Big, brawny, rugged new SUV

Kia's midsize Borrego is an off-road, beefy bad boy that can accelerate as well as it can tow.

The times have not been kind to the once but not future king of the road.

Four-dollar gasoline dealt a severe sales concussion to the big, thirsty SUVs. And even after fuel prices fell, the recession and the nation's gathering greenosity kept pummeling sales.

In other words, this doesn't seem like the ideal time for Kia to get into the sizable-SUV game with a heavy, seven-passenger vehicle that gave me an average of 17.5 miles per gallon on the highway.

To make things even tougher for the Kia sales folk, the midsize Borrego is not a trendy crossover, or car-based SUV. It is a traditional, truck-based SUV.

The crossover has become more popular because of its more carlike ride, handling and fuel economy. But because it lacks low-range gearing and drive-train protection, it is essentially an on-road vehicle. A truck-based SUV like the Borrego, on the other hand, is built for off-road use. It has a low range, a rugged ladder frame, skid-plate protection for the transmission, big tires, and usually greater road clearance.

While most of the SUV market has shifted to crossovers, it's only fair to point out that a customer base remains for a big, brawny, honest-to-goodness SUV like the Borrego. There are people whose work and play take them to unpaved places. And there are those who want the generous passenger, cargo and towing capacity that a Borrego provides.

The Borrego boasts three rows of seats that seat seven comfortably - even in the third seat. The exceptional third-row legroom means the cargo compartment behind it suffers a bit, but it is still adequate for food shopping. And when you fold down the second and third rows of seats, the 12.4 cubic feet behind the third row turns into a cavernous 98 cubic feet.

Towing capacity is equally ample. The Borrego pulls 5,000 pounds when equipped with the base 276-horsepower V-6. When fitted with the gutsy 337-horse V-8 as the tester was, the towing tally rises to a hefty 7,500 pounds.

Indeed, Kia's first V-8, a 4.6-liter aluminum affair with dual overhead cams, is a beefy boy that accelerates as well as it tows. Thanks to the engine's size and output, as well as the Borrego's weight and billboard aerodynamics, gas mileage isn't great. In rear-drive form, the Borrego V-8 has EPA mileage ratings of 15 city and 22 highway. In the four-wheel-drive version most Philadelphia-area people want, the numbers drop to 15 and 20. I got 15.6 in mixed driving, and 17.5 on the highway.

Interestingly, the EPAs don't get much better with the smaller, 3.8-liter V-6. In the 4WD model, the V-6 is only one mile per gallon better, at 16 and 21.

The Borrego V-6 is equipped with a five-speed automatic transmission. The V-8 I drove was fitted with the same silky six-speed automatic employed in the BMW X5 SUV.

Given its passenger, hauling and towing capacities, as well as the extensive nature of its standard equipment list, the length of its safety-gear litany, and its exceptional warranty, the Borrego is a legitimate bargain.

The vehicle starts at $26,245 for the base LX V-6 with rear-drive and goes on up to $32,995 for the upmarket EX V-8 with 4WD that I tested.

Although fairly generic, the Borrego's styling is still pleasing and endowed with the SUV's mandatory machismo. The test car's interior was quite contemporary and cleanly designed, and it reflected the sumptuous nature of the leather-upholstered EX.

Indeed, this guy does have a luxury-car equipment list. The only option I could find in the tester was a $1,500 navigation system, which I liked a lot. Safety equipment was another plus. Besides a plethora of air bags (including a driver's knee bag in the EX), the Borrego boasts a slick downhill brake control that keeps the vehicle at a safe crawl even on steep grades.

The Borrego gets five stars on the federal crash tests and four stars for rollover resistance.

By truck-based SUV standards, the Borrego rode and handled quite well. Driving feel was enhanced by the unusual use of rack-and-pinion steering.

Kia Borrego

Base price: $32,995 (inc. shipping).

As tested: $34,495.

Standard gear: 4.6-liter engine, six-speed automatic, all the usual luxury-car suspects, such as leather and power seats.

Fuel economy: 15 m.p.g. city, 20 highway.

Engine performance: Gutsy.

Handling: Controlled.

Comfort: Easy rider.

Styling: Pleasing but generic.

Warranty: Five years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper roadside assistance.

Al Haas
Philly.com