- Editor:
- Sam Moses
- Price As Tested:
- $39,295
“Strong alternative among truck-based midsize SUVs.”
The Kia Borrego is a truck-based SUV, that is to say body-on-frame construction. As such, the ride isn't as soft as with the crossover vehicles (car-based SUVs), such as the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, or Mazda CX-7. But with insulated rubber mountings between the body and frame, the ride is not in any way harsh or uncomfortable; it's mostly just more rugged, and capable of handling the rough stuff. The ride is solid, consistent and comfortable. Over some patchy roads in the Cascade Mountains of beautiful and remote central Washington, the Borrego bounced a bit, but still not much.
Like the Kia Sedona minivan before it, the Borrego was carefully designed by Korean engineers examining all the vehicles in the class, and then incorporating the best ideas and latest technology. Sixty-four percent of the chassis rails (with eight crossmembers) are made up of high-strength steel, meaning the chassis is rigid and thus the vehicle corners with stability. The suspension is double wishbone front and multi-link rear, while the four-wheel disc brakes have rotors that are 12.9-inch diameter in front (ventilated) and 12.8 inches in rear (solid).
We liked how the brakes felt when stopping the 4600-pound Borrego from high speeds.
We liked the smooth six-speed ZF transmission in the V8 even more. This German transmission, first built for BMWs, is fast becoming the industry standard, and is being used by a growing number of manufacturers largely because it improves fuel mileage by 5 percent over a five-speed automatic.
We weren't able to get the Borrego off road during our one-day test, but there's no reason to believe it couldn't handle the challenge better than a crossover. The advanced 4WD system called Torque on Demand includes high and low ranges.
The Borrego has two standard features that have a safety value on road and off: hill descent control and hill ascent control. With an automatic transmission, hill ascent control isn't needed very much, but hill descent control can come in handy. Going down a steep icy hill, for example, the ABS activates and throttle is controlled, so the vehicle maintains a steady, safe and slow speed.
The turning, with rack-and-pinion power steering, is light, with a 36.5-foot turning circle, as tight as many smaller SUVs. And the six-speed ZF transmission, with a manual mode, is state of the art, the same as used in the BMW.
The 4.6-liter V8 engine makes a large 337 horsepower with 323 pound-feet of torque at a fairly low 3500 rpm, which makes it strong for acceleration as well as towing. It's an aluminum engine and double overhead cam, the first of this kind for Kia.
We hooked a travel trailer to our Borrego and blasted around some roads for a bit, and it wasn't surprising that it was an easy test, as the V8 is rated to tow 7500 pounds.
With 4WD the EPA fuel mileage is 15/20 mpg, and with 2WD it's 15/22 mpg. This is the killer for the Borrego, and for Kia. Suddenly, a 337-horsepower V8 SUV that gets 17 or 18 miles per gallon sounds like a dinosaur, never mind that it's an all-new design.
The V6 engine isn't the answer, either, because its mileage is 17/21 mpg in 2WD and 16/21 mpg in 4WD. It may be a modern DOHC aluminum 3.8-liter, but if it only gets 1 mpg more than the V8, while making 60 less horsepower and 55 less pound-feet of torque, there's not much reason to choose it.
