Kia gives the Sportage SUV a turbo boost

Car-focused movies, such as the “Fast and Furious” series, show high-speed chases where the hero hits a nitrous button, causing his car to rear up, the front axle leaving the ground. The 2013 Kia Sportage SX felt a bit like that when I mashed the gas pedal. And it was a front-wheel-drive crossover.

The SX version of the Sportage gets near-uncontrollable power from a turbocharger.

The Sportage, Kia’s answer to the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, checks in as a plump-looking crossover. Cargo area with the rear seat up measures 26.1 cubic feet, enough for a good stock of groceries or luggage for two on an extended road trip. The rear seats don’t fold quite flat, but doing so still more than doubles the cargo area.

Kia offers the Sportage in base, LX, EX, and SX trims, with all but the latter powered by a 2.4-liter four cylinder engine. Each trim can be had with front-wheel-drive, and all-wheel-drive is optional on the LX, EX, and SX.

A turbocharged direct injection 2-liter engine sets the SX apart in the line-up. This motor sits dwarfed by the engine compartment, which looks big enough for a V-8. Yet that little engine also generates 260 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque.

The SX boasts 84 more horsepower than the other Sportage trims.