Probably true, but I prefer the assessments of J.D. Power, Consumer Reports, and other major car reviewers. If Telluride is highly rated for quality and still have issues, sad for buyers with problems with other cars.
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Is there Any SUV with USABLE 3rd Row Close To Fully loaded Telluride near 55K?
- Thread author y2jdmbfan
- Start date
2021 Kia Telluride Ratings, Pricing, Reviews and Awards | J.D. Power
Looking for an ideal 2021 Kia Telluride? Start here to discover how much people are paying, what's for sale, trims, specs, and a lot more!
www.jdpower.com
I have a theory for @NDBlackEX. It looks like you may have purchased a new 2021MY right around Sept 2020? If so that was just as Kia was trying to significantly increase Telluride production month over month. Maybe adding another production line or possibly slowing down from the pandemic and picking back up? I’m making that assumption because sales jumped over 6,000 in August 2020 and hasn’t dropped below 6,000 since. Because supply hasn't kept up with demand I'm also assuming yours was built right before you took delivery. This is a mass produced vehicle and quantity may impact quality on the assembly line as production scales quickly. My 2020MY was assembled in Mar 2019 and I was worried about the quality given it was so new but instead I’ve been very impressed. Perhaps you just had unfortunate timing and got one that rolled off the line when quality inspections were still trying to keep up with increased production demands? Another thing that happened was that new trim packages for 2021 were just being introduced around that time. Did you by chance get one of the first 2021 EX Premiums when that combination first came out? Introducing variability also impacts productivity and quality on mass production assembly lines.
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I have a Telluride on order and have 3 kids as well, 5, 3 and 5 months. The BMW X7 was at the top of my list for a while, mainly because I'm used to driving BMW's and Audi's. However, with WFH extending for quite a while now, I just couldn't get myself to spend $80K+ and barely drive it.
A good friend of mine has the Ascent and it's cramped in the 3rd row. We tried getting back there to install a car seat and it was a pain. Cargo space behind the 3rd row seemed average among most 3 row SUV's but substantially smaller than the Telluride.
Neighbor has the Atlas and while it's sized appropriately, reviews aren't great and the interior is boring.
I was almost going to pull the trigger on a 2022 MDX A-spec until I test drove the Telluride. Enjoyed driving the MDX more and loved the idea of removing the middle bench for captains chairs but that's about it. Telluride win's hands down without me having to get a damn minivan.
A good friend of mine has the Ascent and it's cramped in the 3rd row. We tried getting back there to install a car seat and it was a pain. Cargo space behind the 3rd row seemed average among most 3 row SUV's but substantially smaller than the Telluride.
Neighbor has the Atlas and while it's sized appropriately, reviews aren't great and the interior is boring.
I was almost going to pull the trigger on a 2022 MDX A-spec until I test drove the Telluride. Enjoyed driving the MDX more and loved the idea of removing the middle bench for captains chairs but that's about it. Telluride win's hands down without me having to get a damn minivan.
NDBlackEX
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If you are a car reviewer and you torch a model, even if it's truth, they'll never send you another vehicle to review. I'm curious as to how the majority of Chevrolet's models have been awarded best in initial quality by JD Power certain years. By coincidence? Ever owned a new Chevy?
$$$$The fact is, car manufacturers control the flow of information involving their product. Publications are one source information and they aren't only blowing smoke but as someone who's driven over 50 current vehicle models across many manufacturers, I can tell you that car reviewers aren't nearly as harsh as they should be. I've driven many vehicles that don't match up to their reviews in the big car publications.
I think I ruined some poor guy's day picking apart his Telluride at the gas station this summer. He asked what I thought of the Telluride, I answered. "I like it, but let me show you four or five things that are wrong with your particular car from what I can see." Sorry, man...
Tellthemride
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Can you share with us the things you saw?
My wife and I went and poked our heads in a Sorento and the 3rd row looked tighter than our current 2017 Santa Fe, which we don’t even bother using the 3rd row in we just cram 3 kids into the 2nd row. The Explorer looked a little better. My wife quickly looked at her friends traverse and thought that cargo space wasn’t quite a big as big as the tellurides (specs suggest otherwise I believe), but 3rd space was good.
The 3 kids fit great in my F-150, but my wife quickly vetoed my vote of buying a 2nd full size truck.
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So persuasive arguments, you probably make a convincing reviewer.If you are a car reviewer and you torch a model, even if it's truth, they'll never send you another vehicle to review. I'm curious as to how the majority of Chevrolet's models have been awarded best in initial quality by JD Power certain years. By coincidence? Ever owned a new Chevy?
The fact is, car manufacturers control the flow of information involving their product. Publications are one source information and they aren't only blowing smoke but as someone who's driven over 50 current vehicle models across many manufacturers, I can tell you that car reviewers aren't nearly as harsh as they should be. I've driven many vehicles that don't match up to their reviews in the big car publications.
I think I ruined some poor guy's day picking apart his Telluride at the gas station this summer. He asked what I thought of the Telluride, I answered. "I like it, but let me show you four or five things that are wrong with your particular car from what I can see." Sorry, man...
Or a Quality Control Specialist in West Point, GA.
