Nudge Bar
I decided against a bull bar and opted for the nudge bar. Don't know why really though recent discussions about banning of bullbars etc didn't help the cause and besides I sort of like the look of the front of the car as it is. I've seen bullbars readily available here for a little over $1000 though don't have a winch mount. If winches are your thing a custom built set up is the only way to get one as far as I know. I've seen them on a couple of US websites where they've been specially fabricated. The bullbar would be handy if huge body lifts to accommodate big tyres are involved as the factory front bumper would have to come off to fit anything larger than 30" tyres.
A few manufacturers do nudge bars locally. The factory Kia one is a pityful little thing that serves no real purpose apart from knocking those shopping trolleys out of the way in the shopping centre car park (or skateboarders but theres a different story altogether....).
A big tube polished alloy nudgebar looks great, is sturdy, air bag approved and mounts a couple of spotlights and costs about half the price of a bullbar. Looks the business too !
Side Steps
Side steps seem to be a personal preference thing. Often seen as an 'urban 4x4 accessory' they rob valuable ride height which we all spend so much money trying to achieve in 4x4 circles. This may be true but again I think they enhance the look of the Sportage and my 6 yo daughter Faithe can get in and out of the car much easier with them ! Oh and they make washing the roof far easier...
I was tempted to unbolt them (a fairly easy exercise) when I went to Fraser Island recently with 4 on board and loaded with luggage. However I left them on and found even on rough tracks they didn't compromise clearance as the clearance was only required under the centre of the car. In fact they prevented damage as I've acquired scapes from dead twigs and branches lying across tracks and kicking up into the lower door panels in the past before I had them fitted.
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