2009 Kia Borrego Test Drive and Review

If you've read anything about the 2009 Kia Borrego, I'm sure the issue of timing has come up. What company in its right mind would come out with a new product line in an area where every other company is currently running for the hills? Is this a colossal mistake, or just hubris?

Maybe a little of both, maybe neither. I can only pretend to be smarter than auto industry executives. I'm not privy to all of the market studies that they are fed; I'm not entirely fluent with the manufacturers' internal development schedules. I do know that it takes a long time to bring a totally new vehicle to market, and that Borrego may have been in process for as long as three years before it hit the showroom floors. Think back to 2005; it seemed as if midsize and larger SUVs were here to stay. Gas was half or less what it is today. Borrego probably seemed like a good bet.

Indeed, Borrego went on sale in Korea (as the "Mohave") in January of 2008. The 3.0 liter V6 diesel engine seems to be a popular powerplant, but we won't be getting that one here anytime soon.

Is Borrego the vehicle that will forge Kia's direction in the US for years to come? Read my 2009 Kia Borrego Test Drive and Review to find out what I think.

Photo © Jason Fogelson