Ahead of the full-range of the Kia Sportage going on sale later in the year, additional factory production has been secured for 300 petrol-engined versions of the new crossover.

The Sportage First Edition 2.0 AWD is powered by Kia’s Theta-II 2.0 petrol engine and comes with a 5-speed manual transmission delivering 161bhp @ 5,200rpm and 194Nm torque at 4,600rpm.

The vehicle achieves a combined cycle fuel consumption of 35.8mpg.

CO2 emissions are 188g/km.

This petrol Sportage comes with the same specification as its diesel counterpart and is priced at £19,495 on-the-road.

Dealers are taking orders now and deliveries will begin in October.

The full new Sportage line-up, including 2WD and lower capacity engine versions, will be available later in the year.

Michael Cole, managing director of Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said: “From the moment we announced the all-new Sportage our dealers were under siege from new and existing customers who wanted to be among the first to get hold of this exciting car. But it was clear that many wanted a petrol option – so we are very happy to have secured 300 units to meet that demand.”