“That’s a Kia?” The comment you’ll often hear when dismounting from the Kia’s largest SUV, the Borrego. Ask for an explanation from the bewildered onlookers and you’ll get the same story over and over: They still think of a Kia as a company that makes nothing but very small, very cheaply made cars. And for good reason: This is exactly what Hyundai-Kia made for much of its existence.

At long last, the Korean automaker is getting its act together and moving into the mainstream. The days of the god-awful Kia Sephia are long gone, though when it comes to the Borrego, Kia’s timing is a little, let’s say, unfortunate.

What is it?
The Borrego is the Super Big Gulp of Kia’s lineup. For many years, the largest SUV Kia sold was the small, silly-looking Kia Sportage. Then the larger, somewhat better looking, five-passenger Sorento came along in 2003.

Fast-forward to last year when, during record high gas prices, Kia launched its nearly full-size, seven-passenger Borrego. To be fair, the Borrego program had been given the green-light long before gas prices started with the number four. As a result, Kia has sold 42 Borregos total. (OK, maybe a few more.) Bad luck? Sure. Late to the big SUV party? You bet. Fortunately for Kia, bad luck doesn’t necessarily mean a bad car.

What’s it up against?
Itself.

Even with gas prices well below their 2008 highs, large SUVs aren’t exactly chic these days. Factor in new CAFE standards, and the Borrego may be in danger of being canceled after one product cycle.

Looking to its real competitors, the Chevy Traverse and the Ford Explorer jump to the front of the line. The Honda Pilot, GMC Acadia and Toyota Highlander are also queued up.

Any breakthroughs?
Other than this being Kia’s first large SUV, not really. It’s full of airbags and has all the standard electronic counter-measures you find on big trucks to keep the Borrego from going from 4-wheeler to 2 wheeler (or no-wheeler). It’s a traditional body-on frame ‘ute, built “how they used to be.”

How does it look?
If it weren’t for that metallic orange “Copperhead” paint job, the Borrego is a pretty forgettable 4,460 lbs of generic SUV.

Lots of angular design cues in the lower fascia and lights along with a chrome slat grill anchor the front end. Moving to the side and rear, the gray plastic cladding that runs along the lower part of the Borrego stir memories of an awful Pontiac tall-wagon from recent history. I dare not speak its name.

It’s not really that the Borrego looks bad. It doesn’t, in fact. It just doesn’t do anything to set itself apart from what’s on the road today, and its look is dated. Had the Borrego come around in, say, 2003-2004, we think we would’ve been singing a different tune.

And inside?
The moment you sit down in the Borrego, you’re going to be very happy. The seats are nearly perfect. Not too soft, not too firm, heated if need be and covered in nice leather to boot. If you’re driving the kids cross-country, an multi-day interstate excursion will be no problem from this chair.

When you’re sitting in that chair, however, try not to look down. Should your view wander south, you’ll notice parts of the interior don’t quite have a 2009 look. The main offender is the gauge cluster. It’s very cheap and not at all interesting to look at. If you didn’t know better, you might think that part came from a 1980s Dodge. The center stack also won’t win any design awards and the HVAC controls feel a bit on the delicate side.

The interior material is a mixed bag. While parts of the dash are very nice soft-touch plastic, other parts are Honda Fit-style cheap. The only contrast you’ll find in the desert of black plastic is the aluminum strip that bisects the dash. A nice touch, but we could use a little more flair here.

But does it go?
Rituals of manhood would suggest you always opt for the V8 motor, but not-so-fast. Hyundai’s 3.8-liter V6 is actually pretty peppy when you consider the heft it’s dragging around. Spec-wise, the V6 will carry you to 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds. Back here in real life, plenty of power is on tap for highway passing; quick merges into traffic; and highway on-ramp dashes. It might lack the towing torque of the V8, but for most users, that’s fine.

If you do most of your driving on the highway, as I did during our week with the Borrego, you can average about 20 mpg. If you’re a city-dweller, well, at least you don’t have the V8. Borrego’s five-speed transmission is incredibly smooth and will have you straining to notice shifts unless the accelerator is buried.

The Kia’s ride quality is top-notch, virtually floating over the mangled streets of Detroit. Turning radius is also impressive. As with most big SUVs, there is a fair amount of body roll and pitch with the Borrego, but nothing that will have you looking for religious intervention.

The brakes left us wanting a little less, actually. Less pedal travel. During hard stops, the Borrego’s brake pedal certainly felt a little mushy, something we would not want to experience in an emergency situation. However, with many thousand-journalist miles on this particular Borrego, we’re not so sure our colleagues don’t have something to do with that.

Why you would buy it:
There are still lots of people out there who need a seven-passenger vehicle. Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe 2003 was a really good year for you, and you want a vehicle with styling from that era? This is your SUV! A 10 year/100,000 mile warranty is nice as well.

Why you wouldn’t:
You want something with a more modern look. We’re not saying retro isn’t cool, but man, the Chevy Traverse interior shames the Borrego.

Leftlane’s bottom line
It would be easy to fault Kia with launching a gas-guzzling, truck-like SUV just as the world is turning eco-friendly, but there’s much more to the story than that. Who could have predicted half-dollar gallons of gas at the Borrego’s launch?

Not us.

But it seems like GM and Ford did; as Kia was creating the Borrego, Detroit was looking to replace its trucky SUVs with car-like crossovers.

2009 Kia Borrego EX 4×4 V6 base price, $29,995. As tested, $36,295.
18-inch chrome wheels, $750; Premium package, $1,800; Navigation, $1,500; Luxury package, $1,500; Destination, $750.

Words and photos by Chris Doane.

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