The 2016 Absolute Mohave Is Kia's Tough New Luxury SUV

Kia's Hwasung Plant has been cranking out the Mohave since 2008. It's big, it's tough, it's a Korean version of the Toyota Land Cruiser. We also hear that it's quite popular in Russia, where it's manufactured locally. That has nothing to do with the fact that a new Mohave was launched in its home market under the name "New Absolute Mohave."

Kia may say that it's an entirely different car, but we see it as a major facelift. Regardless, real off-road vehicles don't need fancy body designs, as they are made to cope with the Himalayan hills, not Beverly Hills. The Absolute seems to be Kia's version of the Genesis program, as it features a unique badge and upmarket interior.

At the core of the project is a new 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine that will deliver more grunt and better fuel economy. It's rated at 260 horsepower and 256 lb-ft of torque (347 Nm). Furthermore, the Mohave has an 8-speed automatic transmission that makes the most of the low-end torque arriving at 1,500rpm. Thanks to a cleverer AWD system, the Mohave achieves an impressive 10.7 kilometers to one liter of fuel or 9.3 l/100km. For now, we haven't been able to find any data on the V8 engines, since they are not available in Korea.

Design-wise, the cosmetic procedure involves new HID headlight projectors, LED daytime running lights placed next to the fog lights and new LED taillights. We also see revisions to the bumpers and side steps.

Of course, convenience and safety features have been added too. Despite the retro interior covered in wood, we see ventilation for the seats and blind spot monitoring. The 2016 Mohave also has four cameras to give you a bird's-eye view when parking, lane keep assist, hills start assist, forward collision warning, ESC and curtain airbags.

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