The Kia ute that wasn’t | Drive Flashback

Story originally published in Drive on 14 February, 2004.

The Korean car industry has not made any moves on the utility truck market just yet but it might not be far away if the latest offering from Kia is any indication.

And while Holden and Ford should not be worrying about the future of their utes just at the moment, a look at the Korean product might be worth it.

Known as the Mojave KCV-4, it is the first "proper" ute (concept or production) ever to come from Kia and, while it is aimed primarily at the North American market, it would have no trouble making friends in Australia.

Why? Size for one thing. Mojave (it was named after the Californian desert where Kia is building a $US50million proving ground, by the way) fits between American compact and full-size trucks.

In other words, it is not a lot bigger than the average Australian ute.

And borrowing the "suicide" rear door approach from Mazda's RX-8 coupe, it sports a 2+2 cabin and a "sort of" hatchback.

Sort of. In fact it is a rear window that can be manually raised while the back seat is folded flat and the power-operated rear bulkhead moved forward with the result the load bed extends from 1800mm in length with the truck as a four-seater to around 2200mm in length configured as a two-seater.

If the load bed length needs to be increased the tailgate can be dropped to form a flush fit with the trailing edge of the rear floor.

Surprisingly, the Mojave is based on the Kia Sorento SUV platform but, with a 3300mm wheelbase, is considerably longer than the four-wheel-drive machine.

It also boasts a new V6 engine, a 3.8-litre unit with double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, the 220kW engine mated to a five-speed, electronically controlled transmission.

Interestingly, Mojave uses a separate full-box ladder frame chassis with the body bolted to it rather than the increasingly common unitary construction.

The chassis has nine cross members for stiffness and the whole package is supported by a double wishbone arrangement with coil-over shocks and a stabiliser bar.

At the rear a five-link rigid axle is located by coil springs, gas-filled dampers and a stabiliser bar.

Kia has fitted the concept truck with power-assisted rack and pinion steering with a hydraulically operated rear steer system to help with parking, high-speed manoeuvrability and crosswind susceptibility.

It is unlikely such a set-up would make it onto a production model, however.

Brakes are four-wheel discs with anti-lock and electronic brakeforce distribution and, for the concept vehicle, 20-inch alloy wheels are used.

The idea behind Mojave, said Kia Motors America boss Peter Butterfield, was to take advantage of the company's own R and D to create a concept car closely aligned with Kia's positioning in North America.

"Our design objectives for the Mojave were unique in that we attempted to combine a forward-thinking cabin with an advanced open and modern feel that would appeal to generation Y consumers," Butterfield said.
The big question now is: Will Mojave make it into production? The answer is most likely "yes", even if it is in a watered-down format.

And, if that happens, will it be a certainty for the Australian market?

For the answer to that question we can do nothing more than wait and see.

The Kia Mojave (as the Mohave) name did appear in production form in 2008, on a mid-size SUV available exclusively in South Korea, North America (where it was marketed as the Kia Borrego), and China.

It wasn't a huge success in the US, lasting just a single model year (2009) before being replaced by the altogether more successful Kia Sorento in 2011.

The Mohave nameplate lived on in its domestic Korean market, however, enjoying a 2019 facelift (pictured below) that brought the ageing SUV into line with Kia's current design language.

As for the prospect of a Kia ute, Drive revealed late last year that secret plans to build a Toyota HiLux-rivalling dual-cab ute are well advanced.

Ironically, Kia's ute is said to be based on the Korean-market Mohave SUV. And sister company, Hyundai, is also said to be well-advanced with its plans to conquer the world of dual-cab utes and pick-up trucks. You can read all about those developments here.