Given the growing popularity of the entry-level compact SUV segment, the arrival of a model with a low price, high content, a growing reputation for quality and an outstanding warranty should elicit significant buyer attention.

Returning early in 2005 from a five-year sabbatical, Kia Sportage (rhymes with montage) will fit carefully below the popular and larger Sorento in the Korean firm's lineup. How carefully?

Well, the MSRPs (manufacturer's suggested retail prices) for the 2005 Sportage start at $19,995 and end at $29,500, which is $450 below the starting point for the larger Sorento.

With the Sportage, as with its other marques, Kia Canada is using its no-options policy, offering specifically equipped models at separate price points with no options. So there are four models with the 2-litre inline-four and three with the 2.7-litre V-6.

With the inline-four, the base unit (at $19,995) is the front-drive LX with a five-speed manual transmission. The standard equipment level is high, because that's Kia's thing. It includes: 16-alloy wheels; dual front, side and curtain airbags; anti-lock disc brakes; cruise control; traction control and electronic stability control; power windows and locks; multi-adjustable and fold-flat rear seats, and an AM/FM/CD six-speaker audio system.

When you consider that you get all that (air conditioning and remote locking being the major missing features) for the money and it's all covered by the company's exceptional five-year/100,000-km, bumper-to-bumper warranty with free roadside assistance, the charm of Kia for growing numbers of buyers is easy to appreciate. That lineup of safety items is impressive, but particularly the six airbags and stability control.

People looking for low-cost basic transportation could probably live with the base package, but many will likely want to step up to the LX-Convenience at $21,750, since that includes air, remote locks, heated outside lamps and chrome accents and fog lamps.

If you want or need the four-speed automatic with pseudo-manual shift capability, the LX-Convenience package costs $22,750.

To get an LX-Convenience with all-wheel drive, you have to pay $23,750 and take it with a five-speed manual, no automatic available.

The next step on the Sportage price ladder is $24,995, and that includes the extra power of the V-6 and the ease of the four-speed automatic, plus a roof rack and a cargo cover on top of what the LX-Convenience model offers. That equipment level with all-wheel drive is $26,995.

For $29,500 you get the EX-Luxury model, which includes the V-6, the automatic shifter, all-wheel drive and such self-indulgencies as leather, heated front seats, a trip computer, a power slide/tilt sunroof, better tires, an MP3 player with the sound system, a wood-grain centre console and body-colour exterior door handles.

Like most of the vehicles in this segment, the Sportage will be easy to enter and exit, it will start and behave with competence, and will offer surprising amounts of comfort, convenience and safety.

But it will also not cost much up front or through the next five years. Kia's even included three free oil changes (oil and labour included) every 12 months for as long as you own the car.

Great numbers of buyers will need to know nothing else about the Sportage, since it represents an excellent value in a useful and reasonably attractive package.

But leaving the economic side of Sportage behind, it looks like the five-seat sport-cute will be at least capable if you want or need to push it a bit.

The inline-four's good for 140 hp at 6,000 rpm and 136 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm, which means extra firmness on the gas pedal will be needed to get into the peak power range. Still, the power's there on the page.

With the V-6, the peak power numbers also live fairly high up on the tachometer -- 173 hp at 6,000 rpm and 178 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm -- but it will be noticeably more responsive, or better at carrying more people and cargo.

Can't help you with the fuel economy of any of the power train combinations, since those aren't back from Transport Canada yet. But they'll probably be in line for this segment, which won't be too painful if you drive responsibly.

Over all, you can make a very good case that the Kia Sportage is one of the best possible buys for Canadians looking for an exceptional real-world vehicle, and that it is maybe the single best value in the compact SUV market.