tick in the engine.
Well let me tell you back in 97 my aunt bought a new Honda CR-V AWD loaded with everything option you can think off then I had another family member that bought a Sportage also fully loaded 4x4 and I myself had a 4 door Geo Tracker LSi. The CR-V is still driven almost daily with well over 300,000 miles, My Tracker was driven to well over 200,000 miles before it was passed down and then passed down again for a farm car and the Sportage well it was traded in only after a few years when it continuously had transmission issues. It was traded for a Sorento which lasted a LONG time and was only traded in because the gas mileage was awful and the price of fuel went through the roof
Who still remembers that late 90's Kia commercial? "America's fallen in love with Kia"
It broke out here in Brazil, friend, it was the one where a Korean man left the office with a Sportage leash and then he drove down a dirt road, it was the best commercial seen to date
You don't see any of these or significantly older models on the road Today. So tired of shills pushing the latest models when they themselves probably have not owned one model for more than 4 consecutive years before getting rid of it.
What a difference nearly 3 decades makes, the current sportage looks great.
It's a basic, cheap little thing, but the simplicity is very appealing to me. Today's cars are overwhelmed by electronics and computers that numbs the driving experience and adds expensive complexity when things go wrong. Loaded for $16k is expensive though. That's $30k in today's money. At least for that kind of money today you're getting something much higher quality and better equipped from Kia. Unfortunately, reliability is like to be average to below average. Too many engine and transmission recalls.
I saw these somewhat regularly on the road until a decade ago so reliability must not have been too horrible.
My dad wanted a kia shortage so badly in 96-2000. He wound up with a Chrysler Town and Country LXi
several questions including, about the taillight of the Kia Sportage 99 until 2003, is that up to 97?
I had a 97 Kia Sportage. It was always in the shop. Really not good quality. But it did have a comfy ride.
I rode in one of these once. It was a cramped tin can.
Really only for this 1st generation, a lot of Americans used to pronounce it “spor-taazh.” This was sold in the US until 2002, then when it was revived for 2005, it seemed like everyone was pronouncing it “spor-tuhj” like they do in this video.
I was very surprised to learn that the original sportage is an actual 4x4 cuv
I love these.
Put an LS engine in it🤾♂️
I think it was a mistake that Kia didn't put an airbag in the Sportage or Sephia, given that they came out in 1995 and 1994 respectively. I mean, even the Jeep Cherokee gave you a standard driver airbag then, and its design was a decade old! As for the Sephia, the ads said it was a competitor to the Honda Civic, which had dual bags by '94. I know the Sephia was a lot cheaper, but come on, a brand new design in 1994 should have had at least one airbag.
Kia actually put dual airbags on the 1996 Sportage, but not in the way you'd think. Instead of airbags for the driver and front passenger, they had a driver's airbag and a driver's KNEE airbag. When the '98 Sportage got a passenger airbag as well, the Sportage became one of the very few vehicles ever produced with exactly 3 airbags.
1 airbag was common in the early-mid '90s, 2 airbags was what was on most cars from the mid-'90s to early '00s, 4 airbags was somewhat common in the early-mid '00s (two front, two side torso OR side curtain), 6 airbags (two front, two side torso, and two side curtain) has been the standard since the mid-late '00s and even 7 airbags (the aforementioned + driver knee) or even 8 or 10 airbags are pretty common numbers, there've even been a few vehicles with 9 airbags (the 7 + rear torso). But 3 and 5 are the rarest numbers, because knee airbags didn't become common until after side airbags became common, so almost everything with a knee airbag also had side torso and curtain airbags.
March 9, 2023 2:32 am
"actually holds big cups"...in theory, yes, but any turn at speed and that cup is going to fall right over.
That's what I thought. Only about the bottom 0.5 inches of that cup are secured.
