It's been a long time coming, from spy photos to teaser shots. And what happens? Kia goes ahead and changes the name from one that's broadly geological to one referring to the location of an annual grapefruit festival. We mean, of course, California's Borrego Springs, which may have given its name to Kia's new midsize SUV. Sharing underpinnings with parent Hyundai's Hyundai Santa Fe, the Borrego will slot into a lower price range, but keep the three seating rows and thus room for a Chuck E. Cheese strike force. We'll see the finished product at the Detroit show in January. Press release follows.
Press Release:
Kia "Borrego" SUV
IRVINE, California - Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced it will give its new midsize SUV the moniker of "Borrego" when it debuts in January at the Detroit Auto Show. The Kia Borrego will be manufactured in Korea and go on sale in North America in late spring or early summer of 2008 as a 2009 model.
Built with body-on-frame construction incorporating the latest in NVH engineering philosophy, Borrego will be Kia's newest addition to its well-rounded full-line of vehicles that continually provide value, safety and a steadfast 10-year/100,000-mile warranty to consumers. Borrego will be available with either a V6 engine or the company's first V8 offering, which will also boast Kia's largest towing capacity to date.