KIA Sportage II targets lower SUV market segment

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While good quality highways are rare in most of Indonesia, many automakers seem confident that the presence of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) can boost their sales in addition to the more renown multipurpose vans (MPVs) and sedans.

With this in mind, South Korean carmaker PT KIA Mobil Indonesia (KMI) launched last Friday the KIA Sportage II SUV. The company expects it to do as well as the previous model Sportage first introduced here in 2001.

The KIA Sportage II is powered by a four-cylinder, 1,975 cc gasoline double overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine with continuous variable valve timing (CVVT) technology unleashing a top power of 142 horsepower (hp) at 6,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and a maximum torque of 184 Nm at 4,500 rpm.

The KIA Sportage II is offered in 4x2 version with an option of five-speed manual transmission or four-speed automatic.

Previously KMI offered automatic transmissions only with the KIA Sportage 4x4 version.

Data from the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) claims that there has been a sharp decline in the 4x4 segment over the past four years, and this has prompted KMI to come up with a 4x2 model.

There were a total of 1,817 4x4 SUVs sold in 2001, but only 1,259 sold last year.

The 4x2 segment also declined from 30,695 in 2003 to 29,681 last year. However, last year's sales are still higher than 2001's figure of 20,774 units.

Not only that. Taxes are higher for the four-wheel drive.

The manual KIA Sportage II is offered at Rp 184 million and the automatic is tagged at Rp 203 million on-the-road.

The 4x4 KIA Sportage was offered at about Rp 230 million.

KMI sales and marketing director Suwanda Setiadi said that KIA Sportage II was expected to grab market share from Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and Suzuki Grand Escudo, which are priced from Rp 197 million to Rp 279 million.

Suwanda denied that the company was subsidizing the KIA Sportage II in order to grab market share, especially from the Suzuki Grand Escudo

"Everybody knows that Korean products are always cheaper than Japanese ones, from handphones to TV sets," he said with a grin.

"Well, actually we are offering KIA Sportage II at a special introductory price. So buy now," he told reporters. "We must first see how the market reacts to this new car", declining to put a timeframe on when his company would start charging the "real price" to prospective customers.

KIA Motors Company also provides two other engines for the KIA Sportage II: the 2,700 cc V6 gasoline DOHC engine with VIS technology, and the 2,000 cc CRDi diesel engine with common-rail technology.

While saying it was possible to import the larger gasoline engine version or the 4x4 version, Suwanda said KMI would not be offering the diesel version.

"Indonesia's diesel fuel quality is still too low for common- rail diesel engines that require cleaner fuel with low sulfur content," he said.

Suwanda also claims that the KIA Sportage was the first SUV in its class to apply the shiftronic automatic transmission system allowing manual-like operation without the need of a clutch.

"The shiftronic system is usually provided only in premium cars," he said.

Other features include electric mirrors, flip-up tailgate glass, rear wiper and a high-mounted exterior stop lamp.

Inside, there is pop-up center console armrest, map lamp, sunglass case and pullout tray, while the driver's seat is equipped with height adjuster.

For the manual model, there is a radio, CD and MP3 player, while the automatic also has a tape player.

In regard to safety, KIA Sportage II has side impact beams and three-point emergency locking retractor (ELR) seat belts for all passengers except for the center-rear passenger, which is a two- point ELR.

The automatic is equipped with antilock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) for better handling. It also comes with ventilated disc brakes on all tires.

Meanwhile, the manual model does not have ABS and EBD, and only the front tires come with ventilated disc brakes. The rear tires are installed with drum brakes.

There are five color schemes, including cherry black, grayish silver, satin silver, smart blue and volcanic red.