The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 30, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED You'll Love Our Service! 905-335-4080 BURLINGTON LINE Kia puts together a seven-seat SUV with the power to surprise By Jim Robinson Metroland Media Group Kia Canada's slogan is "the power to surprise" and that they have certainly done with the 2009 Borrego seven-seat SUV. In light of current gasoline prices, you would think bringing out a big SUV, with a V6 and a V8, would seem like the right vehicle (at least last year) but at the wrong time. Kia, however, is very upbeat about this traditional body-on-frame SUV because of price, what is included in the price, fuel consumption and Kia's great 5-5-5 warranty. The Borrego is Kia's third SUV (Sportage, Sorento), four if you count the Rondo. The Borrego is noticeably bigger than Kia SUVs that have gone before. Kia sees the V6 going up against Ford Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Honda Pilot while the V8 (based on power and 7,500 lb towing capacity) competes with Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen, Chevy Tahoe and even the huge Ford Expedition. In terms of the power, the 3.8-litre DOHC V6 in Borrego produces 276 hp and 267 lb/ft of torque. This compares to 210 hp in the 4.0-litre V6 Explorer, 266 hp in the 4.0-litre V6 Pathfinder and 236 hp in the 4.0-litre V6 4Runner. The 4.6-litre DOHC V8 in Borrego makes 337 hp and 323 lb/ft of torque. The 4.6-litre Explorer V8 produces 292 hp, the 5.6-litre V8 Pathfinder has 310 hp, and the 4.7-litre V8 4Runner comes in at 260 hp. Fuel consumption figures for the V6 are 13.0L/100 km city, 9.4L/100 km highway. The V8 gets 14.1L/100 km city and 9.7L/100 km highway. In terms of price, the base V6 Borrego LX starts at $36,995 and the V8 LX is $39,495. The top trim EX models start at $40,995 for the V6 and $43,495 for the V8. Prices differ from region to region and even dealer to dealer, but Borrego compares to the base Ford Explorer at $41,399 and the base Nissan Pathfinder at $38,298. But it is what's included in the price where the Borrego begins to stand out. The base LX V6 comes with part time four-wheel-drive (4WD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), four disc brakes with ABS and traction control, Downhill Assist Control (DAC), Hill Assent Control (HAC), air, cruise, 17-inch alloy wheels, power locks/windows/doors, windshield wiper deicing, underbody skid plates, heated front seats, roof rails and the list goes on. Moving up to the EX trim for $4,000 and it adds full time 4WD, leather, dual climate control, tilt/slide power sunroof, driver's seat memory (mirror, seat, steering column), bigger 18-inch alloy wheels and more. On the LX models, regardless of engine, the drivetrain consists of a fivespeed Steptronic transmission with manual shift mode and a part-time 4WD system that lets the driver chose rear-wheeldrive, 4hi and 4lo.The EX models comes with a six-speed Steptronic automatic with a full-time 4WD system that adds an "Auto" setting that shifts torque around on demand. Also standard on Borrego is a nifty Continued on Page 17 (ABOVE) Whether in the heart of the city or in the heart of Alberta's cattle country, the 2009 Kia Borrego sevenseat SUV can handle just about any terrain thrown at it. (RIGHT) The 2009 Kia Borrego comes with a part-time 4WD on the LX model or this full-time 4WD system shown on the EX model which adds an "Auto" setting to shift torque front and rear in addition to reardrive and 4WD hi and lo.