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Experts on SUVs from TheCarConnection.com have driven the all-new 2009 Kia Borrego. Our team has also scoured competitive reviews on the new Borrego SUV to create this comprehensive review. Because of this experience, TheCarConnection.com is able to provide a clear assessment of this body-on-frame SUV to help you discover what's truly important when you are making a decision about buying.
Likes:
- Power from V-8
- Smoothness of six-speed transmission
- Surprising interior room with standard three rows of seats
- Overall quality
- Covered standard trailer hitch
Dislikes:
- Industrial plastics covering backs of rear seats
- Leather on plush LX feels like vinyl
- Faux-metallic trim on dash and doors mars easily
The 2009 Kia Borrego is an all-new, mid-size SUV and an alternative to luxury-brand SUVs, according to Kia. But actually, it does exactly what Kia does well with its cars: provide a handsome, competently engineered, well-executed vehicle with loads of features, offered at a bargain price.
As shoppers flock to newer car-based crossover utility vehicles because of their typically better ride, handling, and fuel economy, the 2009 Kia Borrego has a trucklike body-on-frame layout and an available 337-horsepower V-8. Even as such, the Borrego’s fuel economy ratings of 15 mpg city/22 mpg highway (two-wheel drive) are better than what drivers of the most mammoth SUVs have been living with.
The 2009 Kia Borrego’s exterior is attractive and totally free of anything controversial. With the wheels set wide to the corners, the SUV rides on a broad, hunkered-down stance. The chrome grille dresses things up. A nice detail is the trim cover that hides the standard trailer hitch receiver.
Inside, the Borrego’s interior has a rounded edges and a prominent, wide center console, made a little more exciting with a contrasting two-tone theme. The 2009 Kia Borrego gains fame not so much for its luxurious fitments but for its ample room (more than a Ford Explorer), high level of equipment, and the thoughtful layout of its controls. Three rows of seats are standard, and the third row is not a penalty box as it is on some SUVs such as the Toyota Highlander. A six-foot-five driver fit with almost an inch of headroom to spare.
