Video: 2023 Kia Telluride: Up Close

They've redone the bumpers front and rear, the grill, and it used to say Telluride on the leading edge of the hood, now that's gone. The headlights are now vertical LEDs and I think one big improvement finally, instead of that yellow running light that used to encircle it making the front of a Telluride look like the back of a Ford Explorer Sport, that is gone. Now it has more convent running lights. That's an improvement. Now there are also changes to the cladding on the side. The taillights were, you know, modestly updated. There's now a clear lens over them. And there are new wheel designs and three new paint colors, but there are more changes on the inside. Now there are a couple things in this particular vehicle that are a little different, because it is one of two new trim levels. This is called the X-Pro, which I'll get to in a bit, but overall, there are some changes. New steering wheel, new dashboard. The touch screen is up from a 10.3 inch screen to a 12.3 inch, which seamless blends with the available 12.3 inch instrument panel. This is a story we've told before about the Kias. They are now doing this thing where you can put two screens together if you get the optional larger instrument panel. So that's good. Also new, a rear view camera mirror. So you can flip the lever and you either have a mirror or you see what's behind you even if you have people or stuff in the vehicle. Always a good thing. And there are just a slew of new tech features including a wifi hotspot and many driver assistance features that I won't list because it's boring to see a nerdy guy talk about them on video. I'll direct you to cars.com. You can check out all the details there. Everything else is the familiar comfortable vehicle that we've given an award to as a family vehicle, partly because it is roomy and comfortable and the square shape really gives it an advantage in third row headroom for example. It's done well with child seat installation and stuff like that. The towing was a plus, and now we're going to find out when I give you details on the other versions, you can get even more towing capacity. Good power train, responsive V6. There's really not a lot that was broken with it. So even though we're at an auto show and we like to, you know, geek out over what's new, if it wasn't broken, they didn't need to fix it. Now there are two new versions. Again the X-Line and the X-Pro. And both of them do something that will help somewhat with off-roading, and that is they sit higher, 10 millimeters that's close to a half inch. Not that much but that gives you more ground clearance and it also improves the approach and departure angles. There's also a tweak to the traction control, which is good. And in the X-Line you get 20 inch wheels. That's more about towing, arguably. And this one, 18 inch wheels in the X-Pro, which has off-road tires. The towing rating goes up to 5,500 from 5,000 pounds. Now, overall this is a vehicle that always had that image for off-roading. The commercials even when it launched were, you know tearing around off-road. It's not a serious off-roader. We kind of like to see more done. Just raising it a bit is not that much, little tweak here and there. So these changes are pretty small. They're mostly cosmetic. That'll probably be enough for most buyers. Overall, it's a nice little refresh to a vehicle that didn't really need that much. So, it's not a super exciting change. How you feel about the styling change as well, you're gonna have to make your own decision. Kia says pricing will be available closer to when the 2023 goes on sale later this year. For more news from the New York International Auto Show check out cars.com.