2009 Kia Borrego Review - Kia goes B-I-G

By Peter N.

Pros:

• B I G
• Powerful acceleration
• Nice luxury details (dual zone climate, seat & mirror memory, heated seats)
• Great stereo sound

Cons:

• B I G
• Rough ride
• Fit and finish rivals Detroit, not Japan
• Annoying telescoping steering wheel
• Difficult access to third row

Introduction
Kia, a subsidiary of the aggressively growing Hyundai, has been making in-roads on the North America market with their very affordable cars and SUVs. The bulk of their sales have come from the lower end of the market, where customers have selected Kia cars for the value they offer, balancing decent quality with a low price. With the Borrego, Kia is pushing their price tag up and delivering a much larger SUV. With the economy tanking and a renewed interest in improved gas mileage and green autos, Kia’s push will be interesting to watch. Will it make in-roads against the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot? Or the Ford Explorer and Buick Enclave? Or is it the wrong SUV size at the wrong time?

Driving Impressions
I drove a Spicy Red Borrego EX V6 that featured both the premium package and the luxury package, which combined with the navigation system, pushed the price up to a lofty $36,000. All those extra features did elevate the Kia experience a bit, but did not fully cover the impression that this SUV was designed more for a six-pack crowd than the chardonnay set. While the leather seats and dual climate zones were nice, the overall design, fit-and-finish, and driving experience felt as though Kia targeted a more economical buyer and then put some lipstick on it. The Borrego bounced over speed bumps, swayed through turns, and felt every bit of its 4,460 lbs. It does deliver surprising acceleration, powering the Borrego up to speed so fast that I wished I was towing a boat to slow me down. It certainly has the horses to make the most of the uphill passing lanes on the way to Tahoe. But other than its notable power, the Borrego overall seems somewhat less than the sum of its parts.

Build
Even though I had a model with the luxury package, when I slipped behind the wheel, the Borrego struck me as an truck designed in Detroit. The materials used and design of the dashboard reminded more of a regular Ford than a snooty Acura or Lexus. While the workmanship left no complaints - no missing stitches, no gaps in the paneling, no ill-fitting parts - the component design and selection of material fell below my expectations for a luxury SUV. Had the Borrego been simply a mid-market SUV with a great sound system, its performance would have been more matched to my hopes. As a luxury SUV, it falls short. It is a solidly build SUV that gave every impression of being a good workhorse and is backed by one of the better warranties on the market.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The Borrego does big, both outside and inside. With plenty of room, the cavernous interior provides elbow room for everyone. What I found strange, and eventually annoying, in such an already spacious cabin was the automatic telescoping steering wheel. When departing the vehicle, the steering wheel moves towards the dashboard and your seat scoots a bit back.  The process is reversed when you get in. Given that you are climbing into a generously portioned cockpit, what’s the point? Perhaps this is needed for petite drivers that need seat-assisted elevation, but after just a few days I needed to find the switch to turn it off. I understand why such systems are in small and cramped cabins, but the Borrego is anything but.

Soft, heated seats provide for comfortable, long distance driving, and the instrument panel is laid out without surprises. A rear-view camera should have been standard on a family-focused truck of this size, though and while this is an option from Kia, its absence on this review vehicle was noticeable.

Good integration of stereo controls into the steering wheel made controlling the crisp radio system easy and straightforward. The premium package speakers delivered crystal-clear acoustics, especially when paired to a strong satellite signal.

I frequently fault designers for insufficient cargo space, but the Borrego has enough space to double as your storage locker. With deep cargo bays and spacious door bins, the Borrego makes every possible nook and cranny a potential repository for Cheerios, wet wipes, a change of clothes and a few diapers - all at the same time. Entry into the third row is something of a challenge.  I expected to be able to move the second row seat somewhat out of the way, but was not able to decipher the complex protocol needed. Either the controls are not intuitive or it is just poorly designed. As a result, my third row passengers clambered over a folded second row to reach their seats.

Performance
When I first walked up to the Borrego, I was surprised at the sheer bulk of this Kia. It was much larger than the many Sorentos and Sportages I was used to seeing. However, when I first pulled away from the curb, I was pushed deep into my seat as the Borrego jumped into the street. Over the few days that I drove the SUV, I gradually learned to carefully apply pressure to the gas pedal and prevent passenger whiplash, but the massive power available was impressive. In many ways, the Borrego does feel like a large, heavy SUV, but not when accelerating in a straight line. Stopping was also done well, although bringing more than two tons of speeding metal to a halt does take some space. The powerful disc brakes can bring the Borrego to an uncomfortably abrupt halt.

Handling
Unfortunately, driving an SUV requires more than traveling in a straight line over smooth roads, which is where the Borrego needs some improvement. It felt heavy while steering, leaned significantly in turns, and communicated all bumps to the passengers with jarring regularity. More than one of my rear seat passengers commented on the surprisingly rough ride. While the ESC and TCS kept the vehicle in safe operation with no spins outs, slippage or loss of control, the driving experience was closer to a U-Haul rental than an Acura MDX.

Styling
Kia shaped the Borrego into a solidly formidable SUV. While my first reaction was utter surprise at the size of the Clydesdale I’d be driving. When I calmed down, I realized that the designers had cleverly put together a well-proportioned vehicle that effectively camouflaged its bulk. The large tires and brawny wheel covers appropriately scale to the full-size Borrego so that when viewed from a distance, it could be a mid-size SUV. Only when you walk up to the truck do you realize its complete dimension. To be fair, the Borrego, the Buick Enclave, the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander are all within inches of each others dimensions, so Borrego is no enormous monstrosity. It’s just damn big for a Kia. The Borrego does nail the “I’m a big, solid SUV” message, with muscular but conservative curves. It would look completely at home in an average American driveway.

Value
The Borrego would be a fair competitor against Ford or Buick, with 4×4 capabilities and good standard features. However, the similarly sized, featured, and priced Toyota Highlander will be a tough nut for Kia to crack. Depending on the deal you can get, the Borrego can certainly be a great value for a mid-market SUV. It seems to be built with good quality, is backed by a lengthy 100,000 mile power train warranty, has lots of acceleration and plenty of room. If you are looking for a truck-like driving experience, the Borrego can be an excellent choice.

Conclusion
The Borrego is a good initial effort by Kia to launch into the American market for full sized SUVs. They put a powerful engine into a spacious and well-proportioned truck and sprinkled some nice luxury features on the top. There are certainly some short-comings on the handing and performance of some of those fancy features, and this Borrego suffers for it. I’m sure Kia will correct that in future models. For this year, however, I expect dealers will be discounting off the current asking price to sufficiently sweeten the deal for many buyers.