The boldly designed Kia Sportage has won AutoPacific’s 2017 Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA), earning the highest marks in the Compact Crossover SUV category. The IVA is the Sportage’s second honor from AutoPacific following the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) earlier this summer.
AutoPacific’s IVA is based on over 54,000 responses from owners of new model year 2016 and 2017 vehicles following the first 90 days of ownership. The national survey focuses on 15 key categories owners would prefer to change in their vehicle, including ride and handling, interior storage, safety features, power and acceleration, and technology. Vehicles that received the fewest requested changes were named winners of the IVA.
“We’re honored to hear that the Sportage has earned AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Award and that we are succeeding in our mission to provide our customers with world-class products,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning, Kia Motors America. “The fourth-generation Sportage is the best iteration of our esteemed nameplate, now with a stellar combination of sharp design, clever utility and advanced safety features.”
The 2017 Kia Sportage SUV, the fourth generation of Kia Motors America’s longest-running nameplate, wraps a stunning and contemporary design around a structure that is both stiffer and more spacious than ever before. Advanced driver assistance systems, significant suspension and steering improvements, and available intelligent AWD vastly improve the Kia Sportage’s driving dynamics while premium materials and world-class craftsmanship create a class-up experience in an otherwise utilitarian segment. The Kia Sportage boasts a roomier, more luxurious cabin featuring an impressive level of craftsmanship, with high-quality soft-touch materials and a range of technologies improving overall comfort, convenience, and connectivity. Updates to the drivetrain provide enhanced efficiency and performance, while changes to the suspension deliver better ride and handling. Kia Sportage is available in three distinct trim levels (LX, EX, SX Turbo) and comes with Kia’s industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty and five-year/60,000-mile limited basic warranty[i].
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, also conducts extensive proprietary research, forecasting and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area.
