2022 Kia Sportage detailed: Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Ford Escape and Nissan X-Trail rival struts out bold new exterior styling

Kia has ripped the covers off its all-new Sportage mid-size SUV, which will land in Australian showrooms around October this year to take on the hot-selling Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson and Ford Escape.

Sporting a ground-up new look, the 2022 Sportage borrows the pinched frontend of the EV6 for a much more aggressive and modern looking fascia.

The blacked-out front grille extends to nearly the width of the SUV, flanked by boomerang-style LED daytime runnings lights that curve around the diamond-shaped headlight housings.

The front bumper is also complimented by a darkened lower section and foglights, while Kia’s new badge is positioned proudly on the bonnet.

In profile, the new Sportage is less aggressively styled, but still sports a darkened lower section, strong shoulder line and chrome-finished D-pillar.

For the first time, the Sportage is also available with a contrasting black roof, as well as black window surrounds.

From behind, the Sportage’s shoulder lines meld into the new-look tail-lights, which are connected via a horizontal strip across the tailgate, and the lower bumper sports a prominent blacked-out section with contrasting diffuser-like element.

The new Sportage’s interior is characterised by a large, curved widescreen display, which encompasses the instrumentation and multimedia system.

Kia is yet to reveal the size of the screen, but the former should sport customisation options, while the latter has features like satellite navigation, smartphone mirroring, a valet mode and Bluetooth connectivity.

Other equipment that can be glimpsed in the interior include heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, shift-by-wire transmission dial and drive-mode selector.

Kia is promising that the cabin features “the highest quality materials that are sumptuous to touch, dynamic and vibrant colour options and additional energising finishing techniques that include chrome and pad print [to] ensure that the interior of all the all-new Sportage is a special place to spend time while on the move”.

However, the interior of the Sportage shown is likely for a high-end variant, so expect cheaper grades to feature a cloth interior and less features, and possibly even analogue dials and a separate multimedia screen.

Engine options for the new Sportage are yet to be revealed, but Kia is likely to stick the current line-up consisting of a 114kW/192Nm 2.0-litre petrol unit, a 135kW/237Nm 2.4-litre petrol engine and a 136kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel powerplant.

However, Kia could also borrow from its Hyundai Tucson counterpart, which is offered with a 115kW/192Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine, 132kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine or a 137kW/416Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel powerplant in its new-generation form.

More details, include engine, specification and pricing is expected closer to the 2022 Kia Sportage's launch.