Kia Motors will be retiring the young Borrego SUV for 2011.  Though the model may return thereafter, high fuel prices and a sharp shift away from sport-utes have forced the Korean automaker to pull out of the SUV wars in America.  The Borrego was released for ’09 as a luxury SUV, offering a spiffy interior, four-wheel-drive, a 6-spd. AT, and a 337 hp 4.6 L V-8.  The Borrego’s starting price was nearly $27,000, with full-spec models hitting up to $42,000.  High fuel prices have contributed to the Borrego’s poor sales performance: it was intended to sell 20,000 units in the US, but has failed to hit half that number.

Looks like Aston’s going to avoid the Porsche path and not release an SUV.  The Lagonda concept premiered in Geneva earlier this year to poor reviews.  Add to that the hard downturn in company revenue and you have a formula prevent “branching out.”  Aston CEO Ulrich Bez confirmed the Lagonda plan was on an indefinite hold, with insufficient funds and interest in building the sport-ute.

Think of the XC60-R as Volvo’s modest effort to make a modest sport-ute modestly sporty.  The exterior is now kept in single-tone, as opposed to two; trim accents are decorated in glossy silver; and duo-tones and aluminum finish line the cabin.  Mechanical adjustments are minor, limited to a revised steering system for precise handling, a strengthened chassis, and an upgraded suspension.

It’s not a lot, I know, but it is a tiny step to making Volvo an interesting marque.

BMW’s press department has released official photos and early details on the European X1, its new entry sport-ute.  From what we gathered, three diesel engines and one petrol will be offered to the EU market; rear- or all-wheel-drive is available.  The figure BMW boasted was for its diesel-powered sDrive18dcame to 45 mpg in the European driving cycle and had a top speed of 124 mph.

US specs and pricing are unknown.