Fresh from its recent midlife makeover, Kia’s perennial fleet favourite family car heads to Scotland to see if the refinements hold up on the open road.

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Kia Sportage HEV GT-Line S

List price (BiK): £43,180 (35%)   CO2: 145g/km   Economy: 44.1mpg   Test efficiency: 44.1mpg

Monday

A very different Kia this week. Following our recent weeklong inspection of the EV4, we’re testing a Sportage, which is a perennial favourite in this household and with fleet users. The Sportage for the upcoming week is a top spec GT-Line S HEV 1.6 T-GDi AWD with six-speed automatic transmission, so it has all the bells and whistles you could want or expect of a mid-size SUV.

Tuesday

While no off-roader, the Sportage’s all-wheel drive was a welcome back-up given the frosty start this morning. With the onboard temperature gauge showing -7, it was darned chilly, but the Kia had no trouble gently picking its way up the hill out of my village and towards roads that had been gritted. Toasty warm heated seats and steering wheel were also much appreciated.

Wednesday

From memory, the Kia Sportage in this generation was not the most engaging car in its class to drive. Whether it’s my mind playing tricks or the upscale trim of this model, but it deals with corners with more enthusiasm on its 19-inch wheels. There’s a touch more steering feel than I remember, too, so it’s up there with a Ford Kuga or SEAT Ateca as a car to enjoy as well as merely get about in.

Thursday

Long drive today down to Wales and the Sportage is the perfect accompaniment. Cruising along the motorway at the national speed limit, the Kia is quiet, stable and comfortable. It’s easy to disable unwanted safety nannies, plus it has an excellent radio – I’m never that fussed about streaming music and prefer good old Radio 4 as my travelling companion. Yeah, I’m old…

Friday

Return leg of the trip to Wales and Friday afternoon traffic is kind to me. Three hundred miles is knocked off in little more than five hours, so I’m home in time for tea, and the Sportage has been a splendid car for the journey. The slightly raised seating position has not inflicted any aches on my back, while the sat-nav was quick, accurate and clear, as is the entire infotainment set-up.

Saturday

Heading to my son’s football match this morning took in a couple of very steep back roads, which showed up just about the only weak link in the way this Sportage drives. Put your foot down hard and the engine becomes a little rowdier than my ears would like. Enough to put me off the Sportage? No, but it’s something to drive around rather than experience too often.

Sunday

For fleet drivers, the list price of the Kia Sportage in this fully loaded GT-Line S trim might be a small stumbling block for tax reasons. It’s not insurmountable, but I suspect a lot of company users will err towards the GT-Line version, which is hardly back to basics in its kit list. Beyond that, the hybrid power of this Sportage was efficient and all-wheel drive was a welcome feature at this time of year.