2009 Kia Borrego car news and reviews
Let’s clear the air: we get that the sudden drop in large SUV sales casts the launch of the 2009 Kia Borrego in a questionable light. But when work began on the body-on-frame utility nearly four years back, truck sales in the U.S. totaled 9.6 million units and were predicted to increase each year until 2009. We can’t blame Kia for wanting a piece of that pie.
That pie certainly is smaller today, but there are still consumers who want, if not need, to sidle up to an SUV. Commuters may not find solace in the truck-like capacities (and a voracious thirst for fuel), but there are buyers who actively tow, venture off the beaten path, and need to carry more than five passengers in comfort. For those folks, an SUV may still be the ideal vehicle – and Kia hopes the Borrego will be their ideal choice.
The Borrego isn’t Kia’s first venture into the world of body-on-frame sport utilities, but it is their biggest. The new truck towers over the mid-size, body-on-frame Sorento, although it’s not what we’d call a true full-size SUV. Measuring in at 192″ long and riding on a 114″ wheelbase, the Borrego’s stature is closer to that of a Dodge Durango or Ford Explorer than that of the Chevrolet Tahoe or Ford Expedition.
The new SUV, however, is Kia’s first foray into V-8 engines. Although both EX and LX trim levels come standard with the 276-hp 3.8-liter V-6, a 4.6-liter DOHC V-8 is optional fare. Both engines are also found in near-identical forms within Hyundai’s Genesis sedan, although the V-8 curiously produces less power in the Borrego. Kia rates the V-8 at 337 hp and 323 lb-ft of torque, down nearly 38 hp and 10 lb-ft of torque from its Genesis counterpart.
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