How a small restyling completely transformed Kia’s flagship SUV

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Off-road loves, but serpentines – no

The Mohave is a big car, nearly five meters long, 1920mm wide, 1790mm high. It’s hard to see because of its square shape, but it’s bigger than Prado. And it’s not a long bumper gimmick, the Mohave’s wheelbase is 10cm longer.

Let’s get rid of the stereotype that frame = off-road. I myself have been driving a frame SUV every day for the third year now and do not see any problems in this, but still there are certain features of frame trucks that it is pointless to deny.

The updated Mohave not only ditched the air suspension, the engineers changed the rear shock angle and travel from 98 to 110mm, I would like to say that this made the car more manageable, but I, unfortunately, am completely unfamiliar with the previous car. Ground clearance is fixed at 217 mm – not the most impressive, but sufficient indicator.

On the Sochi serpentines, you have to be more careful, not that you need to fight with the frame, you just have to think in advance how to screw the car into especially sharp turns, but on a dirt road Mohave flourishes.

The organizers prepared a short off-road section, which I decided to go through in my own way, that is, do not slow down:

You might think that I was doing unnecessary nonsense and just having fun, forcing all four wheels of a 2.4-ton SUV to be torn off, and you will be right, because I am already tired of repeating that even 1% of the most severe SUVs do not actually see the off-road , not to mention crossovers, which we habitually call “jeeps”. But this does not negate the fact that with this approach, the shock absorbers did not pierce, even on 20-inch wheels the car did well. (Ignore the rumble, it’s a souvenir mug that the organizers gave us).

All-wheel drive here is “American”, that is, by default Mohave is rear-wheel drive, but if necessary, the front axle is connected. Communication takes place through a multi-plate electronic friction clutch, which means that the system will not send more than 50% forward with all the desire.

Of the other off-road chips – doors that cover the thresholds (however, a fixed step cancels all their advantages), and a descent assistance system – and Americans don’t need more to take their children to school.

In general, demanding handling from a frame is the same as expecting a capacious trunk from a sports car, and when a 2.4-ton SUV accelerates to 100 km / h in 8.7 seconds, this is impressive, although not particularly felt.

Specifications Kia Mohave

In our country, the updated KIA Mohave will be equipped with an uncontested V-shaped 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with a return of 249 horsepower with a volume of 3 liters, which will be paired with an 8-band automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Moreover, the engine power is specially reduced by 11 hp. in connection with the specifics of Russian taxation.

The package of options for the Russian KIA Mohave will include an anti-theft system, a set of airbags, adaptive cruise control and an electronic all-wheel drive control system.

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