The pillow things are a nice product for what it is - could be very handy and easy to store.... I was on the local fire dept for nine years and trained in auto accident scene extrication and we used a lot of really heavy duty air bags to move/pull/push stuff all over the place. They can be a VERY handy tool. Also great for getting the fire trucks out of a ditch on an icy road.
Anyway - nice product - FOR WHAT IT IS. That said I would NEVER use it in a situation like that steep hill climb the Rover is doing, not without a good deal of further stabilizing from the sides. That is NO way to climb that shelf, very unstable and a good chance to slip sideways and possibly have all sorts of trouble.
Hard to tell from sitting behind a computer but it seems you (pillowtracks) are asking a bit too much from the product.
If they are reasonably priced, I'd love a set. There are times when they would be very very nice to have.
As for the Kia issue..... Well; having spent a fair bit of time living in Ausi and NZ.... they tend to use smaller cheap 4x4's to a much higher degree and extent than we here in the States would ever DREAM of. Some of them are actually quite impressive with a good driver and some guts.