Metro Kia News and Events

Kia Borrego


What is it? Kia introduced the mid-sized Borrego, the largest SUV the brand has offered in the United States. Available in two- and four-wheel drive, the Borrego is also the most-powerful Kia model. The base engine is a 3.8-liter V6 with a 5,000-pound tow capacity. The new 4.6-liter V8 engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission promises more than 300 horsepower and 7,500 pounds of towing capacity. The three-row interior has several premium amenities, such as a high-end audio system with satellite radio and USB/iPod compatibility. It also features Kia''s first DVD-based navigation system. The Borrego offers many safety features, including side curtain air bags, stability control, and brake assist. It Borrego also comes with traction control, hill descent, and hill ascent systems that may make off-pavement excursions easier. What is new or notable? While most automakers are transitioning their SUVs to car-type unibody, Kia boldy declared that the body-on-frame construction is a key distinguishing feature.CR's Take: With an independent rear suspension and modern powertrains, the Borrego promises to bring 3-row accommodations at an attractive price. Being a body-on-frame design, it lends itself well to towing heavy loads, particularly with the V8 version's 7500 pound towing capacity. Anyone in the market for a Ford Explorer, Dodge Durango, Toyota 4Runner, or a Nissan Pathfinder may want to give the Borrego a look. High-end versions boast luxury amenities like memory seats and power tilt/telescope steering wheel adjustment that we haven't seen on its direct competition.When will it be available? Summer 2008.

First of all we would like to thank all our current customers for their support in making our dealership a success. We welcome everyone to come down to 1276 Trans Canada Way SE, to our new location and meet the staff and see all of our new inventory. We plan to make 2008 a wonderful year for all, so if you need a new or used vehicle, make Metro Kia one of your stops. We look forward to serving the community for years to come.

The new 2008 Kia Rondo has a market niche to itself
 
By Richard Russell
Korean manufacturer Kia resurrects the true minivan with this well-built, compact and versatile model.
In the 25-year span since the first mass-market minivan came to market, it has grown more than 60 cm in length and gained 545 kilograms. There is nothing "mini" about most of the current offerings in this class. But you can go back. The 2008 Kia Rondo is, dimensionally, almost a perfect match for that original minivan while offering the same or more utility.
 
For comparison purposes, here are some numbers for the original and the most recent Dodge minivans, as well as some vital numbers for the Kia Rondo:
 
Model name Wheelbase cm/in Length cm/in Weight kg/lb Base engine
1983 Dodge Caravan 285 / 112 447 / 176 1542 / 3400 2.2-litre four
2008 Grand Caravan 310 / 122 515 / 203 2086 / 4600 3.5-litre V6
2008 Kia Rondo 242 / 107 272 / 107 1588 / 3500 2.4-litre four
 
The closest competitor for the Rondo would be the Mazda5, which is slightly larger and has sliding side doors but lacks the option of a V6. There are other small wagons or crossovers with a similar shape, but none with three rows of seats.
 
More wagon than van
The styling features a sharply-sloping front with massive headlamp units. The use of large wheels, plenty of glass, a steeply-raked windshield and a low roofline make it look more like a wagon than a van. The interior features a very modern dash treatment which divides the front row into two distinct pods. The instrument panel puts a quartet of analogue gauges front and center for the driver with pleasant amber lighting at night. The center stack contains the usual ventilation and audio systems, each with large buttons and knobs. The gear lever is situated in the same area above and separate from the floor console.
 

 
Kia Rondo - Click to see the complete gallery (photo: Marc Lachapelle)The Rondo comes in LX and EX trim levels with five- or seven-passenger seating and four- or six-cylinder motivation. Pricing starts at $20,000 for the four-cylinder LX. There are six variations of the EX topping out at the seven-passenger V6 with leather at $26,095.
 
But in this day of $50,000 "minivans," a loaded Rondo, at only slightly more than half that, offers excellent value with 17-inch alloy wheels, sunroof, leather interior, heated mirrors, six-speaker audio with steering wheel-mounted controls and auxiliary port for your iPod, cruise, tilt wheel, automatic climate control, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, heated seats, eight-way adjustable power driver seat and electrically-heated windshield!
 
Fit and finish are excellent and the quality of materials is much better than expected at this price point. All Rondos also come with a full complement of safety features including front, side (torso) and side curtain airbags, electronic stability control, electronic traction control, active head restraints and ABS with electronic brake force distribution.
 
Thoughtful features throughout
The front bucket seats are wide enough to accommodate large posteriors. The second row is especially commodious in light of the compact exterior dimensions. It can even recline and move fore and aft. The two-person third row is best left for small folks and short journeys. With both the second- and third-row seats folded, the cargo floor is perfectly flat and the resulting space cavernous. There is a slick provision to store the second-row head restraints when the seats are folded.
 

 
Kia Rondo - Click to see the complete gallery (photo: Marc Lachapelle)It doesn't stop there. The interior is filled with a number of neat touches and spaces. A hidden compartment beneath the cargo floor has room to keep a laptop or other valuables from prying eyes. The center console has a couple of compartments and there are horizontal trays on both sides of the instrument panel, although they would be more useful with some type of high-friction lining to prevent items from sliding around.
 
