I wouldn't let that one item hold you back from buying a new Sportage. If I were you, I'd just black out that bar. What do you think?
Well, like I noted in the original post, there is a black-out replacement for the silver bar, but what it's still noticeable as a 'thing' sticking out from the top of the grille. Isn't really clean. I'm not particularly "stopped," but manufacturers across many brands, seem fixated on slapping non-functional junk onto otherwise clean design. Having said all this, I appreciate the KIA look far beyond its sister vehicle, the Hyundai Tucson. What is the forum opinion of recent feedback on significantly-lower mpg (that EPA rating), as well as high-speed vibration? I remember having a Toyota that had this incurable vibration problem and it was heartbreaking. Not going to spend north of $40k on top trim for that. I'm waiting for the '24 model year just to see if there are some improvements.