Finally took possession of my SX, Everlasting Silver, Dune Brown, Prestige/Tow Package. Rides and handles like a dream on smooth paved roads, The low-profile 20" tires stick to the road like glue and there is no perceptible lean on curves. I live in South Florida, picked up the car in New York State, and drove it up to Western Massachusetts for a two-month vacation.
Overall the car is great, but there are some features I don't care for; changes that Kia could make through updating software:
1) I really dislike the Nav system. The on-screen prompts and controls are not intuitive, it is not simple to cancel a current route, and there appears no way to display a list of the route ahead either suggested or alternate. Unlike others I have seen, the 3-D direction-of-travel map does not show landmarks, buildings. or other way-finding cues. KIA should have simply licensed WAZE, whose maps update instantly and give warnings of issues ahead, such as roadside hazards. I find I still have to use WAZE whenever I navigate, especially as updating the KIA nav and maps is a challenging process best suited for your inner techie. I give the Nav system a C+. You have been warned.
2) Trip Computer. This is a serious issue for me, as I drive A LOT and always want to monitor my progress and fuel usage in real-time. My old 2006 Acura MDX features two separate trip odometers and a read-out of current and overall trip fuel economy. By contrast, the Telluride shows only a brief flash of trip data on the instrument panel when you shut down the car at the end of a trip segment. There is no way to retrieve this once it has been shown. I have looked but have failed to find in the manuals a method of displaying this data on demand. If I'm making a drive from Maine to Florida, I want to know my drive stats at the end of the trip of anywhere in between. I grade this as useless, so an F.
3) Seats. They were comfortable on a short demo drive, but less so on a long trip. I find that I slowly slip forward on the Nappa leather and have to hike myself vertical again every ten minutes or so. The seats are only minimally-supportive and do not provide the comfort I still get from our old beater 1998 320S.
4) Not-so-Smart Keys. One of the main reasons we went with the Prestige package was to get the two programmed seat positions. I was surprised to unhappily discover that the two "smart" keys aren't numbered and smart enough to properly reposition the seats/mirrors for either driver one or two. While the auto seat-pullback is a pleasant feature, it would have been better if the seat could re-position after the door is closed to the driver one or two memory setting. Since the keys aren't numbered or individuated in any way, this feature (again on my 2006 MDX) is absent. So grading this a C.
5) Engine noise. While the engine is quiet enough when cruising at 2,000 RPM, the engine noise is apparent at 2,500 and sounds like a cheap Toyota 4-banger over-cranking. Yikes!
There are a couple of build-quality issues which were not apparent when I inspected the car at the dealer before taking possession. When I get back to Fla I will take it up with the local dealer who will be servicing the car and hope for the best.
Overall the car is great, but there are some features I don't care for; changes that Kia could make through updating software:
1) I really dislike the Nav system. The on-screen prompts and controls are not intuitive, it is not simple to cancel a current route, and there appears no way to display a list of the route ahead either suggested or alternate. Unlike others I have seen, the 3-D direction-of-travel map does not show landmarks, buildings. or other way-finding cues. KIA should have simply licensed WAZE, whose maps update instantly and give warnings of issues ahead, such as roadside hazards. I find I still have to use WAZE whenever I navigate, especially as updating the KIA nav and maps is a challenging process best suited for your inner techie. I give the Nav system a C+. You have been warned.
2) Trip Computer. This is a serious issue for me, as I drive A LOT and always want to monitor my progress and fuel usage in real-time. My old 2006 Acura MDX features two separate trip odometers and a read-out of current and overall trip fuel economy. By contrast, the Telluride shows only a brief flash of trip data on the instrument panel when you shut down the car at the end of a trip segment. There is no way to retrieve this once it has been shown. I have looked but have failed to find in the manuals a method of displaying this data on demand. If I'm making a drive from Maine to Florida, I want to know my drive stats at the end of the trip of anywhere in between. I grade this as useless, so an F.
3) Seats. They were comfortable on a short demo drive, but less so on a long trip. I find that I slowly slip forward on the Nappa leather and have to hike myself vertical again every ten minutes or so. The seats are only minimally-supportive and do not provide the comfort I still get from our old beater 1998 320S.
4) Not-so-Smart Keys. One of the main reasons we went with the Prestige package was to get the two programmed seat positions. I was surprised to unhappily discover that the two "smart" keys aren't numbered and smart enough to properly reposition the seats/mirrors for either driver one or two. While the auto seat-pullback is a pleasant feature, it would have been better if the seat could re-position after the door is closed to the driver one or two memory setting. Since the keys aren't numbered or individuated in any way, this feature (again on my 2006 MDX) is absent. So grading this a C.
5) Engine noise. While the engine is quiet enough when cruising at 2,000 RPM, the engine noise is apparent at 2,500 and sounds like a cheap Toyota 4-banger over-cranking. Yikes!
There are a couple of build-quality issues which were not apparent when I inspected the car at the dealer before taking possession. When I get back to Fla I will take it up with the local dealer who will be servicing the car and hope for the best.
