2023 Kia Telluride Pictures (Official)

[thegort]

They missed the mark with the Pilot tech, smaller screens, only top trims have ventilated seats, and you can't add the off-road trim to the top trim so you have to give up on options to get that trim. The only thing i do like is the removeable middle seat, that would have a been a great option for the Telly.

 

[corsair]

Looks exactly like an explorer. Dated out of the gate.

Yup. Thought it looked like an explorer too. Except the rear looks like the Subaru Ascent.

What's weirdest to me is the proportions. I think the front view looks awesome, but the side is all chopped up and ungainly like the Explorer and the rear is all out of proportion like an oversized station wagon (i.e. the oddly proportioned Subaru Ascent). It's supposed to look "muscular" but instead to me it looks more like an out of proportion station wagon.

 

[gettinlm]

Yup. Thought it looked like an explorer too. Except the rear looks like the Subaru Ascent.

What's weirdest to me is the proportions. I think the front view looks awesome, but the side is all chopped up and ungainly like the Explorer and the rear is all out of proportion like an oversized station wagon (i.e. the oddly proportioned Subaru Ascent). It's supposed to look "muscular" but instead to me it looks more like an out of proportion station wagon.

View attachment 28366
View attachment 28369

View attachment 28368
View attachment 28367

I personally like it- at least much better than the Ascent and the prior model. Any SUV that employs a thick C pillar will automatically remind the viewer of the Explorer. I've always thought the same of the Palisade, GLE, etc. Personally, I don't hate this- I appreciate that they tried to do something a little funky with the rear window.

And let's face it, if the interior space is similar in size to the Telluride/Palisade, with an assumed decent drive, it's automatically a win for Honda, and they'll sell a sh*t ton of them. Are the interior materials as good as Telluride/Palisade? Likely not. But then again, they don't want to encroach too heavily on the Acura MDX, whereas Kia and Hyundai have no 3-row competition by their internal premium brand (Genesis), at least not yet.

If I had to rank them, I would probably move the new Pilot behind the Telluride and Atlas in terms of exterior looks, followed by the Palisade, Highlander, and Ascent (I'm not ranking the Ford, Chevy, Jeep, or Nissan counterparts, as they are not fresh in my mind at this moment).

 

[Wee]

I personally like it- at least much better than the Ascent. Any SUV that puts a thick C pillar will automatically remind the viewer of the Explorer. I've always though the same of the Palisade, GLE, etc. Personally, I don't hate this- I appreciate that they tried to do something a little funky with the rear window.

And let's face it, if the interior space is similar in size to the Telluride/Palisade, with an assumed decent drive, it's automatically a win for Honda, and they'll sell a sh*t ton of them. Are the interior materials as good as Telluride/Palisade? Likely not. But then again, they don't want to encroach too heavily on the Acura MDX, whereas Kia and Hyundai have no 3-row competition by their internal premium brand (Genesis), at least not yet.

If I had to rank them, I would probably move the new Pilot behind the Telluride and Atlas in terms of exterior looks, followed by the Palisade, Highlander, and Ascent (I'm not ranking the Ford, Chevy, or Nissan counterparts, as they are not fresh in my mind at this moment).

Overall I think the Trailsport looks great and the Elite looks much more premium than an SXP.

We're so close to walking away from Kia because of local dealer experience and overall experience with two SXP's. If we have an issue with our 23' xpro (hopefully we don't) the Pilot will take it's place in my driveway in two seconds.

______________________________

 

[FeGee3]

I personally like it- at least much better than the Ascent and the prior model. Any SUV that employs a thick C pillar will automatically remind the viewer of the Explorer. I've always thought the same of the Palisade, GLE, etc. Personally, I don't hate this- I appreciate that they tried to do something a little funky with the rear window.

And let's face it, if the interior space is similar in size to the Telluride/Palisade, with an assumed decent drive, it's automatically a win for Honda, and they'll sell a sh*t ton of them. Are the interior materials as good as Telluride/Palisade? Likely not. But then again, they don't want to encroach too heavily on the Acura MDX, whereas Kia and Hyundai have no 3-row competition by their internal premium brand (Genesis), at least not yet.

