When you see a knocked-around ’90s Kia, I bet you’ve said to yourself, ‘wow, Kia has come a long way’. But now even in Cambodia, more numbers of Kia vehicles are running on the road and Sportage is one of them.

The Sportage GT-Line is powered by a 2.0-litre superbly smooth gasoline engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

It comes with a GT-Line sports pack that includes D-cut sports steering wheel with shift paddles, a smart powered tailgate, 19-inch wheels, wireless phone charging, and aggressive-styled side sills, bumper inserts and grille.

It is also packed with features : rear-view camera with dynamic guidelines, rear parking sensors, an eight-way powered front passenger seat, LED headlights with LED fog lights, along with cruise control, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

You would be mistaken for thinking the Sportage is European inside. The cabin is quite premium and The GT-Line optional grey two-tone upholstery is each to their own, but it is a nice change from black, and it could camouflage dirt quite well.

Over to the back, the kids will be comfortable with reclining seats and a fold-down armrest with cup holders.

A USB and a 12-volt port sit below two adjustable fan ventilations.

The centre floor hump isn’t too high and won’t impede on foot room too much if a third passenger fills the middle seat. Three anchor points and two ISOFIX points are available for a baby seat.

Using the same reclining lever, the seats can be folded 60:40 to fit 1455L worth of stuff. With them folded up, boot space reads 466L.

It’s not the biggest boot in its class, however it does have a full-size spare wheel.

The tailgate can be opened by the press of a button on the key, and any luggage can be hidden by a cargo blind.

Two grocery hooks, four tie-down latches, and a luggage net add to the boot features.

Under the bonnet of the GT-Line is a 2.9-litre naturally aspirated gasoline engine with 157hp of power.

The power for this is perfect enough for tootling around the city, but the engine is buzzy when the throttle is planted, and the six-speed auto transmission can take a second or two when it kicks back a couple of gears, revving out to 5000rpm at times.

Sport driving mode in a family SUV can boggle the mind for some, but engaging this mode in the Sportage is actually a bit of fun.

It doesn’t hold onto the gears too long, and you can definitely feel the difference in throttle response when taking off from the lights.

The steering wheel is a little sporty, and the paddle shifters are covered in brushed aluminum-look plastic that feels quite nice on the fingers.

On the 19-inch wheels as the specialty of ‘GT-Line’, the ride is stable thanks to the suspension.