1 Week Critical Review thoughts

[Lefty]

After 1 week I have found a few weaknesses and what I think the Telly excels in.

1st Critical Review:
1) Stain on headliner, damaged carpet (if you want to call it carpet) in cargo area. Appears to be from dealer pulling velcro cargo protector out. This carpet/felt is really cheap much worse than my old Accadia. Kia should look into upgrading the fabric around the cargo area. The fit of the sunroof cover is subpar. You can see space and light crack through the cover.
2) The entertainment system needs to be easier to use and offer more options. It would be much simpler to be able to control all the driver assist settings through the touch screen than having to flip and find them in the tiny LCD screen by speedometer. I would definitely give Kia a thumbs down on the entire touch screen software. It should be one of their top areas to improve if they are listening? Its also a little slow to touches
3) Harmon Kardon radio is average, not spectacular. I don't really have any qualms with the stereo, but I also can't say it knocks my socks off. It honestly is no better than my 2011 Accadia bose system. Yeah Im comparing it to a bose so maybe Im being picky. But that bose was also 10 years old so....
4) And my #1 complaint is having to turn off the auto engine turn off button every time I start the car. This should be function I can turn off and it stays off. Super annoying. Im going to google and see if there is a crack for this.

Things I like:
1) The smart drive assist technologies are excellent. Much better than I expected and 10 times better than my wives 2020 Ascent. We had to turn off all the drive assist tech in her ascent because they are absolutely horrible and take over the car. Kia did a really good job with the software here allowing it to run more or less in the background. Plus most of the settings are all controllable which helps. The smart cruise control is absolutely fabulous. It will basically completely drive the car by itself even around curves. And it doesn't just work on interstates. I drive long trips down a curvy 2 lane country highway and it even worked around a sharp curve. It automatically slowed the vehicle then steered it around the sharp curve. Super job Kia!
2) Leather NAPA seats are definitely a step up from what other manufacturers are using.
3) The air conditioning unit is pretty good. Its been 95 degrees outside and after the car sits in the wide open parking lot all day at work, it must be easily over a 100 inside. The AC cools it off in a heart beat. I also don't have to play and constantly fiddle with all the controls. Turning on and off defrost for different windows etc. Changing fan speeds all time. I rarely have to change anything on it. Even the defrost settings seem to take care of themselves.

As a recap: KIA FIX THE SOFTWARE! Love the car!

 

[HillCountry]

After 1 week I have found a few weaknesses and what I think the Telly excels in.

1st Critical Review:
1) Stain on headliner, damaged carpet (if you want to call it carpet) in cargo area. Appears to be from dealer pulling velcro cargo protector out. This carpet/felt is really cheap much worse than my old Accadia. Kia should look into upgrading the fabric around the cargo area. The fit of the sunroof cover is subpar. You can see space and light crack through the cover.
2) The entertainment system needs to be easier to use and offer more options. It would be much simpler to be able to control all the driver assist settings through the touch screen than having to flip and find them in the tiny LCD screen by speedometer. I would definitely give Kia a thumbs down on the entire touch screen software. It should be one of their top areas to improve if they are listening? Its also a little slow to touches
3) Harmon Kardon radio is average, not spectacular. I don't really have any qualms with the stereo, but I also can't say it knocks my socks off. It honestly is no better than my 2011 Accadia bose system. Yeah Im comparing it to a bose so maybe Im being picky. But that bose was also 10 years old so....
4) And my #1 complaint is having to turn off the auto engine turn off button every time I start the car. This should be function I can turn off and it stays off. Super annoying. Im going to google and see if there is a crack for this.

Things I like:
1) The smart drive assist technologies are excellent. Much better than I expected and 10 times better than my wives 2020 Ascent. We had to turn off all the drive assist tech in her ascent because they are absolutely horrible and take over the car. Kia did a really good job with the software here allowing it to run more or less in the background. Plus most of the settings are all controllable which helps. The smart cruise control is absolutely fabulous. It will basically completely drive the car by itself even around curves. And it doesn't just work on interstates. I drive long trips down a curvy 2 lane country highway and it even worked around a sharp curve. It automatically slowed the vehicle then steered it around the sharp curve. Super job Kia!
2) Leather NAPA seats are definitely a step up from what other manufacturers are using.
3) The air conditioning unit is pretty good. Its been 95 degrees outside and after the car sits in the wide open parking lot all day at work, it must be easily over a 100 inside. The AC cools it off in a heart beat. I also don't have to play and constantly fiddle with all the controls. Turning on and off defrost for different windows etc. Changing fan speeds all time. I rarely have to change anything on it. Even the defrost settings seem to take care of themselves.

As a recap: KIA FIX THE SOFTWARE! Love the car!

