Click image for photo gallery
The first teaser/detail shots of the production Kia Mesa SUV are out, and it looks like the body-on-frame truck's outward appearance is going to be close to the KCD-II Mesa concept that made its debut back in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show. (Is it us, or does that grille look very New Tribeca/Chrysler Town & Country-ish?) Rumored to be showing up sometime in the fall in Korea and early '08 in the US, we should expect to see a 260-horsepower 3.8L V6 underhood. Spy shots that appeared earlier in the year hint at an attractive interior, and there has been speculation that a V8 will be in the mix at some point, too. We have to assume that it'll be shown at either Los Angeles or Detroit if the US release timing really is set for early '08. The biggest question might be whether or not Kia will find an audience for a big SUV in the current climate. That said, with V6 power, a snappy cabin, and assuming it's got three rows of seating, it could be positioned against the GM Lambda crossovers, which are sizable machines, themselves.[Source: Hyundai Exchange (registration req'd) via Left Lane News]
BREAKING: GM and Chrysler talking about merger
Spy Shots: Nissan 370Z again, with interior shots
2010 Mazda3 unveiled ahead of LA Auto Show
Spy Shots: Nissan 370Z caught undisguised
GM on Corvette ZR1 cancellation rumor: "Not true."
Knight Rider: The Liveblog -- Season 1, Episode 3
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3, return of the "hummer"
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Chevy Corvette Z06
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
Paris 2008: Le Day 1 Wrapup
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ron @ Jul 24th 2007 12:52PM
hey look another boring, underpowered Kia
CMOG @ Jul 24th 2007 1:01PM
yea, with the new 's' diegel engine that produces
more horsepower and torque than the AUDI,
BMW diegel v6s
Bob-omb @ Jul 24th 2007 1:23PM
Hey look, another loser living in the past.
Don @ Jul 24th 2007 3:40PM
Did you time warp in from the year 1990?
dave @ Jul 24th 2007 1:10PM
I love Hyundai. I can't wait to see this. 260-horsepower 3.8L V6 doesn't seem underpowered to me.
Seminole @ Jul 24th 2007 1:22PM
I'm gonna throw this out there, but that shot of the grille of the KIA looks almost 100% like that of the new Subaru Tribeca.
http://www.drivingsportsvideo.com/subiesport/08tribeca_driving.jpg
AlexP @ Jul 24th 2007 1:31PM
Yeah, pretty much - same about of bars on the grille and the headlights look pretty much the same.
I wonder if they came up with the concept before Subaru decided to go with that grille for the updated Tribeca.
M @ Jul 24th 2007 1:42PM
if you are seing it now, that means a designer sketched it at least 2 years ago, an engineer worked on it, tooling was made for the factory, quality testing took place... these parts don't just go from sketch to factory part overnight....
Mr. Oak @ Jul 24th 2007 1:28PM
Ha! they're going to build the Volt. before GM does. Piracy in overdrive.
brian @ Jul 24th 2007 1:43PM
lol. Any more insecurity here? I'm sure it wll be a great product just like the rest of the Hyundai/Kia lineup. No one has even seen the entire car in production form and already the slandering begins. Talk about bias. lol
Juan @ Jul 24th 2007 1:47PM
The sketches look nice and all but why body-on-frame when everyone else is moving to unibody? That makes no sense...
I_Hate_China @ Jul 24th 2007 4:17PM
Because Kia has a V8 pickup for you in the future.
Mr. Oak @ Jul 24th 2007 1:55PM
Brian, ever seen the Volt? this looks like a larger copy of it. Copy right down to the color. Hope they remember to remove the bowtie from the final product.
AlexP @ Jul 24th 2007 1:59PM
http://www.automobilemag.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0701_b+2007_chevrolet_volt_concept+03.jpg
I doubt I'm the only one who fails to see how this looks like the Chevy Volt.
M @ Jul 26th 2007 1:13PM
this truck is based on the Mesa concept car that came out two years ago... way before the Chevy Volt.... keep smoking crack Mr. Oak!
Mr. Oak @ Jul 26th 2007 1:20PM
Weed ma brother, just weed.
Mr. Wiggles @ Jul 24th 2007 1:55PM
Maybe they'll use the platform for a proper pickup truck later on. Would be nice, anyway.
AlexP @ Jul 24th 2007 1:57PM
I'm sorry, but the Accent, Rio, Spectra, Magentis (it's overpriced and boring to drive), Amanti (what the hell is it doing with economy tires? And the exterior styling is still forgettable (in a sense that you don't want to remember it)), Sportage and Tucson could all be much better.
And although I like the Elantra, the price for equipment ratio isn't nearly as interesting here as it is in the United States. I'd rather import one than buy one locally, to be honest (I'd save a thousand for a better equipped version... And get a choice of colors we don't get here (Canada).
(Oh yeah - something noteworthy about the Rondo... Probably the worst thing about it, as a matter of fact: BASE AUDIO UNIT HAS A CASSETTE PLAYER - a format you can't buy media for unless you're creating it yourself, but why anyone would chose cassette over CD in this day and age is beyond me)
Hyundai is doing a lot of progress, but it doesn't mean all their cars are great.
Bob-omb @ Jul 25th 2007 3:28AM
Take your crap elsewhere, Alex. The Rondo has an AM/FM/CD standard in the U.S. and Canada. The UPGRADED U.S. stereo ADDS a cassette player, which is the next best thing to an aux input jack. Considering a lot of cars DON'T have aux jacks, I appreciate that some cars still have cassette players in addition to CD players.
brian @ Jul 24th 2007 2:01PM
All I have to say is "driving is believing." ^^
And no the rondo dosen't offer a base cassette player, it offers a AM/FM/CD-MP3/Cassette audio system w/6 speakers. Go to website for more info and stop giving false info please.