But the cargo area was also the source of two beefs: The carpet attracts and holds dirt too easily and there is a gap of a few centimetres between the second and third row seats when folded, an open space into which smaller objects will disappear far too easily.
 
Silky six thirstier than the four
The four-cylinder is the same 2.4-litre used in the Magentis and other Kia models. It produces a stout 162 horsepower and 164 lb-ft of torque and drives the front wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission. The 2.7-litre V6 offers a modest increase in power, at 182 horses, and more torque, but it comes with a five-speed automatic and the silky smoothness inherent in a V6. But that comes at the expense of slightly greater fuel consumption: 7.5 L/100 km on the highway for the 'four' vs. 7.7 L/100 km for the V6, and 11.0 L/100 vs 11.6 L/100 in city driving. Our real-world combined average with the V6, for 2,000 km in the depth of a very cold winter, was 12.9 litres/100 km. That's fully 40 per cent better than the most recent "minivan" we sampled in similar conditions.
 

 
Kia Rondo - Click to see the complete gallery (photo: Marc Lachapelle)Our electronic performance measures (with accelerometer) aboard a Rondo EX V6 produced a 0-100 km/h average of 9.45 seconds, and a quarter mile clocking of 16.96 seconds, with a peak of 134.7 km/h (83.7 mph).
 
All Rondo models come with alloy wheels, which makes it difficult to find inexpensive steel wheels for proper winter tire installation. No steel wheels are available from Kia and the alloy wheels retail at $180 - $220 each, pushing them from consideration for most of the typical buyers in this category. A search of the popular aftermarket sources turned up no leads either.
 
The Rondo will never be a contender for top time in a local gymkhana but it is a heck of a lot more agile and responsive than any contemporary minivan, thanks not only to its lighter weight and more compact dimensions, but to good shock and spring tuning and a steering wheel that feels more directly connected with the front wheels than we have come to expect from seven-passenger vehicles.
 
An abundance of glass surfaces, a tall seating position and compact dimensions make the Rondo a breeze to manoeuvre in tight parking lots compared to cumbersome conventional minivans. While the V6 is a model of civility and refinement, there is little fear of premature tire wear due to excessive power. The four might be a better bet for most.
 
The Kia Rondo has a unique niche in today's market offering seven-passenger seating in an accomodating, well-built and compact body loaded with features at a very attractive price.
 

REVIEW SUMMARY
Here are the salient points and overall rating of this new model, as established by our reviewer:
 
Overall rating: 7.6 / 10
Pros
Lots of room in a compact package
Available with a silky-smooth V6
True value in a well-built vehicle
 
Cons
Cargo floor gets dirty easily
Gap in floor with rear seats folded
Tough to get steel wheels for winter tires
 

2008 Kia Rondo

Contact Kia / Customer Service / Kia Central / Kia Global Network

News Kia earns a top place in major car reliability survey
Kia earns a top place in major car reliability survey
29 January 2007
Kia vehicles have won a top place in one of the world's biggest surveys that investigates the reliability of more than 450,000 cars aged from three to nine years old. More than 82% of the owners of Kia vehicles surveyed reported no mechanical failures of any type.
 
The survey was carried out by Warranty Direct, an independent automotive warranty specialist company, and looked into the reliability of vehicles from 33 manufacturers in daily use in the USA and the UK. The company then drew up a 'Reliability League Table' showing the number of mechanical failures reported for every 100 vehicles covered by its warranty policies.
 
Kia was rated number five with a score of 17.39%, very close to Toyota and Mitsubishi and beating such famous brands as Nissan (18.86%), Lexus (20.05%), Porsche (27.48%), BMW (28.64%), Mercedes (29.90%) and Audi (36.74%). Filling the last two places in the survey were the well-known 4x4 brands Land Rover (44.21%) and Jeep (46.35 %).
 
"This survey strongly supports what we have known for some time, namely that Kia makes high quality vehicles with very good reliability," commented Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe.
 
"In recent years we have greatly improved our product quality and drastically cut back on warranty claims. More and more new customers are switching to the Kia brand. I'm certain that, if the intriguing Warranty Direct survey is repeated in three years time, Kia will have climbed even higher up the reliability league table."
 
Warranty Direct - 'Reliability League Table' 2007
 
TOP 10 RESULTS
 
Manufacturer
Incidence Rate %*

1
Mazda
8.04

2
Honda
8.90

3
Toyota
15.78

4
Mitsubishi
17.04

5
Kia
17.39

6
Subaru
18.46

7
Nissan
18.86

8
Lexus
20.05

9
Mini
21.90

10
Citroen
25.98
 
* Number of mechanical failures reported by policy holders for every 100 vehicles, aged between three and nine years old.
 
Editors' Notes:
 
About Warranty Direct
 
Warranty Direct was launched in 1997 as a direct personal warranty company. As a privately owned insurance intermediary, the firm operates within the automotive and household electrical markets.

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