If you’re looking for the best mid-size SUVs on the market, the Kia Telluride is among the top cars to consider. This SUV boasts several high-end features, a spacious cabin, a large trunk space, top-notch safety features, and a smooth ride. But is the Kia Telluride a good car?
Yes, the Kia Telluride is an exceptional car. It offers great comfort even in the third-row seating and comes with ample leg room. It is also spacious and has a tremendous towing capacity. The unit is also safe, reliable, and cheap to maintain. Nonetheless, if you’re searching for a luxurious, faster, and high-performance car, this is not the car for you.
History of the Kia Telluride
The Kia Telluride is a mid-size crossover SUV made by Kia. This car has been in production from 2019 to date. Unlike the Kia Sorento, the Kia Telluride comes with third-row seating. The Kia Telluride is named after the town of Telluride, Colorado. Besides, it is the largest Kia model made in the United States of America.
Kia Telluride has bagged several top awards, such as the 2020 World Car of the Year and Motor Trends SUV of the year. This car is fitted with a 3.8-liter Lambda II GDi V6 engine and has an 8-speed A8LF1 automatic transmission. The user has the option of picking either a front-wheel-drive or an all-wheel-drive system.
Features of the Kia Telluride
Appearance
The Kia Telluride may not be the best-looking mid-size SUV in its class, but it’s one of the best. The Hyundai Palisade looks more appealing but the Kia Telluride looks more spectacular than the Toyota Highlander. Overall, it looks sleek with lots of modern features.
Some exceptional exterior features include 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome door handles, fully galvanized steel panels, a lovely black grille with chrome surround, and automatic projector beam halogen daytime running headlamps.
The interior is spacious with lots of modern and advanced features. Some of the outstanding interior features include a leather steering wheel, full cloth headliner, cruise control, integrated navigation system, carpet floor trim, and fade-to-off interior lighting.
The Kia Telluride has a wheelbase of 114.2-inches, a length of 196.9-inches, a width of 78.3-inches, and a height of 68.9-inches.
Performance
The Kia Telluride comes with several trim options, including LX, S, EX, X-Line, SX, X-Pro, and SX-Prestige. Note that all of the above trims feature a naturally aspirated V-6 engine that delivers up to 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque.
When it comes to speed and performance, most of its rivals perform better. Besides, the Kia Telluride does not feel very responsive to throttle inputs at lower speeds than most of its rivals.
Comfort and cargo space
In terms of comfort, the Kia Telluride is the best in its class. It comes with a seating capacity of eight and it’s the biggest in the class. Unlike other seven or eight-seat SUVs, the Kia Telluride is very comfortable and even adults can sit in the third row without a lot of discomforts.
Safety
Kia Telluride is a pretty safe car. It boasts several standard driver assistance features, including lane departure warning, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, forward automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors, and much more.
Fuel efficiency
The Kia Telluride is not a very efficient car. This is because most of its rivals are far more fuel efficient. The Kia Telluride has an EPA rating of 20 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway, and a combined 23 mpg. On the contrary, its rivals like the Toyota Highlander are very efficient with an EPA rating of 36 mpg in the city, 35 mpg on the highway, and a combined 36 mpg.
Price
Even though the Kia Telluride comes with 8 seats, it is still a very affordable car. This is because it is in the same price range as most of its competitors but it offers so much more. The base price for the 2023 Kia Telluride is $37025, while that of the Hyundai Palisade is $$36,545, and the 2023 Toyota Highlander goes for $37,755.
FAQ
Is it worth buying the Kia Telluride?
Yes, the Kia Telluride is worth buying as it offers more value than its actual price. This car is very practical, reliable, efficient, comfortable, and affordable. It also comes with an exceptional towing capacity, making it ideal for towing things like recreational vehicles and boats.
However, if you want a luxurious, sleek, and highly efficient SUV with high-tech features, the Kia Telluride is not the best suited for you.
What are the common problems with Kia Telluride?
The Kia Telluride is undoubtedly one of the best SUVs on the market. However, this doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with problems. Some of the common problems with the Kia Telluride are a weak windshield, headlight problem, transmission issue, electrical problems, cold start engine squealing, LD display goes blank, and wind noise and sound problems.
How fast is the Kia Telluride?
The Kia Telluride is fitted with a 3.8-liter V6 engine that delivers up to 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. The SX AWD is the best-performing trim and comes with a top speed of 141 mph and it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds.
This is much faster than the Toyota Highlander with a top speed of 118 mph, but slightly slower than the Hyundai Palisade, with a top speed of 145 mph.
Which car is better – the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, or Toyota Highlander?
All of these cars are exceptional in their way. If you want efficiency, the Toyota Highlander is the best choice. On the contrary, if you want performance and power, the Hyundai Palisade is slightly better than the Kia Telluride. But if you want comfort and outstanding towing capacity, the Kia Telluride is the best choice.
Summary
The Kia Telluride is one of the finest mid-size SUVs on the market. It is also comfortable, spacious, practical, fun to drive, safe, and affordable. Nonetheless, it also comes with a few issues that interested buyers ought to know about. Regardless, with proper care and maintenance, the Kia Telluride will last a very long time.
So, the Kia Telluride is a good car for a family. With a seating capacity of eight and ample cargo space, this car is also ideal for long journeys and picnics. It can also be utilized for towing boats and recreational vehicles.