We were in much the same situation: SWMBO's arthritic knee means that she has trouble getting in and out of the heavily bolstered seats in the Octavia vRS. We eventually ordered a Volvo V60, but we looked at quite a lot of 'higher-up' cars.

We didn't look at a Sportage, partly becaus the shape of it means poor rear visibility, but also as I think it's a big, heavy car for 1.6 litres and 130 bhp. You'd have to try one and see how it compares with your Focus, which is a fine example of a good big engine in a medium-sized car, my favourite combination.

Others you could try would be the VW Golf SV with the 1.4 TSI 150 bhp engine, and the Nissan Qashqai with the 1.6 153 bhp. This engine hasn't been around for long and the Qashqai is quite expensive: I found it not a lot of fun to drive, with vague, 'disconnected' steering.

A Ford C-Max would also be comfortable but again I don't think that the petrol engines are powerful enough for a biggish body.

Edited by Avant on 20/04/2016 at 01:08

Just to update my thoughts as they stand now - and to thank those who responded.

It does seem the petrol Sportage is probably underpowered and not that frugal either.

A better bet in terms of performance and economy seems to be one of its rivals - the Ford Kuga with the 1.6/1.5 EcoBoost engine. I don't like the styling as much as that of the Kia, and it's certainly more expensive.

Any feedback on this car would be very welcome.

I'm not planning to do anything just yet and will continue to mull over the various options.

Check the width--this vehicle is W-I-D-E in every tight spot...garage, multi-story parking, supermarket parking, width restriction roads, ferries etc etc ....

Others will disagree but when i look at cars, if they are slightly underpowered I opt for automatic. That way it isnt such an effort to get up to speed and you aren't constantly changing gears manually just to make progress. As it happens, the Sportage uses a dual-clutch automatic, and it actually shaves 0.4 seconds off the 0-60 time vs the manual. If you are set on a Sportage that would be my choice. Plant your right foot and let it do the work!

Edited by PCharlton on 09/06/2016 at 16:24