Ahead of the full-range of the Kia Sportage going on sale later in the year, additional factory production has been secured for 300 petrol-engined versions of Kia’s newest crossover.

The Sportage First Edition 2.0 AWD is powered by Kia’s Theta-II 2.0 petrol engine and comes with a 5-speed manual transmission delivering 161bhp @ 5,200rpm and 194Nm torque at 4,600rpm. The vehicle has a top speed of 113mph, accelerates from rest to 60mph in 10.3 seconds and achieves a combined cycle fuel consumption of 35.8 mpg. CO2 emissions are 188g/km. The ABI Insurance grouping is to be confirmed shortly.

This new version of the Sportage comes with the exactly the same specification as its diesel counterpart, which includes: black leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, 18” alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, Bluetooth, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers and a colour rear parking camera system integrated into the rear view mirror. Four exterior colours are available on this version: Clyde Blue, Phantom Black metallic, Silver Storm metallic and the striking Techno Orange metallic.

New Sportage First Edition 2.0 AWD is priced at £19,495 ‘on-the-road’ and comes with a fully-transferable seven year warranty. Customer ordering is open now and deliveries will begin in October. The full new Sportage line-up, including 2WD and lower capacity engine versions, will be available later in the year.