THE Kia Sportage medium SUV is a real favourite with UK car buyers and has become the company's best-seller both in the UK and a number of other countries.

The model launched in 2010 raised the bar for other similar cars and comes with very generous equipment as standard.

Better still, all secondhand models come with the remains of the manufacturer's industry-leading seven year warranty, which is good for 100,000 miles and is also transferable to new owners.

The Sportage is a family sized five-door hatch with plenty of space for a family of four or five.

There's a good range of engines but despite there being two petrols on offer, most on the market are diesels.

All 1.6 petrol and 1.7 diesel models are front wheel drive and are named 1 to 4, while the 2.0-litre models are all four wheel drive and are named KX-1 to 4.

The petrols are a 1.6 with 133bhp and a 2.0-litre with 161bhp. The 1.6 sprints to 60mph from rest in 10.7 seconds and has an official economy figure of 44 miles per gallon, while the 2.0-litre cuts the benchmark 60mph time to 10.3 seconds and is rated at 37mpg.

The diesels are a 1.7 CRDi with 114bhp and a 2.0-litre CRDi with either 134 or 181bhp. The 1.7 gets to 60mph in 11.9 seconds and is rated at 55mpg, while the lower powered 2.0-litre cuts the sprint to 10.9 seconds and is rated at 49mpg.

The 181bhp diesel is only available in the top KX-4 trim and is rated at 46mpg. It does zero to 60mph in 9.5 seconds.

Petrol and diesel engines come with a six-speed manual gearbox and both petrol and diesel 2.0-litres were also available with a six-speed automatic.

Two-wheel-drive (2WD) models are front wheel drive and save a lot of weight to help improve economy. So if you don't need all wheel traction, the best buy is the 1.7-litre.

This was the third generation Sportage and it has sold very well so there should be plenty to choose from.

In common with most crossovers, it has a decent compromise between a comfortable ride and decent road-holding.

There is a fair amount of roll in the corners but it grips well and feels assured, even though the steering doesn't give much feedback.

Comfort is good, smoothing out most poor surfaces with ease. There's not much side support in the seats but few owners are going to be throwing these around.

Those seats are very comfortable and, of course, the high driving position gives a marvellous view all round, only restricted by rather hefty front and rear pillars.

Road and wind noise are well subdued and, while the diesel engines are noisy on start up, the 1.7 particularly is much quieter once warm.

High levels of equipment come with every model and include air conditioning, electric windows all round, rain-sensing wipers, remote locking, cruise control and Bluetooth.

All models also have an alarm, traction control, heated electric mirrors and audio remote controls.

The mid-range ‘3' adds an electric sunroof, parking sensors and heated leather seats with lumbar adjustment.

Pay about £8,250 for a '15 15-reg 2WD 1.7 CRDi ‘2', or £7,850 for a '14 14-reg four-wheel-drive (4WD) 2.0 CRDi KX-3.