The carpet is not as sturdy as what was in my Acura. It’s what prompted me to buy a cargo mat ASAP.

Congratulations on the new ride!

 

[PaulD]

We've had ours for almost 2 weeks, so I'll give my review as well

I agree on the infotainment system. The one in my 2016 VW Golf R is much more intuitive as are the steering wheel controls. Having XM treated as another radio band doesn't make a lot of sense. It's essentially another input/media selection. I still haven't figure out how to get to HD radio stations.

As for the cargo area, my big complaint is we got the folding plastic/rubber cargo mat and it sucks. With the 3rd row up, it just flops flat instead of staying up. The "carpet" they used is pretty similar to other cars like the VW and yeah, it's cheap. We got the cargo mat for free from the dealer because they screwed up mounting the front plate. I'm a bit tempted to call them and say I want a different one but they're pretty far away and it's not worth the effort.

I can't think if any other significant downsides if I keep the price in mind. It really is a lot of car for the money even at MSRP.

As for pros, I'm really impressed with high quiet it is. It's definitely the quietest car my wife or I have ever owned. I'm also impressed with the handling. Again, this is for what it is. It's not as good as something like a BMW X5 or X7, but those are also smaller and a lot more money. It's far better than the 2008 Highlander it replaced (not a high bar) and better than the 2020 Highlander we considered. Also, for reference, as I said my car is a VW Golf R and I also have an older 911, so I know what good handling is.

Oh, I also kind of like the ambient sound feature. It's a bit ridiculous but the car is so quiet it almost makes sense.

 

[Lefty]

The carpet is not as sturdy as what was in my Acura. It’s what prompted me to buy a cargo mat ASAP.

Congratulations on the new ride!

I should have put this in the post, but I have not bought a cargo mat because I don't like any of the options out there. Especially the Kia options. The US KIA OEM does cover the entire cargo area. the carpeted seat back protector is what caused this problem to begin with. The aftermarket options don't allow versatility if the 3rd row is up or down for full coverage. The only option I like is the one from Canada which is prohibitively expensive and almost impossible to find in US. Im still stuck using the $10 plastic tarp I used to use in my Accadia!

What are you using?

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[HillCountry]

I should have put this in the post, but I have not bought a cargo mat because I don't like any of the options out there. Especially the Kia options. The US KIA OEM does cover the entire cargo area. the carpeted seat back protector is what caused this problem to begin with. The aftermarket options don't allow versatility if the 3rd row is up or down for full coverage. The only option I like is the one from Canada which is prohibitively expensive and almost impossible to find in US. Im still stuck using the $10 plastic tarp I used to use in my Accadia!

What are you using?

I got the OEM carpeted mat with seatback protection. I hope the Velcro doesn’t screw up the carpet. I plan to leave the mat in place all the time.

I ordered the Canadian mat via a group buy. I hoped to use it only for trips to Colorado or the lake house. Though maybe once I put it in, I’ll leave it forever so I don’t disturb the carpet further.

 

[NDBlackEX]

I should have put this in the post, but I have not bought a cargo mat because I don't like any of the options out there. Especially the Kia options. The US KIA OEM does cover the entire cargo area. the carpeted seat back protector is what caused this problem to begin with. The aftermarket options don't allow versatility if the 3rd row is up or down for full coverage. The only option I like is the one from Canada which is prohibitively expensive and almost impossible to find in US. Im still stuck using the $10 plastic tarp I used to use in my Accadia!

What are you using?

I bought the carpeted protection. Mine came with the plastic mat which I didn't like. My problem with the carpet and the plastic mat is that things slide around so easily. I'm waiting for the Canadian mat to come available in the US if it ever does. In the mean time I found this rubber mat at Lowes which works quite well for me. It's grippy but doesn't cover the whole area. It works for me though.

 

[Tellthemride]

4) And my #1 complaint is having to turn off the auto engine turn off button every time I start the car. This should be function I can turn off and it stays off. Super annoying. Im going to google and see if there is a crack for this.

The proper mod is purchasing this controller and wiring it to existing wires.

Post in thread 'Installed Proximity Door Lock/Unlock Module'
Installed Proximity Door Lock/Unlock Module

The cheaper way to do it is by wedging a coin or credit card on the side of the ISG button. So it will always stay depressed.

 

[arattle]

The proper mod is purchasing this controller and wiring it to existing wires.

Post in thread 'Installed Proximity Door Lock/Unlock Module'
Installed Proximity Door Lock/Unlock Module

The cheaper way to do it is by wedging a coin or credit card on the side of the ISG button. So it will always stay depressed.

Or the wires could probably be spliced together to always have a closed contact.....I may look into that. I have not used that feature on my current ride much, and it will be my #1 pet peeve, I already know. At least you can disable it, unlike some GM vehicles....

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