Family comes first

6 months 8 473 km 8,51 L/100 km

+ comfortable ride; standard features; stylish

- thirstier than anticipated

Nicol Louw: Scaling down from my previous Sorento long-termer to the Sportage, it was easy to anticipate potential concessions: the loss of a third row of seats, all-wheel drive and increased storage space. What was not as evident before my three-month stint was the gains associated with piloting the smaller, more athletic sibling and this led to quite a few surprises along the way.

Firstly, the stylish appearance in facelifted EX Plus specification lifted the kerb appeal towards the premium segment. Take, for example, those lovely 19-inch wheels