The athletic and sleekly-designed Sportage is Kia’s flagship model and accounts for 27 per cent of the company’s UK sales. In fact, this year alone they are anticipating sales in the region of 22,500.

There has never been any doubt regarding the Sportage’s looks, practicality or performance so when it comes to introducing a new ‘better’ version, it is a huge gamble. But at Frankfurt this week, the high-flying South Korean brand unveiled its all-new fourth generation model and it certainly seemed to go down well with the watching masses.

Gregory Guillaume, Kia’s European Chief Designer explained how the company approached the development of new Sportage. He said: “It was the Sportage that first attracted me to Kia in 1990. It’s one of our most successful cars in Europe, so how do we move forward? We approached it like an Olympic athlete who had achieved gold medal status. What do they do? They train harder and continue to succeed. And that’s what we have done with the Sportage.”

From a design point of view the new Sportage features a complete make-over with new styling at the side and back, but it’s the face that’s really been transformed. The headlight clusters are no longer integrated into the grille and can now be seen positioned high on the bonnet. This leaves the stand-alone grille that has become a trademark design trait on the latest Kia models. The interior boasts higher quality materials and a modern, fresher look along with plenty of technical advancements to improve connectivity, safety and comfort. There will also be further powertrain and transmission choice to maximise efficiency. And for the first time, the Sportage will be available in a new GT Line specification which has been designed and engineered to appeal to customers looking for a sportier driving experience.

Prices have not been revealed and are unlikely to be available until much closer to the launch date early next year, but Kia will clearly be aiming to remain very competitive in the contested compact SUV sector. Kia’s motto is the Power to Surprise and they will be hoping the new-look Sportage will keep its growing fanbase on side rather than scare any potential customers away.