Off-road vehicles "Kia": a lineup. Frame SUV "Kia" (photo)

South Korean car manufacturer Kia began its journey with bicycles. The first light SUV "Kia" was released by the subsidiary company of Asia for the needs of the army.

Off-road vehicles "Kia"

The first civilian SUV appeared in 1990 and was manufactured until 1997. He was called Asia Rocsta. The next two years were given to his second generation Asia Rocsta R2, on which this model line ended its existence without successors. This off-road vehicle looks like an old American jeep of the Second World War.

The next was also a short-lived SUV "Kia Retona". It was created on the basis of the already produced at that time first generation crossover Sportage from 1997 to 2003.

These off-road vehicles are no longer produced, ruthlessly replaced by crossovers.

Today, the only representative of South Korean cars is called, and by law, an SUV. This is the Kia Mohave jeep.

Two more models of crossover can be considered as a small tribe of off-road vehicles "Kia" - the first generation of Sorento and the new Sportage.

Kia Asia Rocsta

The asceticism of the army classic jeep in the civilian version was softened by modern bumpers, moldings, plastic overlays on the wings and interesting wheel disks. The tilt top remained, but there was another modification with a hard roof. The interior has also become more comfortable. The steering wheel is the same as that installed on passenger cars, the seats are adjustable.

The second generation with the index R2 outwardly from American jeeps is different, in its appearance the features of Japanese jeeps of the last quarter of the 20th century are visible.

The jeeps of "Asia Rocksta" were not supplied to Russia. Those cars that drive on domestic roads, have got on it winding ways.

In the first version of the all-wheel drive off-road car, descended from the assembly line in 1994, two variants of four-cylinder engines were installed. Diesel R2 (MAGMA) with a volume of 2.2 liters and a capacity of 72 liters. from. And gasoline "Mazda" with a volume of 1.8 liters accelerated the jeep to a speed of 140 km / h.

The weight of the car was about 1.3 tons, dimensions (L × W × H) - 3,6х1,7х1,8 m, ground clearance - 0,2 m, load-carrying capacity - 0,5 t.

Jeeps were sold in England, Korea, Italy, Germany.

Kia Retona

The second Kia Retona SUV was positioned at the beginning of its journey as a replacement for the Asia Rocsta jeep. At the end of the last century Kia Motors bought the company Asia, and "Retona" was unified with the first Sportage.

Externally, especially in front, the car is round headlights, close to the radiator and protruding outside the wings, independent of the hood, reminiscent of the Jeep Wrangler. Bumpers and the footboard are made of unpainted thick plastic, the frame of the windshield, as a tribute to the style of the military, is decorated with decorative hinges that mimic the tilting of the glass on the hood.

The dimensions of the jeep are 4 × 1.75 × 1.8 m, the ground clearance is 0.2 m. The curb weight of the car is 0.4 tonnes, the permissible mass with cargo and passengers is 1.9 tonnes. In a mixed cycle, the fuel consumption was 10 liters On 100 km. The maximum speed that the SUV could develop was 125 km / h.

The SUV was produced in three versions of the two-door body: a four-seater covered all-metal and a cabriolet with a soft awning, as well as a two-seater with a cargo compartment behind the front seats. The maximum capacity of the luggage compartment is 1.2 thousand liters. Two-liter diesel engine with four cylinders and a turbocharged power of 83 liters. With a five-speed manual gearbox, a power steering wheel - quite decent characteristics for a small SUV.

Kia Sportage

To off-road cars it is possible to carry only the first generation of "Kia Sports". It was developed on the platform of Mazda Bongo, with its own engine and gearbox.

The jeep was sold in a four-door variant with a hard roof and a two-door with a soft roof. The production was started in 1993 and finally discontinued in 2004.

Outwardly, he looked simple, not too expressive, but confidently, as befits a jeep. Inside - quite comfortable and high quality, with comfortable seats.

Its dimensions are 3.76 / 4.34 × 1.65 × 1.73 m, ground clearance - 0.2 m, weight - about one and a half tons. Equipped with an off-road car with two-liter three petrol and two diesel engines with a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic gearboxes. Accelerated Sportage to 100 km / h in less than 15 seconds, the maximum speed was more than 170 km / h. The SUV felt confident both in the city's narrow streets and off-road.

The first generation had a clear advantage - it was universal: an SUV and an SUV in one Kia car.

Models SUV Sportage second and third generation gradually lost this advantage, becoming a classic crossover.

The third generation, presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010, is made in a modern crossover design, perhaps with some degree of sportiness.

The salon is finished with high-quality expensive materials, the control is precise, the luggage compartment holds almost five hundred, and with folded seats and all one thousand four hundred liters.

Two-liter petrol engine capacity of 163 liters. from. And diesel - 136 and 184 liters. from. Are equipped with five- and six-speed automatic transmissions. Accelerates the SUV on a gasoline engine in 10.4 seconds, the maximum speed is more than 180 km / h.

Kia Sorento

Next car "Kia" - off-road car Sorento - meets the requirements of the European market and design and characteristics. The very first cars were equipped with a petrol engine of 2.4 liters and a capacity of 139 liters. from. And a 3.5 liter diesel engine with a capacity of 194 liters. from. With a five-speed automatic transmission. Later, the engines were replaced by more powerful, economical and eco-friendly models.

Frame SUV "Kia Sorento" with a fixed rear axle could not be better suited for off-road trips. He could even wade water obstacles up to half a meter deep. The car was produced in two versions: all-wheel drive or with a plug-in front-wheel drive.

The second generation of Sorento, which entered the market in 2009, no longer had such off-road qualities. The crossover has become much more beautiful both outside and inside. There were more modern and powerful engines, a five- or seven-seater saloon, a helper from the mountain, but the body became a bearing body, the all -wheel drive completely disappeared (only the plug-in was left) and a downshift.

After another three years, the appearance of the Kia Sorento became even more modern, a more powerful (192 hp) petrol engine appeared. But it's already one hundred percent, beautiful and reliable, but a crossover.

Kia Borrego

Another frame car "Kia" - SUV (photo below) Borrego. Full-size "Kia Borrego" was created for the US market in 2008, but did not find its niche and was withdrawn from production in 2011. But today it can still be found on the roads in Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Under a different name, it is produced in Russia in Kaliningrad at the Avtotor enterprise.

Kia Mohave

A large powerful car has remarkable cross-country ability and features a spacious, not to say more, saloon. This is the only SUV for today in the line of cars "Kia".

Off-road cars, the model range of which once consisted of real Rocsta, Retona, Sorento and Sportage jeeps, practically disappeared without finding a sale. But the development used in them, did not disappear. They found a worthy use in the "Kia Mojave".

Since 2008, the jeep, which has two names, has improved, becoming an expensive luxury car.

A huge five-door jeep for seven seats is equipped with an economical diesel engine of 3 liters and capacity of 250 liters. from. With an eight-speed automatic transmission. It consumes about 10 liters of fuel per 100 km in a mixed cycle and accelerates to "hundred" in just 9 seconds, despite the fact that it weighs more than 2 tons. Its clearance is 0.217 meters.

The frame construction allows the heavy machine in off-road conditions because of the uniform distribution of all loads to keep the balance, not to heel and not to swing on rough terrain.

The petrol engine in volume of 4,6 l by capacity of 340 l. from. Has 8 cylinders, corresponds to the ecological standard EURO V and is equipped with a 6-speed automatic.

If the first SUV "Kia" was a compact and quite cheap jeep, intended rather for young people, then the new model, large and very expensive, suits serious charismatic people with solid income. What fate awaits him, whether the Korean manufacturer will continue the lineup and what novelties, can only guess.