[sporte steve 2017]

Hi folks this is my first post on this forum, i got my sportage 2.0l diesel gt line in October and i am relatively happy with it but i have a couple of questions to ask. The first regards the awd system do you get any indication when it is active ,i.e does any thing display light up on the dash to show it is in use i tried to make the front wheels spin in the snow the other day traction control light came on briefly and then the car took grip and took off down the road with no problem. My other query is regarding the gear change my car is manual and first thing in the morning when cold the change up and down is not very smooth is this normal for this gear box, many thanks in advance for any reply's.

 

[mr.macspot]

The AWD is always active, by that I mean the car is always distributing the power through all four wheels, it is just under normal conditions most of the power is going to the front wheel. There is no indication when it is doing this, unless you use the AWD Lock button.
Gear box issues are not something I have experienced. If you use search box in the header you will find a fair few threads about gear box issues.

 

[Turnup]

I don't think the AWD announces it's activation, which is anyway usually transitory. Obviously if you select "LOCK" then the light will stay on until you exceed a certain speed (20mpoh?) when it will go off, but come on again if the speed drops.

I have seen TC and ESP lights flicker but again it is usually all over quickly.

Don't have a manual so can't speak from experience, however thick cold gearbox oil would make gearchanges slower.

 

[Turnup]

The AWD is always active, by that I mean the car is always distributing the power through all four wheels, it is just under normal conditions most of the power is going to the front wheel. There is no indication when it is doing this, unless you use the AWD Lock button.
Gear box issues are not something I have experienced. If you use search box in the header you will find a fair few threads about gear box issues.

There are only three conditions when any drive reaqches the rear wheels:

1) Front wheels slipping

2) LOCK engaged below the critical speed

3) When cornering hard, as the adhesion limit is approached some torque is applied to the rears. This is quite noticeable because suddenly the car transofms from that soggy wash out feel you get near the cornering limit (incipient understeer) to feeling like it is on rails!.

Most of the time there is no drive to the rears at all, which is why the tyres wear far less than the fronts.

 

[sporte steve 2017]

Thanks for your reply's folks , gear change gets better as car warms up so is probable just down to cold oil, does anybody know if the gear box has its own oil or does it share it with the engine oil thanks again steve , ps other than this i am loving the sportage.

 

[Faltwen]

Definitely will not share the engine oil. Scary thought, black diesel engine oil in a gearbox. Wouldn't last long.

 

[robthedarter]

My 2014 2.0 sportage box is the same 1st and 2nd when cold are crap but once warm are ok as i have said before this box is not good and i have drove all kinds of vehicles and this is one of the worst just to add i got dealers to put new oil in mine made no diffence dealers had car back to check and said it is ok he even said this is why he swaped his manual out and got the auto box

 

[Turnup]

Definitely will not share the engine oil. Scary thought, black diesel engine oil in a gearbox. Wouldn't last long.

I tend to agree (but I don't really know).

It is possibel though. I once owned an 850 cc mini with a 4 speed autobox. Gearbox and torque converter and engine shared the same oil. It had a humungous oil filter and the oil change capacity was more then 2 x 5l cans! Worked just fine until the dreaded sill rot got to it.

 

[robthedarter]

Drove old Land Rovers/Buses back in the early 70s with crash boxes this sportage is a modern car should be easy to change not the way it it some times it is impossible to get from 1st to 2nd first thing in the morning this last week with it being cold

 

[Faltwen]

I tend to agree (but I don't really know).

It is possibel though. I once owned an 850 cc mini with a 4 speed autobox. Gearbox and torque converter and engine shared the same oil. It had a humungous oil filter and the oil change capacity was more then 2 x 5l cans! Worked just fine until the dreaded sill rot got to it.

That's why I stated diesel!
I do realise there are some engines using the same oil for gearbox and engine.
My GS1000 Suzuki does just that.

 

[robthedarter]

I know for a fact that the 2014 diesel dont share the same oil as i have had the both changed and they use diffent spec of oil

 

[ianv]

I have had 3 manual Sportage’s & they were all the same when cold - stiff in1st & 2nd.
Half a mile warm up & its ok.
I now have an auto & when really cold it clunks into Drive from Neutral - just gearbox oil being cold.
As stated above, normaly drive is to the front wheels only unless fronts start loosing traction or you select AWD lock.
Only time I have heard the transmission modulating between front and rear wheels, was on a really slushy slippy motorway doing 60MPH - but it did its job really well.
one other tip, if you ever get stuck in the slippy stuff, switch off the ESP.

 

[sporte steve 2017]

Thanks for all your replies gents the gear change has been noticeable better this week now that the weather has warmed up.

 

[Soapy]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask. I'm thinking of buying a Sportage in the near future. Is having AWD worth the extra £2000ish it costs?

 

[Turnup]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask. I'm thinking of buying a Sportage in the near future. Is having AWD worth the extra £2000ish it costs?

Depends on what you plan to do with your car. For me AWD is.......meh. I bought the model I wanted and it happened to have AWD, AWD is not optional - it either comes with a particular model or it does not.

 

[mr.macspot]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask. I'm thinking of buying a Sportage in the near future. Is having AWD worth the extra £2000ish it costs?

I have had AWD in both my Sportages, but like Turnup only because the model and engine I wanted came with it. We've had two Sportages since 2017 and I have only locked the AWD on twice, both occasions on wet grass to get our caravan of a pitch, without doing any damage to the site. But none of my previous cars had AWD, and I always managed with them.

 

[Soapy]

The reason I'm asking is I would probably prefer the 1.6 T-GDi with the DCT and it comes with AWD as standard. But trying to make up my mind if it's worth the extra money compared to the Manual without AWD.
I'm now living in the Shetland Islands and we have had snow for the past 3 weeks and it might have been useful.

 

[ianv]

Hi Soapy, I been going to the Shetlands (for work) frequently since 2012 and have seen 4 seasons in a day.
I would say go AWD for piece of mind or at least invest in winter tyre If you go 2WD,
Scariest drive I ever had was from Tingwall to Sumburgh in a blizzard in a Fiat 500 rental car.

 

[iooi]

The reason I'm asking is I would probably prefer the 1.6 T-GDi with the DCT and it comes with AWD as standard. But trying to make up my mind if it's worth the extra money compared to the Manual without AWD.
I'm now living in the Shetland Islands and we have had snow for the past 3 weeks and it might have been useful.

That is the one reason you need.
Just remember to get some decent all weather or winter tyres. As AWD and standard summer tyres is not going to help much.

 

[Soapy]

Hi iooi, thanks for the advice. I've been travelling back and forth to Shetland for the past 25 years and know what the Winter conditions are like. Another saying here is "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 mins" and never go anywhere without a coat 😂.