USED CARS
The generation game
The Kia Sportage had plenty of new ideas when it arrived in 2021. So, does it now make a better used buy than the more traditional Mazda CX-5 ?
OLIVER YOUNG oliver.young@haymarket.com
*Price today is based on a 2022 model with average mileage and full service history, correct at time of writing
1 Unlike the CX-5, the Sportage offers driving modes. Press this button to cycle between Eco, Normal and Sport 2 Digital instrument panel is clear and easy to read, but tall drivers might find the top part is obscured by the steering wheel rim 3 Each car offers a lofty driving position, but the Sportage’s windscreen pillars are slimmer; this aids visibility at junctions
1 Both cars feel plush inside, but the CX-5 does a better job of keeping any cheaper-feeling materials tucked away 2 Air-con controls can be operated easily by feel, but the low-mounted display is tricky to take in at a glance 3 Mixture of analogue and digital instruments is clear and easy to read, but there are few customisation settings
Photography:John Bradshaw
PRICE TODAY £22,000*
KIA SPORTAGE
1.6 T-GDI 2WD 3
List price when new £30,945 Available from 2021-present
It’s the cheaper option here, but does it feel so in its interior and the driving experience it delivers?
PRICE TODAY £24,000*
MAZDA CX-5
2.0 Skyactiv-G Sport Black Edition
List price when new £32,765 Available from 2017-present
The good-to-drive CX-5 was updated in 2022, freshening up its styling and technology
Sportage may not turn in to corners quite as quickly as the CX-5, but it grips harder and always feels planted
Although bigger than the Sportage’s, the CX-5’s non-turbocharged engine doesn’t pull as strongly at low revs
MUSICIAN BOB SEGER once decreed that he prefers “that oldtime rock ’n’ roll”, and he’s not the only one. Many folk see the value of keeping it old-school, as it were – be that with music or cars – and machines like the Mazda CX-5 are here to prove that tradition doesn’t necessarily mean out of date.