it is so funny when i go through stuff an extremly done up jeep wont even attempt. then when you tell him its his turn because he said you wouldnt make it, he gets mad and turns around with his tail between his legs! who needs a jeep with a 383 stroker and 37's!

I belong to four 4x4 clubs. Most have minimum size requirements. The local one here in the Catskills has a 35" minimum (SWB) and no LWB trucks allowed (longest is a Jeep Scrambler), required front and rear lockers and a winch with 3x the vehical weight rating. We run very serious stuff.

Another group just trail rides, and has other Jeeps and mixed SUV/truck platforms. Much less wild.

Trust me, the Jeep vs. Zook thing is as heated as the Mustang vs. Camaro crowd. Many jeepers look down their noses at a well-built Samurai, and hell, that's a Samurai! That wheels better than a CJ7 outta the box.

as far as size measurements go, i understand they may read differently, but go get inside a GV and then get inside a Sportage, you'll see the difference.

and i'm telling you, the Sportage is sized more in line with the likes of the Cherokee XJ than the GV or Tracker. look at the suspension links, the bolt sizes, look at the bushing joints, r&p, frame rails, etc. the Sportage has a small body with a medium chassis. the only thing this small with a beefier chassis and running gear is the older Montero or Raider and the Vehicross. i've owned my Sportage for 11 years and i've been inside both Trackers and GVs and my Sportage has a LOT more interior room, no matter that the exterior dimensions are 2" less. has more leg room, more head room, more elbow room, and shoulder room. it might have to do with the design of the interior door panels, the seats, the center console, the roof liner, the dash, the steering wheel, i don't know, maybe all of these things, but, to be honest, it is even more roomy than a late 90's Ford Explorer (drove one of them too). the closest thing i can remember riding or driving as far as interior space is concerned, is the Cherokee XJ, which is actually wider with a lower roof line.

Ok, I've read through most of this and it almost sounds to me that you are bad mouthing the Kia's a little. I bought my 95 new for my wife and she put 60,000 trouble free miles on it intill I sold my Jeep TJ in 2000. Since I took over the Kia I have lifted the front 4 inches with a combo of 2 1/2" Eibach springs and the first set of Up Your Kia spacers made (I designed them with a friend at his dads machine shop before any one else was making coil spacers for IFS trucks). I have TJ springs in the back to keep it leavel. I have another 106.000 miles on it still with the only problems being a clogged fuel injector twice. This is the tuffest little 4x4 I have ever owned and I have impressed guys with built TJs in moab on 4 rated trails. I also use my Sportage on the local search and rescue and have lead or followed every jeep or other truck on the unit and you will not find any of them bad talking my Kia. It my not be the most popular 4x4 out there but it is a real 4x4. I think Calmini could have made money on them if they would have given them a chance. I would like to do a SAS on it some day but for now it is my boys truck and when he is ready to do it we will. I have had friends with the same year Trackers and Sidekicks and cant believe how much power my Kia had, I know Suzuki upped the power but it was because of the Kia. The Mazda diffs are strong and it looks lilke a Miata limited slip will fit the front and a RX7 will fit the rear. I will be trying it as soon as my other boys friend puts a 302 and 8.8 ford IRS in his Miata.
Ok I said my peace, I'm fine now, Dennis

I owned a 78 CJ-5 Golden Eagle for 13 years. the month I bought my Sprotage (used with only 8k on the clock) I sold the Jeep. Why? I was bored with it. We all have the same Aftermarket parts, lifts, tires and tops. And frankly I got really tired of my Jeep being messed with. People thought it was a parkbench if I had it sitting with the top and doors off. silly things kept getting stolen out of it. and the same rocker cover leak annoyed me to no end. But, lifting a KIA? I thought it would be cool to stand out from the crowd.
I'm sure we all have stories now of our rigs getting reconized far from home. I had a guy in Washington State ask me if I was at Mudfest in Sweethome, Or 5 months ago! He remembered my KIA and shook my hand. then asked me a ton of questions.
Jeeps climbing the same dune at the coast, versus a Sportage making the same climb, People respect you suddenly for your driver skill than your mods.
oh! and when I pull out Jeeps, Toyos, (not a sammy yet) I take pictures <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />
also, I'm 6'3" I don't fit in a Sammy. used to bang my head on the CJ's rollbar. My Sporty and my Dad's SWB Raider (with bouncy seat option <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />) are the only smaller SUV I fit in well.

<rant over>

Hey, when I first found this kia sitting in my lawn, I did'nt know jack about 4x4s.....My only previous was a 88 Bronco 2, and all I discovered was that it DOES have a interference engine, timing gears sheared and made total soup of it.
My buddy has a 95 wrangler and hasta shift down to go up overpases on the interstate with the a/c on.....I run off and leave him without down shifting. Less wind noise, electric windows, better a/c and heater...on and on.....not to mention CHEAPER...and teh times Ive pulled him out!

My 2 cents <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

i got a slightly modded sporty and have taken it up the beach heaps of times towing a trailer with 4 ppl in the car and i go everwhere that my friends toyota hilux goes, its a little weapon. i love it.

If it's a DOHC it DOES NOT have an interference motor. If it had an interference motor, you couldn't set the timing gears up per KIA instructions. Plus, the 2000 motor I put into my 96 came with broken cam gears from a collision. I put new cam gears in, put the motor at TDC and rotated both gears 720 degrees before I installed the timing belt and nothing hit. I'm not doubting that your motor was scrambled, and that you had alot of damage, but something out of the ordinary probably happened. From what I have read in this forum and others, plus what other motor builders have written about the FE3, how KIA has you set the timing gears when you change belts, plus my own experience with both types of motors, and some personal experiments, it is a non-interference motor. You cannot put a non-interference motor @ TDC and rotate the cam/cams 360 degrees and not have the valves hit the piston. (tried it in my honda z6)
I don't know about the other comparisons that you speak of because it's my first 4x4 and I don't go out on runs with others. I do know that the AC is fantastic and the heater works as good or better that any car I've owned.
Just my 2 cents
Everet <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

I believe he was speaking of the bronco he used to own as being an interference engine.

You're Right!! I mis-read his post. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

I had heard of others claiming that their motor was an interference motor in a Sportage and just wanted to set the record straight.

My Bad, guess I had too may cocktails when I read it.
Everet <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />