2024 Kia Telluride Review
Bold and clever design serves up a standout SUV
BOSTON — 25 years ago, many considered Kia a brand of cheap econoboxes that would break if you so much as looked at them funny.
That isn't true these days, but it wasn't exactly an unfair assessment back then. Early on, vehicles from both Hyundai and Kia — they share a corporate parent and some hardware and platforms, but there exists a fierce sibling rivalry between the two — were not good.
An industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile warranty helped reassure customers that they wouldn't be left holding the bag should they take a risk on the Korean newcomers, and 20 years of engineering and design work (not to mention the poaching of a good number of top executives) has Kia and Hyundai making some of the best vehicles around.
If you still think "cheap crap" when you see a Kia badge, it's time to reorient your perceptions. These cars are good. And the Kia Telluride1, the three-row SUV that is my test car for this week, is really good.
Painted in Wolf Gray, a color that sounds tremendously boring but is actually the opposite, my awkwardly named Telluride SX-Prestige X-Line V6 AWD was a looker from the off.
The Telluride stands out in a mall parking lot or the pick-up line at school, looking very much like a full-on luxury SUV. It isn't out of place next to a BMW or Mercedes-Benz SUV costing nearly twice as much, if you can get past the polarizing Kia logo that some swear (wrongly) is actually KN.
The daytime running lights are a pair of blade-shaped LED units (offered in amber as a tiny tweak for 2024) on each side, and they've somehow ended up as one of the standout features of the Telluride. Once you notice the DRLs, you'll start spotting them everywhere.
In back, L-shaped LED taillights continue the distinctive look, with a Telluride wordmark running across the tailgate in a way that is distinctly Range Rover-esque.
It's hard for any vehicle to stand out from the pack these days, especially in the crowded three-row midsize SUV segment where the Telluride plays, but stand out it does — somehow. The Telluride is modern and edgy, with styling elements that vaguely remind me of a fancy multi-bladed razor.
The interior was designed by someone intimately familiar with the purpose of such a vehicle: hauling around families and all their stuff. Clever storage is the name of the game, with a pair of cupholders in the middle sitting alongside a traditional PRNDL shifter. A special bonus cubby that could be a third cupholder or a place to store your keys (or a smartphone, sunglasses, or any number of things) sits just in front of those, and then there's a sizeable catch-all bin with USB ports at the front.
Rounding out the accoutrements for the front passengers are a pair of leather-wrapped grab handles suggesting off-road prowess that will likely never be tested, while knobs for adjusting the temperature make this auto journalist happy. Two large 12-inch screens float on top of the console, one for the dash cluster and a touchscreen for infotainment.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both supported, and the fully loaded SX-Prestige includes a 360-degree camera and a full suite of standard safety features, including Kia's excellent adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and active lane centering. It's not quite hands-off driving, but it's awfully close.
Both front seats and the second-row captain's chairs are heated and ventilated, which is a nice touch.
Perhaps the only real issue with the Telluride is its extremely thirsty 3.8-liter V6 engine. While many competitors like the Toyota Grand Highlander have shifted to hybrid or turbocharged options, the Telluride goes for old faithful: a naturally aspirated engine making 291 horsepower and 262 torque through an eight-speed automatic.
The engine certainly makes plenty of power and sports a max towing as high as 5,500 pounds, but you pay for that in fuel economy. The Telluride offers 18 mpg city, 24 highway and 21 combined, good for a bit more than 350 miles on a tank. For a family runabout, I would have wished for better, but I doubt most buyers will mind.
Landing around $55,000 fully-equipped, with still well-equipped versions available in the high $40's, it's easy to see why the Georgia-assembled Telluride remains hugely popular year after year. And with that 10-year powertrain warranty, it should keep going year after year, too.
For full disclosure, the Telluride I tested was a 2023 model year vehicle, but Kia carried over Telluride to 2024 with minor cosmetic changes — the daytime running lights are amber now, rather than white, plus a couple of color changes to the trim — and a $100 price increase.