UPDATE #2 FROM KIA.....
I just got off the phone again with Kia. The young man I spoke with said that he has fielded a lot of phone calls regarding Apple CarPlay recently and the 2017 Sportage. He was adamant that Apple CarPlay will be available for ALL Sportages, but not until June or July. He said what that means is that those cars being built and shipped on and after June or July, will automatically arrive with Apple CarPlay installed in the Sportage, the same way that Android Auto currently is.
I asked him about the current Sportages on the lots now that don't have it preinstalled, and he confirmed that it will be available for a FREE manual download from Kia's map site (MnSoft.com), downloadable to the SD card that comes with the Sportage. 🙂
I specifically asked, is this going to be a situation where Kia is very well intended in offering Apple CarPlay but for whatever reason Kia and Apple can't agree to terms, and then no Sportage gets the software? The young man replied, no, that will no happen.
Take the above info with a grain of salt, as I spoke with someone else from Kia just prior to speaking to this man (I got frustrated and made the second call), and he was of no help whatsoever. In fact he was surprised that I was calling asking about Apple CarPlay as he said that as far as he was aware all of the Sportages already had it installed. 😟 He offered a PO Box number so that I could write a letter to the President of KIA...I don't know now that would be helpful at this point?