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The full Kia Sportage range is now on sale, following the success of the 'First Edition' model which has been available since August 1.

The five-door crossover is Kia's contribution to the design-led SUV niche characterised by the Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Yeti and Ford Kuga. Styling is much sleeker on this latest generation Sportage, which is not only longer, lower and wider than its predecessor but also weighs 90kg less.

There are four engines available, including two new entry-level units. The 1.6-litre petrol develops 133bhp and 44.1mpg, whilst the 1.7-litre turbo-diesel manages 114bhp and 54.3mpg. All cars with these engines will get a six-speed manual gearbox and Kia's start and stop technology as standard.

The 2-litre diesel and petrol engines are carried over from the previous-generation car and come with manual or automatic transmissions as standard.

The whole of the Sportage range is covered by Kia's seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty and standard items on the entry-level car include 16-inch alloy wheels, air-con, electric windows, LED daytime running lights, automatic wipers, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity and cruise control.

Range-topping cars add leather upholstery, heated seats, automatic xenon lights and 18-inch alloy wheels. There is also a special 'Sportage 3 Sat-Nav' model at the very top of the range which includes sat-nav and parking cameras controlled by a seven-inch LCD screen.

The Sportage range starts at £16,645.

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