You may or may not remember the Kia Borrego, a rugged SUV that entered the market in the late 2000s just as the financial crisis was wreaking havoc with the North American automotive market.
Its terrible timing meant the vehicle had a short lifespan in Canada; Kia stopped selling it here in the fall of 2011. But the Borrego continued on in global markets, where it was known as the Mohave. Themo dle even received a major design update in 2016 to keep it fresh.
Kia is about to launch a new generation of the SUV for the 2020 model year. No, this doesn’t mean the Borrego 2.0 is coming to North America. But the image turned up of the new Mohave’s interior is worth mention, mainly because it provides a sneak peek at what the cabins of future Kia products are likely going to look like.
And it’s particularly notable because the look of it is extremely attractive.
The image reveals a totally different environment than what we’ve bene accustomed to from the Korean automaker. The presentation is streamlined and feels pretty sumptuous. Very prominent are two 12.3-inch screens – one for the instrument cluster, the other for the multimedia system.
Even better, the latter screen is not a floating one as is the case with virtually all products across the industry, including in the brand-new Telluride from Kia itself. Instead, it has been beautifully integrated into the dashboard’s central console.
Also notable are new locations for the gear shifter and for climate-control commands and air vents, as well as a colour screen for the head-up display and quality materials arrayed throughout the cabin.
The list of features also includes a 15-speaker Lexicon audio system.
What it all adds up to is a big step up for Kia in terms of its vehicle interiors. It remains to be seen if and when we’ll see this type of presentation in a product for our market. While there’s no guarantee, we have to think this is likely, and soon.
