Last year, the Kia Sportage sold almost double the number of cars than the second best-selling Kia, the Picanto. That’s right, Kia’s dealers shifted 34,502 examples of the Sportage in 2019, compared to 17,948 Picantos. And I’m sure Kia management are elated at that, as there’s no doubt a lot more profit in a Sportage than there is in Kia’s tiniest city car. Of those Sportages, 32 per cent were diesel powered, or in any other words, 12,040 cars. That’s enough to make Kia’s medium-sized five-seat SUV the second best-seller in the UK, behind the Ford Kuga, and beating both the Hyundai Tucson, of which it shares some technology, and the Volkswagen Tiguan.

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