2009 Kia Borrego: New Mid-Sized SUV Based On The Mesa Concept

Kia not only unleashed the first official image (without counting the blacked out teaser shot) of the production version of the Mesa Concept, but the Korean’s also revealed that their all-new mid-size SUV will bear the moniker of "Borrego". Set to make its official premiere in January at the Detroit Auto Show, the Borrego will go on sale in North America in late spring or early summer of 2008 as a 2009 model.

Built with body-on-frame construction the 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. According to a previous release from Kia, the Borrego will compete against the Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota 4Runner and Nissan Pathfinder. (Image modified by Carscoop)

2009 Kia Mesa Scooped

The production version of the Kia Mesa SUV Concept (codenamed HM) has been caught wearing minimum camouflage, thus revealing its rear-end for the first time. We’ll give you a minute or two to recuperate from the surprise……………………… So now that we’ve got your attention again, we just wanted to add that Kia’s 7-seater SUV will make its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2008, with North American sales staring shortly after.

Via: kia-world

Kia Clarifies Mesa’s U.S. Competitors

Through its official blog (Kia Buzz), Kia informed us today that there was some sort of a translation mix-up in a series of English reports from Korean media referring to the 2008 HM’s U.S. competitors. We discovered on of those articles in The Korea Times and it stated that the production version of the Mesa Concept is aimed at competing with Toyota’s Lexus RX350, BMW’s X5 and Mercedes Benz’s M-Class models in the United States. Wrong; according to Kia, the Mesa (codenamed HM) will compete against the Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota 4Runner and Nissan Pathfinder. -Continued after the jump

Moreover, Kia clarifies that the ongoing HM naming survey –there are three candidate names: Mohave, Windriver and Opelia, is only for the Korean market vehicle and not for the export model. Too bad, journos would have had a gassy blast if you picked out Windriver. However, Mohave does have a nice ring to it.

Link: Kia Buzz , Korea Times

2009 Kia Mesa: First Official Image Of 7-Seater SUV

Talking about car shows in our previous post, Kia decided to let out a pre-pre-pre (add a few more pre’s) Detroit Show teaser image of its 7-passenger large SUV that’s based on the Mesa concept first shown in 2005. According to Kia, the yet-to-be-named SUV (code named the ‘HM’), will be available in 2008 as a 2009 model in the U.S. We tried our best to optimize Kia’s shady official image with photoshop, but you can check the original image after the jump. Also feel free to explore our previous posts on the Mesa / HM were we exposed several exterior and interior details of the 7-seater SUV by clicking here and here. -Continued

Via: Autoblog.com , Source: Kia

2009 Kia Mesa SUV Interior Shots?

Shortly after a handful of exterior teaser pictures of the Kia Mesa leaked into the net, a new set of images submerged, this time supposedly previewing the interior of Kia’s upcoming full-size SUV. Not exactly “haute couture” material and we really could do without those decorative faux wood inserts, but the Koreans are getting better each time. If these images are in fact for real, then it shouldn’t be long until Kia gives an official update on the Mesa. -More pictures after the jump

Via: Autoblog.nl

2009 Kia Mesa SUV - Official Teaser Pictures?

Alleged to be the first official teaser images of the Kia Mesa SUV, these pictures give us a glimpse of what to expect from the forthcoming production version of the KCD II Mesa concept which was presented at the 2005 Detroit Motor Show. You can see a few styling cues from the KCD II concept in these pics like the broad grille and boxy shape of the front end, and well that’s about all.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any official information whatsoever, but it wouldn’t be far fetched at all if we said that the Mesa is will be based on the Hyundai Veracruz full-size SUV. Thus meaning that Kia’s 7seater SUV will probably be offered with the same 260Hp 3.8-litre V6 petrol unit. -More images after the jump

Via: Hyundaichange