One of our readers (Greg), who has been with us since the beginning (of KIA-WORLD blog), recently applyed for Borrego test drive carried out by one of Kia dealers near his home. He had gotten his hands on a brochure that reveals the Borrego in it’s full production glorry.
The production model of Borrego SUV was first unveiled at North American International Auto Show in January and is scheduled to go on sale next month. Borrego marks Kia’s first entry into an increasingly competitive market of 7-passanger SUVs. From the bottom up, Borrego is a vehicle of firts, boasting Kia’s first ever V8 engine (337hp), 6-speed Sportmatic transmission, navigation system, rear camera display, 7500 pounds towing capacity, Downhill Brake Control (DBC), Hill Assist Control (HAC), SIRIUS satellite radio and much more.
The first thing that jumped out at us were the fuel consumption numbers of Borrego’s V8 engine. Acording to Kia, it’s new V8 engine delivers 337hp (323 lb-ft of torque) and up to 22MPG when highway driving!! That’s much better than most of it’s V8 competition.
Click image to enlarge!
Special thanks to Greg, who provided us the brochure of 2009 Kia Borrego!
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
And the best thing about the V8 engine is that it achieves this Awesome MPG without Variable cylinnder Activation. Great job Kia!!!
June 9th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I’m not calling Kia a liar, but I’ll believe the mpg when I see it. They don’t say what speed this mpg is achieved by. It could be 55 mph, or 65 mph. Also, when the EPA rating comes out, that’s a data set most people are accustomed to. I will agree that 22 mpg is a great number when considering the size of this beast, and the large numbers in both hp and torque.
June 9th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I’m GUessing the EPA will get these same results or 1 MPG lower.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
i can’t wait to see some of these things on the road. my assumption is that this is the new Sorento being the body on frame & the sorento is moving upscale but downing itself as a “truck” seeing as how its supposed to be on the Santa Fe platform. does any of that make sense???
June 9th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Actually, the new sorento will be unit body, that is, it will be a crossover.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
The only body on frame built vehicle in Kia’s line-up will be Borrego. Sorento is moving to crossover segment.
June 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Kia (and other companies releasing vehicles in the US) runs its vehicles through the 2008+ EPA test to rate fuel consumption. Speeds at 80mph, a/c on, stop and go traffic, and hot and cold weather starts are part of the new testing.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:56 am
From Kia.com the Sportage 4X4 2.7L V6 engine’s mpg is 17/21. It’s sort of rare for a car manufactorer to come out with a bigger SUV than their other models and have a higher mpg.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:24 am
KIA Motors has come a long way in the past few years with style , inovation and quality . Just the idea of taking a concept to production in such a short time is a bold and smart idea…. Two thumbs to KIA ……
June 10th, 2008 at 7:37 am
The Borrego achieves this MPG without Variable cylinder activation and has 4 valves per cylinder in both engines. This the best “First Ever” from Kia since they introduced of knee airbags.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I know the Sorento’s moving “crossover”… thats what i was saying. I was saying that the Borrego is the new sorento meaning its the new “truck” of the lineup being that the borrego is on a frame & the next sorento isn’t…
& i’m sure the next Gen Sportage (WHENS THAT COMING!? this one’s aging!) will be much better than the current in almost every aspect. i just hope it stays small.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Of course it will stay small. we’re expecting it to take cues from the KND-4 concept.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
We had our “All In!” training today at the dealership where I work. The vehicle wasn’t “production” exact with it’s equipment, but it did have the 3.8L V6 and was equipped similar to an EX with leather. The people in the back 2 seats (3rd row) said it wasn’t bad, as long as the middle row doesn’t lean back real far. I got to drive the Borrego for about 5 minutes, getting onto the interstate, up to around 60mph. The vehicle drives similar to a Sorento, just consider it’s got more space and will soon have the option for more power and torque with the V8. They told us the V8, navigation system and rear view camera (with the screen conveniently placed in the rear view mirror, where you naturally look- smart thinking!) will be late availability this year, probably in the fall. There will also be a “Limited” trim level, top of the line with equipment and price.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I was able to find the list for the features of the Limited trim: Black mono-tone exterior; chrome exterior door handles and rear garnish; black leather interior seat trim; push button start; power adjustable pedals (accelerator and brake); supervision meter cluster (available in current Optima and Amanti models, has LED lighting); front and rear heated seats; and Bluetooth® hands-free calling.
Also, they mentioned the V8 being able to achieve 22 mpg because of it’s 6 speed Sportmatic transmission. I still stand behind my original statement that I’ll wait for an official EPA rating, as well as the trip computer’s estimate of real driving. When I got in our test vehicle (with the 3.7L V6, 5 speed Sportmatic) the trip computer said 18.7mpg. I’m not sure what the average speed was, or how long the computer had been running without a reset, but that’s not a bad figure.
Lastly, they mentioned that the Borregos (the production versions) are actually in the USA now in port, “waiting to be cleared”. They said we’ll probably see them in the dealerships in July, a month sooner than I had previously heard (”sometime in August”).
June 12th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I guess thats everything from the mohave [besides the engine]. Very promising that we too [the global market] will get Kool stuff that the koreans get.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
The MPG will hold up as the v8 Borrego has a 6 speed automatic with two overdirve gears. The engine tachs out at about 1800 RPM at 65MPH The same power train is being used on the Hyundai Genesis and Popular Mechanics says it was turning 3500 RPMs at 130 MPH. This good news for families that must have the room. THis thing gets better highway than the new hybrids from GM and Chrysler and has 5 more HP than the hybrid Tahoe.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Tahoe [not hybrid]: 5.3 V8 delivers 320 hp. MPG[4WD]: 14 city/20 hw. also has cylinder deactivation.
Borrego: 4.6 V8. 337hp. MPG[2WD]: 15 city/22 hw. MPG[4WD]: 15/21. no cylinder deavtivation.
MPG aside. the biggest jaw-droper is the difference in the size of the engines and their horse powers.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Also, with the Borrego not having the cylinder deactivation, that just makes it less expensive ,yet you get more mpg than an SUV with it.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:32 am
and more power than a 5.3
June 20th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Hey the Borrego… I mean Mohave is in UAE. A black one. Its got tail lights of Mohave and I thik it will be called mohave here. We will get the the V6 initially when launched and 6 months later a 340 hp Tau V8. Air suspension, engine start stop button will also be available. I’ll post the article and two pics on the forums.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
So it looks like Borrego is going there. I mean they might as well since the Sportage’s mpg is hardly a differance yet it’s much bigger in size. What I like about this is a person can choose between the V6 or V8 without really sacrificing mpg.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:55 am
Of course it was coming here. It was caught testing here. It was an orange one.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
OK we bought the Mohave here in Kuwait and I have to say i am really impressed. The interior LED lighting with changing colors and the warm red Cluster give it a very detailed and luxury feel. Not to mention the LED tail lights which look SLICK. We have the V6 but full option trim level.( Dunno why the V8 is still not available here in Kuwait) DVD, Navigation, Infinity sound system sunroof and leather. The only thing i hoped to find in this article posted here was some info about the Sound System’s power output in Watts. I am really curious how powerful it is. Some articles say 750 some say 600 and some say 380 Watts. And i cant find anything. the user’s manual only states the impedance of the speakers.Regardless the stereo sound is impressive and very crisp. If someone has any info please tell me. I’ll be making a review of the car soon on youtube and I’ll tell ya guys to watch it if you want. our Mohave is “Sweet Orange”color.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:06 pm
It is a 600 watt system.