The CKD Kia Sportage is bound for Malaysia in 2023, here's what you can expect

Dinamikjaya Motor, the new distributor of Kia vehicles in Malaysia, has pretty much confirmed that the all-new fifth-generation 2022 Kia Sportage will be making its return to our shores. But what else have the distributor revealed and what should you expect from the C-segment SUV contender?

The Kia Sportage is the brand’s most popular model to date. Kia sold more than 360,000 units of the Sportage in 2021 alone, despite the mid-year (June 2021) launch in Korea and the rest of the world later in September 2021.

At the presentation of what to expect from Kia in the coming years, Dinamikjaya revealed its ambitious plans to locally assemble (CKD) at least four models in Malaysia. The Kia Sportage is one of the models earmarked to begin CKD operations at the Inokom plant in Kulim.

Unlike the already launched Kia Carnival which is already on sale fully imported (CBU) from Korea now, with plans to start local assembly later this year, the Sportage will be launched a CKD model straight away.

Also read: Malaysia-bound Kia Sportage was sold 364k times in 2021, Kia’s global best-seller

Worldwide, there are nine powertrain options available for customers to choose from. Three internal combustion engine (ICE) options, two diesel options, two hybrids (HEV), one mild-hybrid (MHEV), and one plug-in hybrid option (PHEV).

Malaysia will most likely mirror the options that are available in the land down under, as Australia is the brand’s largest right-hand-drive car market in the world.

In Australia, the Kia Sportage is offered with three engine options: a 2.0-litre Smartstream MPi petrol engine (156 PS and 192 Nm), a 1.6-litre T-GDi petrol engine (179 PS and 265 Nm), and a 2.0-litre CRDi turbodiesel (186 PS and 416 Nm).

Malaysia will most likely skip the turbodiesel powertrain, Dinamikjaya will most likely offer the 1.6-litre T-GDi engine here in Malaysia. We wouldn’t rule out the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine’s arrival either.

Also read: 4 new Kia models to Malaysia, EV included - CKD Kia Carnival, Sportage, Sorento, Niro

However, unlike our Aussie counterparts, Dinamikjaya has announced its commitment to go green in Malaysia. So, expect the 1.6-litre T-GDi petrol hybrid powertrain to make it to our shores as well.

The turbo hybrid powertrain produces a combined power of 226 PS and 350 Nm. The engine is paired with a 44.2 kW electric motor and a 1.49 kWh lithium-ion battery.

In the United Kingdom, there is also a mild-hybrid variant where the 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine is mated to a 48 V battery and is capable of a combined output of 140 PS.

Dinamikjaya even noted that the hybrid version will only come in 2024, a year after the expected 2023 launch of the Sportage in Malaysia.

Also read: Kia Malaysia targets 30k units of CKD cars by 2026, exports to make up 60 percent

Other details that we can expect on the Sportage include the full suite of ADAS features. We expect the Sportage to come with Blind Spot View Monitor, Surround View Monitor, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, and Safe Exit Warning just to name a few.

The all-new fifth-generation Kia Sportage was redesigned from the ground up with designers told to think out of the box and step away from conventional design. As a result, the Sportage looks almost too scary for the masses.

Are you excited for the arrival of the SUV in Malaysia?

Also read: ADAS for dummies, Kia explains why you need it and what it does