NEWS
Kia wowed us with its all-new Telluride large SUV at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and after crawling around the 2020 Telluride, we gave it our Best in Show award. But does it deliver on all that promise? It does … and then some. The 2020 Kia Telluride hits a lot of high notes: It’s roomy, comfortable, refined and affordable.
Related: 2020 Kia Telluride Review: The New Big SUV Benchmark
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In his review of the Telluride, Cars.com’s Aaron Bragman called the all-new SUV big, comfy and classy, and said the newcomer “immediately becomes a benchmark in the large crossover class.” Was there anything Bragman didn’t like? Yes — but the positives far outweigh the criticisms.
Here are half a dozen things we like, and a couple we don’t, about the 2020 Kia Telluride:
The sole powertrain is a 291-horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and Bragman says it’s a winning combo. While he notes that it may be just middle-of-the-pack for power numbers when compared with competitors like the Chevrolet Traverse and Honda Pilot, it has more than enough grunt to competently get the job done, while the transmission shines for its unobtrusive, buttery-smooth shifts. Bragman says putting the drive mode selector into Sport seems to make the transmission hold lower gears longer and downshift more readily, providing “a little extra spring in the Telluride’s step.”
Handling is often a sore point for large SUVs, but the Telluride excels at being stable and comfortable. Bragman says steering feel is firm and transmits quite well to the driver what the wheels and pavement are doing. Ride quality is another high point: Even at 40 mph on a rock-strewn dirt road, nothing upset the Telluride’s chassis or steering.
The Kia brand is no longer synonymous with the word “budget,” and the Telluride’s cabin showcases the automaker’s creative use of materials and attention to detail. Genuine Nappa leather seats in the top SX trim that Bragman tested impressed the reviewer, as did the fact that none of the metal or wood trim is real — “but damned if you won’t think it is,” he said.
The Telluride’s cargo area is vast, with 21 cubic feet of space behind the third row — second only to the Traverse (23 cubic feet). Folding the third row down nets a class-competitive 46 cubic feet of space. What do those numbers mean?
“Point being, you’re unlikely to run out of room for people or stuff in the Telluride,” Bragman said.
Kia’s always had a user-friendly multimedia system with Uvo, and the Telluride’s builds on that success. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and there are a couple of extra features that make it stand out. The Driver Talk feature mutes the music and activates a microphone to project the driver’s voice to speakers in the back. Conversely, Quiet Mode mutes all but the front speakers and turns those ones down so the kids or anyone else in the vehicle (besides the driver, of course) can nap.
To be competitive, the Telluride had to show up with loads of standard safety features — and it does. Standards include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane keep assist, automatic lane-centering, blind spot detection with braking and steering intervention, and rear cross-traffic alert and intervention. Also standard is safe exit assistance for the rear seats, which uses the SUV’s rear-facing radar to detect oncoming traffic and can prevent a rear door from opening if an approaching vehicle or bicycle is detected.
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Many three-row vehicles suffer from third-row cramp, and the Telluride is no exception. Although it technically has seat belts for three people, only two passengers will fit and their comfort will be questionable.
The Telluride’s competitors offer a few features that it does not, like an automatic parking function (either parallel or perpendicular) and a rear entertainment system (though the USB ports in back support tablet use). Lastly, there’s no power third row: The seatbacks must be raised and lowered manually.
One feature it does have, meanwhile, is not done well: the head-up display. It disappears completely if you’re wearing polarized sunglasses, which also polarized an otherwise impressed Bragman. “Big fail on that, Kia,” he said.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
