A report from Automotive News yesterday claims that Kia dealerships have now been informed of an upcoming 7-passenger SUV next year. Kia dealers learned the news at an annual conference in Las Vegas.


It's called the Borrego, and it's set to go on sale in late spring or early summer as a 2009 model. You might have seen Borrego's concept model the HM or 'MESA' in photos on the internet. The new SUV is a Sorrento derivative riding a larger platform and utilizing a body-on-frame construction.

Borrego is powered by a V6 engine as standard equipment, and it will optionally house Kia's first V8, though it's not certain whether it's the same V8 Hyundai will offer in their Genesis sedan which goes on sale around the same time.

The new SUV will be built in Korea, where it will be available with a V6 diesel engine, but there's no official word if this powerplant will make its way to Canadian soil. Dong Jin Kim, Hyundai's president and CEO did say that Hyundai will offer a diesel by 2010, but he couldn't speak for Kia.


Photo Credit : Kia