Can u imagine seeing the 2023 version of the Kia Sportage back then? People would be like wtf is that?’🤣
I still say WTF is that to the 2023 sportage today! Kia went a lil too far this time with the styling imho; although they nailed it with the Sorrento!
what ia the battery post position? is it reverse ?
They've come a long way since than
A kia sempre foi à frente do tempo desde a década de 1990 tem que ser respeitada até hoje os visuais dos dias de hoje em dia são uma de nave espacial., Eu cheguei e pude ver um novo Kia mohave, junto do novo Kia Sorento é cada um mais bonito que o outro.
One interest thing is Sportage was a result of troubles between Ford and Kia. Although they were important business partners each other.
Anti lock only on the rear?
I remember shortly after these came out, I was riding somewhere with my grandfather and we saw one of these driving in front of us, so he pulled up really close behind so we could get a better look. After saying something mildly racist about the Koreans, he expressed his belief that these Korean car companies were up and coming and would become powerhouses in some years.
Then, as if to address why he was somewhat dangerously tailgating this Kia, he explained how the closer you are following another vehicle the less amount of damage will occur if they slammed on their brakes. Smaller differential in speed, so I guess that makes sense. I never found out for sure if that's true, but he was right about the likes of Kia and Hyundai.
Mildly racist? Wtf😼
Or you can keep your distance and avoid an accident.
@@katmanjenks1961 Born in the 1920's and very much a product of his time...The point of my comment was that even a crotchety old man (he was in his 70's at this point) who had some problematic opinions and viewpoints could see the potential in Korean vehicles when the popular opinion at the time was very much that these vehicles were junk and would end up being nothing but a flash in the pan.
@@CarnutMM Of course, hence why I haven't tried to find out for myself. That would have been a good topic for Mythbusters, though. It didn't matter who you were, my grandpa would try and pull your leg every chance he got.
@@aaronbehindbars I am sure he was a great man and that is nice to have those memories of him. I only have memories of 1 grandmother and those memories are priceless. Unfortunately, with the years those memories are fogging up.
At the same time Daihatsu offered the Rocky. It was IMO a much better vehicle. But I held out for when they offered a 4 door. But politics and policies happened and Daihatsu exited the US market. Also the Suzuki 4 door sidekick came out about this time.
Barbie Jeep!!!!
I miss my 2000 Sportage EX. I've been trying to find one but they are just dogged out or over priced 😔😭
Considering that I haven’t seen one of these on the road in probably 15 years, I’d wager they didn’t age well.
Well it's a Kia soo..... lol
Which Kia ever ages well?
There are plenty of them still on the road here in California. But I imagine on the East Coast and in the North and South, they probably didn't handle the more extreme weather conditions as well
I still see these in Ohio.
There are still Sportages of this generation in Western PA, MD and WV.
“But is that enough?”, slight sarcasm.
Frugal 4X4
This came out a couple years before Kia was taken over by Hyundai, at this point they didn't even have a full fledged dealership base
I have a Grand 99 sportage
make a full video of manual MRDI version.
this video is from 1995, and they never sold diesel versions in the us
Remember when the Sportage was small.
Have 3. They are........interesting
Excelente 👍
I didn't think Kia come out then. I thought they came out around 2005.
As small as their cars are. Yeah, they can add more options.
Que carro lindo
Show mesmo mano to tentando recuperar um quê meu pai deixou pra mim.
Sensacional 👍👍👏
1:15 doesnt look very aggresive to me
1995 Kia Sportage Available Made in the Philippines.
Sportage came in manual transmission 😅😅
My grandfather had one it broke due to engine failure they sold it
Oh yeah its the 4WD version
A mini Isuzu Trooper lol
🙄😊😊 carro magnífico.
The biggest POS my mom ever bought from new the radiator blew out the second week we had it and then the transfer case broke in the winter would never ever put any I know in a pos Kia not worth the time or money to keep it running
To bad these were so unreliable I had a 97 two door no fun and it spent more time on a lift then the road 😢
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