FIRST thing you need to know about the Kia Sportage is that it's out of date. They've stopped building them and a brand new replacement arrives early next year.
So why these words? Well, you're looking at a model that helped turn round the fortunes of the company because it was good enough to take on the fiercest of rivals.
And among its charms were looks good enough to turn heads and a spectacular warranty that stretched seven years into the future - aeons after rivals had given up on their aftercare promises.
Well, to these eyes the Sportage still looks good. So good that the new fourth generation version, despite renewing every panel, looks like the older model with a bit of added swoop. Still handsome, though.
And the deep into the future warranty still applies, of course. So why not simply dismiss thoughts of the old model and go for the new one?
The obvious answer is a matter of simple finances. The new one - revealed only a few days ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show - has been designed with more kit and a more luxurious finish inside which - you've guessed - will put the price up.
Nobody is saying precisely how much this far from its debut on the road but those extra add-ons and a set of updated petrol and diesel engines will have to be paid for.
And there's the fact that nobody will want to pay top dollar for the current Sportage, knowing it will soon be gently out-dated. So there are bound to be bargains...
At more than £29,000 the Sportage tested here sits at the top of a range which starts at £17,465 for a car that lacks the four-wheel drive and punchy diesel of the featured model, making do with front-drive and an unspectacular petrol engine.
You can buy a base version of the Land Rover Discovery Sport for not much more than the Sportage driven here, and the Solihull warrior comes dripping with street cred, not to mention the same all-wheel drive capability as the Kia, if not that car's satellite navigation, sunroof or heated rear seats.
Not to mention a button that helps the car steer itself backwards into tight parking spaces at the kerb.
So it's value rather than price that Kia majors on these days, along with the best warranty in the business. And talk nicely to your local Kia dealer and he will be keen to sell you an outgoing model Sportage.
But what of the car? Well, it gave me 36mpg in some hard driving and behaved exactly like a good European car might in similar circumstances. Which meant it was better to drive than its high stance might indicate, but with a jittery ride on even smooth looking roads, thanks I suspect to the handsome 18ins alloy wheels that add style but rob softness in the sidewalls.
A manual transmission version on test a year or so ago returned 42mpg; a useful saving at the pumps, not the mention a £1,310 reduction on list price.
I didn't venture off road but Kia has accepted that when any car heads for the rough stuff there's more chance of a puncture, so there's a full size spare nestling beneath the boot floor, just in case.
Well done on that; much more reassuring than a can of pressurised gloop that won't heal a sidewall split miles from the nearest garage.