https://driving.ca/kia/telluride/reviews/road-test/reader-review-2020-kia-telluride-sx
hanks to large-and-in-charge chrome letters that spell out ‘TELLURIDE’ across the hood and the tailgate, there’s no mistaking this new three-row Kia SUV for any other vehicle. However, a friend of Calgary reviewer Paul Hughes said he thought the brand-new 2020 Telluride looked like a smaller version of Cadillac’s Escalade.
“I think that’s something of a compliment,” Hughes says, and adds, “I think the Telluride is really stylish, and a very cool looking vehicle. Walking up to it, it’s not as tall as I’d expected; it was more car like than truck like.”
Kia first showed off its Telluride as a concept vehicle in 2016 and then introduced the production version earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show. It’s a big, family hauler set to compete with the likes of the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander and Nissan Pathfinder.
The Telluride shares its platform with the also-new Hyundai Pallisade, and in Canada, the vehicle is available in three trims – EX, SX and SX Limited. The base EX is well-equipped, and SX adds features including 20-inch alloy wheels, dual sunroof, Harmon/Kardon premium sound system and leather seats. Depending on how it’s trimmed out, the Telluride is capable of carrying either seven or eight passengers. Every model is equipped with all-wheel drive and power comes from a normally aspirated 3.8-litre V6 engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. There are four selectable drive modes, including Comfort, Eco, Sport and Smart. And, the AWD system can be configured for Snow, Mud or Sand.
Getting into the Ebony black-on-black leather SX model Hughes was testing, he says he was most impressed with the quality of the hides covering the seats, including the 10-way power adjustable driver’s chair. The rest of the cockpit was well laid out, in his opinion, and he liked the size of the infotainment screen and the gauge cluster.
“The cockpit portion of the dash had the tach and speedometer on opposite sides of the centre display – which contained loads of information,” he says. “There was no obstruction of the speedometer no matter where I set the telescoping steering wheel.”
The centre storage console featured a shelf and was not just a “big milk crate” stuck in the vehicle. It offered plenty of storage space, and there were nooks and cubbies throughout the Telluride. It sounds simple, but Hughes was also impressed with the cupholders that were spring loaded to accommodate the smallest to the largest cups.
“There were really nice accents on the dash, almost like a dark grey, weathered barn wood,” Hughes says. “It made the inside very stylish, and very sophisticated.”
That 3.8L V6 engine was no slouch. Hughes says he drove the Telluride to Banff and back, claiming the powerplant wasn’t noisy. The engine always got the vehicle smartly up to speed (and sometimes easily beyond the limit), and it ran very smoothly.
On that Banff journey, the engine returned 10.1L/100km. During the week-long test drive, Hughes drove the Telluride mostly in Comfort mode. The eight-speed transmission shifted smoothly, with near imperceptible shift points. Incredibly quiet, with very little wind or road noise, is how Hughes describes the overall cabin experience. He also feels the Telluride is packed with innovative features, including the ‘Talk Now’ function.
He says, “Touch the screen where indicated and the music from the very impressive Harmon/Kardon sound system was suppressed. A microphone then picks up your voice and transmits it through the speakers in the vehicle which allows you to speak at a normal level to passengers in the second and third rows without having to raise your voice.”
One feature he didn’t like was the auto stop/start system.
“Maybe I’m old school,” he says, “but I don’t like it when a car shuts off at a stop sign or a red light. It’s the lurch that happens when you take your foot off the brake, I just don’t like it.”
In all driving conditions, Hughes says the Telluride cornered well with very little body lean. In parking lots, he says the large SUV handled more like a sedan with a tight turning radius than a big truck.
The Telluride was well suspended and offered a smooth, comfortable ride.
As a dog owner, Hughes is always transporting his Labrador Retriever in a large kennel. If the 915mm deep by 635mm wide by 711mm tall kennel won’t fit in the cargo area, it’s a deal breaker. In the Telluride, with 1,304L of cargo capacity behind the second-row seats, it fit with room to spare. Speaking of capacities, Kia rates the Telluride as capable of towing up to 5,000lbs.
“It’d be great for anyone who needed the cargo space, or for a large family,” Hughes says of the Telluride. “It really could be construed to be the ‘cool’ vehicle to drive as opposed to a minivan.”
He concludes, “Anyone shopping in this large SUV category would be remiss if they didn’t look at the Kia. I loved everything about it, it’s very functional and I wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen driving this.”
DRIVER’S JOURNAL
Day One: 134 kms travelled. Picked up the Telluride in the northwest and drove home along city streets as well as Deerfoot Trail. I found the vehicle to be very quiet, not much road noise at all and minimal engine noise in the cabin. The Telluride rode very smoothly and was a pleasure to drive with the electronic power steering (EPS).
Day Two: 166 kms travelled. Drove from Calgary to Mossleigh (45 minutes southeast of Calgary) along Highway 22X and 24 as well as on some gravel roads. Again, a very smooth ride on city streets, high speed highways and easy to handle on the gravel roads. I was carrying some cargo behind the third-row seats with plenty of room to spare.
Day Three: 129 kms travelled. Some city streets, Deerfoot Trail and some parking lots. The Telluride is easy to park thanks to its 360-degree overhead view camera. I never felt the Kia was boxy nor cumbersome.
Day Four: 328 kms travelled. Calgary, Bragg Creek, Banff return. Very quiet ride on dry pavement, a touch more road noise on rain-soaked Trans Canada but nothing excessive. The wipers worked well and gave the windshield a good complete swipe edge to edge. Both the front and back wipers had intermittent settings. Speaking of settings, the Telluride has an abundance of settings for almost all driver preferences. Most of us know what ABS, AWD and 4WD systems are but this vehicle is equipped with the following systems to use or adjust based on your liking: EPB (electronic parking brake), ESC (electronic stability control), LKA (lane keep assist), VSM (vehicle stability management), TSA (trailer stability assist), HAC (hill-start assist control), ISG (intelligent stop and go), SCC (smart cruise control), LFA (lane following assist), just to name a few. Given the huge amount of technology the Telluride has on board I would strongly suggest that all drivers become ‘intimate’ with the owner’s manuals prior to getting on the road.
Day Five: 153 kms travelled. Calgary, Okotoks, High River return. The Telluride had a 3.8 L engine which was very quick and never limited my speeding up to join traffic on the highways. The gear changing whether speeding up or slowing down was efficient, quiet and smooth, no high-end whining, no lurching nor jerking.
Day Six: 62 kms travelled. Calgary city streets, parking lots. It would be fair to say that I really enjoyed driving the Telluride, it was solid, quick, luxurious and smooth, so smooth and quick I really had to be disciplined to keep my eye on the speedometer while driving. I would strongly endorse the vehicle. I tried the lane keep assist to see what all the fuss was about. I slowly and purposely steered the Telluride over to the right taking it out of the centre of the lane and the vehicle itself, very gently, slowly, in a very subtle almost ghost like manner, turned the steering wheel back to the left correcting the vehicle’s direction back to the centre of the lane. Now that I’ve tried it, I like it.
Day Seven: To summarize, the Telluride is a luxury SUV loaded with technology, has loads of space, is extremely comfortable, a pleasure to drive and has off road and towing capabilities. I would buy this vehicle. If you want to live large and hit your stride, get an upgrade, get a Telluride.
