MY days as a motoring journalist go back into the mists of time and memories of models such as the Mentor and Pride brought back many reminders of Kia cars past during a recent road test of the latest Sportage.

A radical departure from the model it has replaced, this latest in the line of Kia 4x4s has finally shed the last vestiges of the butch appearance of the 1994 Sportage to become much more aerodynamic.

It is longer, lower and wider than its predecessor and shapes up as very much an object of desire as opposed to simply a mover of people and their stuff.

The latest Sportage is well put together and has a refined feel to its operation along with low costs of ownership.

There is plenty to appeal to the family buyer in this five door, five seat crossover particularly when you factor in  Kia's now legendary seven year warranty.

Powered by the Hyundai/Kia Group's new two-litre diesel, progress felt decently smooth whatever the conditions and it also proved responsively punchy.

The 134bhp engine featured plenty of low end urge and with a slick changing six-speed autobox to match the engine's pull there is decent ride and handling.

Sound body control also added to its ability on the road with economy proving agreeable for a permanent all-wheel drive operation, the Sportage delivering well over 40mpg.

It also lays claim to a generous towing capacity of some two tonnes.

With electronics monitoring all four wheels the Dymax All Wheel Drive System proved to be a quite clever piece of kit which, despite the absence of low ratio gears, allows the Sportage to tackle green lanes, ploughed fields and mud tracks with relative ease.

Also well to the fore are driver safety aids including ABS braking, electronic brakeforce distribution, hill start assist and electronic stability control with downhill brake control.

Its upmarket exterior is carried through to a roomy interior where a beautifully constructed cabin is dominated by a dashboard deliberately designed to emphasise the increased width of the new Sportage while the centre console also catches the eye.

Kia's 16 model Sportage range features generous kit levels in all four specs including on the KX2 car the likes of air con, electric windows all round, panoramic sunroof, parking sensors, a six-speaker sound system with CD and MP3 compatibility plus steering wheel mounted controls.

Fit, finish and cabin ambience are impressive while the generous luggage bay provides some 564 litres of luggage room which extends to 1,350 litres courtesy of folding split rear seats with a clever one-touch folding operation.