If I had to rank them, I would probably move the new Pilot behind the Telluride and Atlas in terms of exterior looks, followed by the Palisade, Highlander, and Ascent (I'm not ranking the Ford, Chevy, Jeep, or Nissan counterparts, as they are not fresh in my mind at this moment).

It's a Pilot at the end of the day and the brand name, solid model history, and Honda-loyals will assure this thing to sell like hot cakes. My take on the styling is that no wonder everyone thinks this looks like an Explorer or Ascent or :ther SUV name here::. In this day in age I would hate to be a car design/engineer because everyone (us right now included) will judge a new design based on what is out there already. I do not think a lot of unique innovation will come with exterior styling so that means there is going to be a lot of "reminds me of this car or that car". All is good in imo, just tweak and evolve and try to improve. The proportions may not be perfect but at the end of the day this thing is in all seen-so-far trims compared to the gen3 models. I actually think the TrailSport is a better Nightfall replacement than the X-Pro/Line's attempts. Do not get me wrong, I still think the Telluride in ALL trims is a class above any Pilot we have yet seen, but I appreciate the all-black they put on the TrailSport whereas Kia couldn't replicate their Nightfall success. All my opinions of course. Go Telluride

 

[corsair]

It's a Pilot at the end of the day and the brand name, solid model history, and Honda-loyals will assure this thing to sell like hot cakes. My take on the styling is that no wonder everyone thinks this looks like an Explorer or Ascent or :ther SUV name here::. In this day in age I would hate to be a car design/engineer because everyone (us right now included) will judge a new design based on what is out there already. I do not think a lot of unique innovation will come with exterior styling so that means there is going to be a lot of "reminds me of this car or that car". All is good in imo, just tweak and evolve and try to improve. The proportions may not be perfect but at the end of the day this thing is in all seen-so-far trims compared to the gen3 models. I actually think the TrailSport is a better Nightfall replacement than the X-Pro/Line's attempts. Do not get me wrong, I still think the Telluride in ALL trims is a class above any Pilot we have yet seen, but I appreciate the all-black they put on the TrailSport whereas Kia couldn't replicate their Nightfall success. All my opinions of course. Go Telluride

Yup, it'll sell like hot cakes. And that's a good point that it's pretty hard to come up with a new design. heck, the Telluride "looks" like an old Mercury Mountaineer front, the back **almost** looks prior-gen Pilot-like.

I guess I just don't like it because I think Ford Explorers are flat out ugly and I think the Ascent is awkwardly proportioned. But the Pilot improves upon those at least. It goes a new direction from previous gen without being overly "out there" or overly plain. I agree with a prior post saying that the Atlas and the Telluride are the best-looking SUVs on the market. That's why I'm here, honestly. However, the Atlas and Telluride are also kinda unremarkable looking. I would actually predict that the Pilot will age better than the Telluride, or at least the front will. Something about it looks more cohesive and modern.

This is a good thing for this market and for us. This new Pilot is an improvement. The Telluride, and some others, made the new Pilot better--Honda has to put some effort at least into keeping market share. And eventually the next gen Telluride may respond to distinguish itself again.

I wonder if another refresh or next-gen Telluride would clean up the front jawline a bit or make it more angular. But who knows where trends will go by then.

I prefer the below rendering of the Pilot, I actually think that would have been a beautiful design. I hope that the next gen though of SUVS, including Telluride, don't start getting beefy pillars with fancy shapes. But maybe everyone has had enough of blacked-out disappearing pillars and visible pillars are now on-trend.

 

[Seated_Heats]

I watched a few videos on the new Pilot today. Looks like they closed the gap, at least a little bit, between them and the Telluride/Palisade in terms of inside space. I'm liking the look of the outside so far. I'm interested to see how it drives.

I actually like the new Pilot design, but the inside is just so plain and boring. It looks like a much cheaper car.

 

[Jreask]

2023 SXP X-PRO

______________________________

 

[FeGee3]

Yup, it'll sell like hot cakes. And that's a good point that it's pretty hard to come up with a new design. heck, the Telluride "looks" like an old Mercury Mountaineer front, the back **almost** looks prior-gen Pilot-like.

