When I think of the first Kia Sportage that hit the SA market round about the mid-1990's, there's absolutely no resemblance to this latest version.
It's awesome, girls. Beautiful, beefy, sporty, luxurious, practical, driver-friendly - what more could a woman want from her wheels?
The new Sportage comes with lots of chrome, alloy rims, a striking new grille, multi-layered combination headlights with black bezels and LED daytime running lights, roof rails, a notably wider tailgate than its predecessor for easier loading and a high-mounted brake light.
Kia designer Jung Hyun Cho said that, when starting this project, the aim was to leap ahead and effect a paradigm shift in how SUVs were seen.
He explained: "In the past, the main focus was on the utility side: the cars were practical but seldom show-stoppers. The Sportage is a great example of how a holistic approach towards design leads to excellent results."
Never a truer word.
He's transformed the Sportage from a mini-SUV to a spacious crossover that's developed a huge (and deserved) fan base along the way. I floated around for a week in the two-litre CRDi Turbodiesel version with six-speed auto transmission and all-wheel drive - and loved every minute of it.
The Sportage is loaded with safety features, including antilock braking with electronic brake-pressure distribution and emergency brake assist, hill hold and gradient brake control.
You've got IsoFix child-seat anchors, active head restraints, rear parking sensors - with a camera cunningly fitted inside the rear-view mirror - cruise control and half a dozen crash bags.
Interesting trivia: Kia claims the 1998 Kia Sportage was the first production vehicle with a knee crash bag.
And if you have allergy problems, there's dual-zone auto aircon with an air filter to reduce the pollen count as well harmful radicals and odours.
The interior is user-friendly and beautifully finished. Thoughtful extras such as folding side mirrors, sun-visor extension and an eyewear holder, as well as loads of cup holders, make it great for family travelling and long journeys and the engine is so quiet you hardly know it's a diesel.
You get a stop-start button with smart key and multimedia equipment includes a hi-tech audio system with MP3/iPod/USB connectivity.
The full-leather, all-wheel drive, CRDi self-shifter I drove will set you back R334 995; expect to pay extra for metallic colours - but the range is mindblowing.
This crossover is not only going to pull fans of the brand into Kia showrooms, it'll bring in people who never previously thought in terms of Korean cars. It may well be Kia's breakthrough car; well done, guys.