Aeroguy
FOUNDING MEMBER
I agree with the previous response that you unfortunately took delivery of a production lemon. It is well known that, even in the most stable of production environments, sometimes products get through that just didn’t receive the attention that is demanded every day by every employee. I hate to hear that’s happening within Kia and hope they get those issues resolved.
I purchased one of the very first SXP’s off the Georgia line, took delivery in March 2019. It has been a flawless marvel of technology, comfort, luxury, power and good looks. I have experienced zero defects with this car. Kia may owe me some commission because I’ve sold so many of them just by my comments to friends and other strangers who just walk up and want to know more. I recently retired from aerospace after 40 years in the business.
Perfection had to be my expectation. I’ve been thrilled with my Telly.
I purchased one of the very first SXP’s off the Georgia line, took delivery in March 2019. It has been a flawless marvel of technology, comfort, luxury, power and good looks. I have experienced zero defects with this car. Kia may owe me some commission because I’ve sold so many of them just by my comments to friends and other strangers who just walk up and want to know more. I recently retired from aerospace after 40 years in the business.
Perfection had to be my expectation. I’ve been thrilled with my Telly.
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Tellmeride
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Same here, it has been a perfect car for the past 2.5 years, zero problems. 
I agree. I took delivery around the same time.
Unfortunately for some, the only way to figure out the tipping point on a manufacturing line is to hit it. Quality Control is about adding in process to try to identify when you have hit the tipping point or if you are lucky figuring out when you are getting close. If this weren’t the case there would not be a need for so many TSBs with specific dates on them and every vehicle manufactured would be a perfect vehicle. Which means every vehicle would take longer to build and likely cost more. Managing Quality Assurance on mass production vehicles is where companies like Toyota and Honda have literally written the book and built their reputation. A perfect production vehicle just doesn’t happen unless you spend money for a hand-built super luxury vehicle.
Car buying advice often suggests to avoid buying a first year vehicle, or a vehicle that has undergone a significant redesign because of risk. But the same conditions that make that a risk can exist when other conditions like rapid ramp up, new trims and packages, different engine choices, additional hiring for new production lines to keep up with demand, etc. become a reality. The manufacturing process has to keep up with change. A pandemic slowdown combined with unusually high demand and rapid hiring means the entire supply line and manufacturing process needs fully trained people to inspect and keep up with the demand. Lemon laws exist to protect consumers from this unfortunate reality that sometimes a bad one makes it to the consumer.
I do agree that JDPower and other award websites are often informational but a tool used by product marketing to sway our purchasing decisions. Reviewers are also people that can't be fully impartial if they are being given a free vehicle to test drive for weeks. That perk automatically makes me a little more speculative about motive of the author. But that's why this forum, and others like it, are great to hear firsthand from people who made a purchase and have to live with it. Mostly good experiences, and since perfection is hard to come by, some negative ones.
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Car reviews of new vehicles by auto magazines, TV, online sources, and YouTube help to let buyers know what to expect, bias or not. This forum and other Telluride forums help to confirm or counter these expectations. Case in point is the stinky Palisade headrest, buyers complained and car reviewers did take notice and reported. Probably made manufacturer fix it sooner.
I don't disagree, but I think that it's optimistic that reviewers are scouring forums or asking buyers for why they didn't buy. It's more likely to me that they noticed that the inventory rate started to change and more vehicles were on the dealer lot inventories and then started to investigate the NHTSA complaints. I think sales figures drive their research to determine what is hot and what is not selling. At that time sales were a little stalled because of those complaints and scaring people away from buying so there were more Palisade on the lots. Hyundai wasn't sitting around waiting for reviewers to report the issue, I think they were genuinely working with their dealers to try to identify the root of the problem. When they resolved it, I'm sure that Hyundai went to those same websites and incentivized them to report that they found the root cause of the odor and that the problem was resolved. I think the local news channels are the ones that go looking for content by finding people who want to complain.
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You misunderstood, I am saying forums help buyers, not reviewers, to see whether what reviewers are saying is good.
sprengBoard
Well-known member
I currently own a 2021 Honda Pilot, used to own a 2021 Ford Explorer, and have driven the 2021 Toyota Highlander, 2021 Mazda CX-9, 2021 VW Atlas. Out of those, the Telluride is by far the better vehicle. Each one other than the Telluride has multiple faults or shortcomings, while the Telluride really has none (some cite a lack of power, but I don’t feel that it does).
For example, the Explorer has abysmal interior quality and uncomfortable seats, the CX-9 is too small, the Honda Pilot overall build quality is lacking and it lags behind on technology, the Atlas is very underpowered.
For example, the Explorer has abysmal interior quality and uncomfortable seats, the CX-9 is too small, the Honda Pilot overall build quality is lacking and it lags behind on technology, the Atlas is very underpowered.
Tailgunner
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You could consider the new Jeep grand Cherokee L with three row seating. I am getting one next week . A fully loaded Limited, with Luxury /tech package, 10 inch nav screen, trailer tow , etc stickers out at 54,000. $1500 rebate off of that more if you qualify. There have been some issues with the new model, but the service/parts situation is far superior to the Kia program.