I guess I just don't like it because I think Ford Explorers are flat out ugly and I think the Ascent is awkwardly proportioned. But the Pilot improves upon those at least. It goes a new direction from previous gen without being overly "out there" or overly plain. I agree with a prior post saying that the Atlas and the Telluride are the best-looking SUVs on the market. That's why I'm here, honestly. However, the Atlas and Telluride are also kinda unremarkable looking. I would actually predict that the Pilot will age better than the Telluride, or at least the front will. Something about it looks more cohesive and modern.

This is a good thing for this market and for us. This new Pilot is an improvement. The Telluride, and some others, made the new Pilot better--Honda has to put some effort at least into keeping market share. And eventually the next gen Telluride may respond to distinguish itself again.

I wonder if another refresh or next-gen Telluride would clean up the front jawline a bit or make it more angular. But who knows where trends will go by then.

I prefer the below rendering of the Pilot, I actually think that would have been a beautiful design. I hope that the next gen though of SUVS, including Telluride, don't start getting beefy pillars with fancy shapes. But maybe everyone has had enough of blacked-out disappearing pillars and visible pillars are now on-trend.

View attachment 28379

I agree with your thought process. I am excited to see where the envelope will be pushed next and am very excited to see what Kia does for the Telluride at its first major redesign (in large part because about that timeframe... 2025/6/7MY... is when I am due to replace my 2021 S trim). I think that rendering you found actually too Telluride/Ascent-like, the big C pillar the made is a bit more gen2 Pilot so it fits the brand. Front end looks clean though!

 

[ymehu]

His blog has more pictures and he said they’re the same, they look different due to lighting.

If you look at the video starting here:

it seems pretty clear that the X-Pro has a darker fascia than the other 2, which are the same. Does not look like the lighting is any different across any other parts of the cars. I wonder if this is some sort of manufacturing error.

 

[The Kraken]

It’s to bad that there are not enough brain cells at KIA to engineer a 400hp motor. 291hp? Really?

 

[Familyman20]

It’s to bad that there are not enough brain cells at KIA to engineer a 400hp motor. 291hp? Really?

Not that I disagree with you, but have you driven one? Current drive train is plenty for a family hauler such as this. Put it in Sport mode to satisfy your butt dyno once in a while. If not, then you need a Trackhawk.

I do find it odd tho that across all Palisade and Telluride trims they all have the same engine. Maybe next gen will get different offerings with a higher output and that damn dual outlet exhaust everyone's been begging for since they released these things!

______________________________

 

[Jreask]

It’s to bad that there are not enough brain cells at KIA to engineer a 400hp motor. 291hp? Really?

Speaking of brain cells. Too bad. Oh the irony.

 

[makmakmak]

Satin black chrome delete

 

[Arkticdark24]

Satin black chrome delete

Did Arapahoe have that done in house by chance? Ordered from them out of state and hoping the answer is yes haha.

 

[makmakmak]

Did Arapahoe have that done in house by chance? Ordered from them out of state and hoping the answer is yes haha.

Ah sorry! They did not, but I didn’t ask if they could either lol. I found a place around the corner from me. I also ordered out of state.

______________________________

 

[skeetermx1825]

Here's another X-Line Review Video (Everlasting Silver) but look at how dark the lower bumpers & Grill look in this video? It's unreal how sometimes it looks like a bright silver and other times it looks like a dark silver..

 

[ymehu]

Here's another X-Line Review Video (Everlasting Silver) but look at how dark the lower bumpers & Grill look in this video? It's unreal how sometimes it looks like a bright silver and other times it looks like a dark silver..

After carefully looking at many different pictures and videos at this point, I’m fairly confident if you lined up 10 different x-lines/ and/or x-pros side by side, you would find inconsistencies in how dark/light the fascias are and it wouldn’t have anything to do with the lighting. I suspect there was some sort of supply chain/manufacturing error here - curious if anyone else has reached the same conclusion.

 

[Seated_Heats]

After carefully looking at many different pictures and videos at this point, I’m fairly confident if you lined up 10 different x-lines/ and/or x-pros side by side, you would find inconsistencies in how dark/light the fascias are and it wouldn’t have anything to do with the lighting. I suspect there was some sort of supply chain/manufacturing error here - curious if anyone else has reached the same conclusion.

I think lighting and exterior color changes the perception greatly

 

[Slack Attack]

Satin black chrome delete

That satin black looks awesome. I’m not going to wrap my wolf gray just yet but if I do I would definitely choose that satin black over gloss black.