Kia was celebrating sales success after 1,500 orders were placed for the new Sportage during its first weekend on sale.

The fourth generation SUV is aiming to surpass its best-selling predecessor – which achieved its best sales of 23,010 in 2015 – by returning around 25,000 registrations in the 12 months from its launch on February 5.

A Big Wow launch event is helping dealerships to sell the new Sportage with the offer of 4.9% PCP deals which make the entry-level Sportage ‘1’ GDI (£17,995) available for as little as £139-per-month with a £500 deposit.

Orders placed before February 28 also attract three years servicing normally (£299).

Paul Philpott, president and chief executive of Kia Motors (UK) Limited, said: “The all-new Sportage is a significant step forward for Kia, both in terms of interior quality and dynamic refinement and sophistication – and clearly both existing and new customers recognise that.

“Our dealers currently have only one worry – can we satisfy the demand? Both Kia in the UK and our factory in Slovakia are working flat-out to ensure we can.”

The new Sportage range consists of 18 trim versions, three engine variants and three different transmissions.

Fuel economy ranges from 37.2mpg to 61.4mpg combined, with CO2 figures starting at 119g/km.