Hyundai and Kia's
- Thread starter fjatheart
- Start date
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
Our family driver is a 2010 Santa Fe. Other than some bush guards, I have seen zero aftermarket off road oriented support. The 18" wheels are rough on gravel, but with a swap it would be decent on fire roads.
However I have never seen a V6 Hyundai or Kia SUV actually achieve their claimed fuel economy. I have been tracking ours for all of it's 18,000 km and it has never come close.
Peter
However I have never seen a V6 Hyundai or Kia SUV actually achieve their claimed fuel economy. I have been tracking ours for all of it's 18,000 km and it has never come close.
Peter
fjatheart
Adventurer
I've seen some lift kits, sliders and brushguards for some Hyundai and Kia SUVs on Rocky Road Outfitters site. Most everything else would have to be custom, which could be cool depending on ones creativity. Some of these rigs would make neat weekend camping vehicles and very mild trail rigs. I've seen older Sportage's lifted with TJ springs and giving some trackers and samurai's a run for there money.
Just curious if anyone else has seen some of these compact DD turned into mild wheelers...
Just curious if anyone else has seen some of these compact DD turned into mild wheelers...
Warn Industries
Supporting Vendor
I looked into earlier Sportages before getting my Sidekick, but didn't find much support either and went with the Suzuki. The original Sportages were a body-on-frame design. I know WARN makes hubs for them. If you could fab up a bumper, you could slap a winch on one. The early versions had Mazda engines/transmissions.
- Andy
- Andy
fjatheart
Adventurer
http://www.upyourkia.com/
This website has some, in my opinion, cool little Sportage rigs lifted. Looks like some custom bumpers too.
This website has some, in my opinion, cool little Sportage rigs lifted. Looks like some custom bumpers too.
life_w_vagabonds
Explorer
I've been weighing the Korean options as well. OME makes kits for a few of these models. Do either the Hyundai or Kia have a low range? Still looking for a Forester replacement. Something a scoche bigger with a low range. I think the Grand Vitara is about the only option. Nothing at all wrong with the Suzuki but these Hyundai and Kia are everywhere.
Frankspinz
Adventurer
When I want to estimate real life driving fuel consumption of a vehicle. I refer to fuelly.com. (There might be others like it out there ... )
Go to "Browse vehicles" pick your vehicle, body type, engine (who knew the Santa Fe had a diesel ! ) and "voila" !
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Grand Vitara isn't much bigger than a Subie, and the additional space isn't all that useful, particularly with the barn door tailgate.
MPG flat out sux. 16 on a good day with the 2.7l V6 and 5 speed auto. Of course this is all city (Wife's vehicle, she only has a 2.5 mile drive to work each day.) But I've taken it on a couple of long trips and I think we only broke 19mpg one time.
For something this small and not terribly powerful, that's pretty crappy mileage. Can probably blame the full time 4wd but you'd do much better with a Subie. If you need something bigger than a Forester go with an Outback Wagon.
My favorite is the Kia Borrego V8. With a truck frame, 4x4 and low range, it's a Korean 4Runner that can tow 7500 lbs. EPA rating is 15 city, 20 highway, typical for a V8.
The Borrego was imported to USA only 18 months, and sold only as a 2009 model. You can find unsold Borregos on dealer lots even today. Kia still makes this model for other markets, usually calling it the Mohave.
Here's one example: 2009 Borrego LX V8, 6 speed auto, 4x4, 28k miles $22,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=292614070
The Borrego was imported to USA only 18 months, and sold only as a 2009 model. You can find unsold Borregos on dealer lots even today. Kia still makes this model for other markets, usually calling it the Mohave.
Here's one example: 2009 Borrego LX V8, 6 speed auto, 4x4, 28k miles $22,000
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=292614070
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Yes, the Borrego was an interesting vehicle, but its achilles heel as an off-roader is the independent rear suspension. That puts it in the same category as the 05+ Nissan Pathfinder and 06+ Suzuki Grand Vitara.
In terms of looks, I always thought the Borrego looked like a supersized Subaru Forester.
Do a search on Sorento and look for posts by NewFoundFreedom. He has a 2006 Sorento with a lift, rock rails & brush guard. Also has a RTT for camping. I have a 2007 Sorento, it does have lo-range and a pretty good crawl ratio about 31 to 1. Mine is all stock but does well off road, if I didn't care about the body it would do much better. The newest Sorento & Sportage do not have a 2 speed t-case. Hope this helps some.
corax
Explorer
The earlier Sorento (up to '07) used a 3.5L Mitsu engine, Toyota (more or less) transmission, Borg Warner 2 speed shift on the fly (no shift into 4LO, of course) transfer case and Eaton axles. Before '05 is was 4 spd auto, 5 spd auto after '05 and you could also get a manual trans (sorta rare to find). Properly taken care of they lasted fairly well, but marketing to the "budget" crowd meant that many of them weren't well cared for. There is an updated intake manifold, the original was prone to developing a vacuum leak at the shaft for the variable length intake butterfly flappers.
The '07 - '09 got rid of the manual trans an update the engine to a 3.3L or 3.8L Hyundai design.
If you have any specific KIA questions, let me know . . . I was one of their field engineers for 4 years
The '07 - '09 got rid of the manual trans an update the engine to a 3.3L or 3.8L Hyundai design.
If you have any specific KIA questions, let me know . . . I was one of their field engineers for 4 years
NewFoundFreedom
Adventurer
I would love to know more about the rear axle. I can not find much of the shelf locker options.
IHDiesel73L
Adventurer
I'm chomping at the bit to get my new (to me) Borrego here-we ended up buying long distance because we found a really good price online. Now it's just endless paperwork and hoop jumping to get the thing here. As for Hyundai vs. Kia I would forget Hyundai-AFAIK everything they've ever offered is unibody/AWD. The 1st generation Sorentos, Sportages, and the Borrego are the way to go. Not too many Borregos out there, but the Sorentos and Sportages seem plentiful. I believe that prior to 2006 Kia was plagued by a lot of electrical gremlins, but that 2007 to 2009 are good years. The 2007 Sorento is a nice model to get. That was the year they debuted the 3.8L (260HP/260LB-FT) V6 and I think all trim levels got it. I test drove a 2007 Sorento LX with the 3.8L/4WD and it was a nice little vehicle. The price wasn't bad either because it was only an LX with 40K miles and had none of the expensive bells and whistles that drive up the cost. I think we could have had it for $15K. Ultimately we opted for the Borrego because of the 3rd row seat.