Thought I'd give my first impressions of the petrol manual FE as being strictly a car owner previously there are notable differences and this is the first time I've owned an SUV of this type. I was a previous Hyundai Coupe Mark 2 and 3 owner and both cars mechanically never let me down having only needed a change of tyres after 7 years (last winter finally took its toll) and a new battery.
I wanted something entirely different as the Coupe was becoming more and more impractical. I liked the look of the Tuscon/Sportage but they both looked like typically boxy off roaders and the new crop of SUV's looked more exciting Kuga, Qashqai etc but not quite what I was looking for. I even went on a Land Rover day out in Cheshire with a pal, great car and spec but way out of my price range and not something I consider but a top day out all the same. Then I caught a glimpse of the new Sportage in the car section of the local paper so then it was straight onto the web and by the end of the night I was hooked.
The car ticked all the right boxes in spec, style and was more than enough of a change from my Coupe to seriously consider a test drive. I quickly noted that the FE was a high spec limited model so I new from past experience there was not a lot of time to hang around the later similar models are inevitably, higher priced with options missing and it was a fairly tight budget and of course there is the possibility of a VAT rise on the horizon. I duly picked up the car on Wednesday it had arrived via Immingham Docks earlier in the month and transported across it had been left in the dealership compound since the weekend.
I noticed the car had the mud flaps already on but it had been unwrapped and presented on the forecourt rather hastily I reckon. I found areas of the car with bits of protective tape still attached including a large black strip covering the chrome underneath a passenger window - I wondered why the car looked odd on one side. The mats were in place but there was slivers of black plastic hanging our of the air vent the kind you get after cutting through plastic and the interior hadn't been properly valeted the black vinyl plastic looked a mess. I removed the dealership and warranty stickers off the back window - you can't see a great deal out the back to start with so freeing up more window space has helped.
I noted on an earlier post that the door doesn't shut properly and that's right the doors needs to be firmly shut the seals need time to bed in. I'm over six foot and its a large vehicle when I'm stood beside it and certainly has a road presence amongst all thehumdrum silver, black and white cars in the car park the Techno Orange definitely stands out almost refreshingly so without being too blingy. After adjusting the seat - usual stuff - pull up the bar beneath the seat to roll back and twist the wheel on the right to recline however the lumbar support lever doesn't really add much and surprisingly I found for my size I wasn't all the way back either which should give the passenger behind plenty of leg room.
I'm not sure about the leather and I'm wondering whether to buy some covers just for use when I'm out playingsport or there's a chance I'm going to get wet and muddy. I was surprised to find the hand brake a rather puny affair unlike the large handle on my coupe that gives every reassurance its parked this feels like a small unconvincing lever and if might say the position of it is a little awkward to be honest it's too close to the oversized storage box so its unnecessarily fiddly and I really don't see the point of the why there is protective a rail on the passenger side.
The steering column needed a little adjustment as did the wing mirrors the various controls on the door arm rest are many and a little confusing at first however the wing mirrors I might add are huge the biggest I've ever used and give you an excellent view behind the car which is great as there is not much to view out of the back window. After inserting and rotating the key I was surprised the car didn't turn over - the dashboard lit up like Blackpool illuminations together with the radio except the engine. I admit I was completely at a loss and I tried changing keys over and even looked through the manual. As I was about to give up I checked the handbrake was on and also pushed my foot down on the clutch the car shook a little but the engine noise was so quiet I wasn't sure it was ticking over at all. I turned off the stereo and sure enough it had started so my first lesson was that the car requires your foot on the clutch to start - how odd? Having spoken to the dealer he was surprised I didn't know and I thought it was me until I've asked just about everyone I know and they have never heard of a car starting on the clutch - to be honest it's not a problem but I have since turned it over and forgotten to depress the clutch so it takes a bit of getting used to after 30 years of perhaps at most pressing the accelerator just to help fire a car up in the cold.
I haven't quite worked out what the middle switch is for in the key fob yet its supposed to open the boot but I haven't quite figured it out yet. The accelerator pedal is different as well as it rises from the floor which unlike a car which hangs down with the brake and clutch. I used to rest my foot below the accelerator on cruise control but obviously you can't now and its very similar to an accelerator pedal in a van or mini-bus if you've ever driven one. There really is no engine noise at low speed at all and the ride is very smooth the lofty driving position is excellent but the front pillars are very obtrusive - you do slowly get used to it and the driving mirror especially at night dims car headlights behind you which I especially liked. Going through the gears was slightly clunky the clutch is very forgiving and I'm guilty of slightly over reving which are all bad habits from my Coupe which I need to get over.
For someone who has just come from a car seven years old the number of different functions on the driving wheel stalks are bewildering and the lights take some getting used to I wasn't sure what lights I had on at what stage and got out of the car just to confirm things. For the size of the car the full lock turning is good and the sensors on reverse parking at the kerbside alert you to the kerb which is useful and may save my alloys. Reversing in particular couldn't be easier and the gear lever slips into reverse very easily although on my dark driveway at night my reversing lights could be brighter when using the mirror camera. I reversed using the camera and although it's unusual it was perfect and I parked on the last rectangle in the mirror and this was right up against my garage door but with enough room to still be able to open the hatch which was useful. I'm not convinced the boot is the biggest I've seen there is a useful power socket in there and a curtain shelf to pull back.
There is a lot of wasted space around the spare wheel under the floor but there is another useful storage compartment with a lid on the left hand side but I'm not sure if I took four peopleout to a coursewe'd all get our clubs in the back with luggage. I easily managed to connect my iPod touch4 with the Kia attachment and my Bluetooth phone without problem. I just love the iPod's connectivity as I'm able to scroll through the albums and playlists with ease on the screen and I was also able to tune my favourite FM and AM radio stations with ease and the sound all round is excellent. I've my own Tom-tom satnav so I'm going to need a power splitter to keep both that and the phone plugged in pity that the space on the other side of the inputs is a switch rather than another power input.
My parents have both enjoyed a ride in the back it was different for them to step up into the car than dropping into my old coupe and after working out the confusing seat belts they love the amount of head and foot room available and despite the high waisted rear windows they had no problem with the outside view. They mentioned about the air-conditioning and I have to admit I had to study the manual later to get to grips with this but everything seems to be fine. In fact I've spent sometime in the evening when the car was parked outside on the drive going through some of the more involved functions with the manual so I was happy with just about everything.
I filled up last night and noticed there is some white plastic in the petrol filler tube that holds the nozzle it probably also prevents access by a diesel pump nozzle but more importantly it prevents petrol splashing back which was a symptom of my other cars . I haven't worked out the trip computer yet but noticed it shows the outside temperature and I had this on a Meganne but missed this on my old Coupe so I'm glad that this feature is included.
One thing I noticed is my general driving has changed as the Coupe hugged the road low down and it can sprint from standing and can move when I put the foot down but the FE isn't as quick but I don't feel the need to push it either so I give myself more time to manoeuvre and its more of a relaxed way of driving whichI like.
I'll post back when I've some miles under my belt but for now I'm really enjoying driving this car - it's different to anything I've had before but that's why I bought it.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Edited by: Seasider 
