Kia Sportage SUV 1.6 CRDi ISG GT-Line 5dr Owner Review

I used to be a 'high mileage' driver with a clean driving license for 25+ years up to the recent pandemic in 2020, driving on average 60K-80K miles a year commuting from Blackpool-Crawley return several times a week, every year. During that 25 year period, I had a brand new car every 3 years. I can safely say the Sportage is the worst and most dangerous car i've driven in that 25+ year period. The driver safety features cannot be permanently disabled, including the 'Lane-Assist' feature. The car had only done a total of 363 miles from new when I was travelling south on the M6 through Stafford. I entered a 50mph contraflow system due to road works on the M6, whereby the 'Lane Assist' system refused my steering command through the steering wheel and drove me into a long line of road cones whilst I was surrounded by HGV wagons. This caused a blow-out on the factory fitted rear passenger Michelin tyre. Fortunately I was surrounded by skilled HGV drivers who were able to avoid a collision. The Police and Highways operatives who attended the incident said that this is not the first time they have experienced lane assistance systems causing such accidents.

On new Kia's, the 'Lanes Assist' system together with the other dangerous 'driver assistance' systems cannot be permanently disabled in the vehicle. I have lost all faith and confidence with these systems installed in Kia's. After having a new tyre fitted, our Sportage sits on our drive and is not driven, its a dangerous and an appalling vehicle to drive!

These dangerous systems did not present themselves when I test drove the vehicle as I only drove the Sportage on local roads for 20-30 minutes. I recommend any new Kia customer to test drive their potential vehicle over a few days and certainly include some motorway driving in that test. I definitely do not recommend Kia's as I believe these 'safety systems' a common across the whole range.