I am a single mom with three kids and bought this vehicle when my daughter was born. In seven years I have put less than 70,000 miles on it, and it is still running very strong. The size is perfect for me and my three kids to take small weekend adventures camping and have all the room we need for shopping, and other activities. The vehicle has several safety latches in place for car seats of all sizes and adjustable belts in the front. It has air bags all around as well. The Sportage has a massive storage well for the tire and other items in the back, and a huge back hatch area for all our equipment, without loosing space for comfort in the main cabin. The back seats also fold down to create a large backend, if needed. The Sportage is ideal for outdoor weekend adventures, and the back end can even serve as a makeshift bed, if needed. The back hatch has a glass and door opening option. This is convenient especially for grocery shopping where things might shift and fall on your feet if you opened the entire hatch. The Interior lining is very durable, and has survived all the evils of my three kids, as it has scotch guard. My only concerns are minor since it is a small SUV. The Sportage does have a flip warning but has tons of headspace. The air conditioning system is weak, at best, the decals flake over time, and the rear window hatch lift can break easily. The paint on the trim is not great and has worn down a lot the last two years. The 2008 model was severely updated, and I feel the previous years model should have been offered retrofits. Features not included in the standard 2007 model included GPS, USB, and other features.

I bought this car in 2016 and have had no real issues with it since I bought it. The car drives extremely smooth and the shocks (which have not been replaced as far as I know) have held up very well. I've added probably 15 thousand miles since I purchased it and have had no significant maintenance issues. For a compact SUV, it has also been really efficient in moving a lot of things with the space in the trunk. Since I've gotten it, I've been able to put in (at different times) a twin mattress, a new grill, a large recycling can, and a medium-sized arm chair with foot rest.