5000 Miles and loving it!

[TONYK11]

Just passed the 5000 mile mark. I cover some miles for my business in a combination of DC & Northern Virginia city and suburbs and maybe 25% highway cruising. Here are the highlights:

PROs:
- Fuel economy is consistently in the 22.3 - 22.5 range, which is better that expected. Kills my departed 2014 Jeep GC!!
- Reliability is excellent, although that's as it should be for 5K miles. The display blackout software update was done by a local dealer [not where I bought it] quickly and easily. Impressive service.
- HDA is remarkable, once you get some seat time with it. Initial experiences were mixed until I understood where the limitations demanded some extra care. I run with it OFF in city & suburban driving, and ON for most highway driving. Its kinda relaxing to sit back and monitor things while cruising. Made our first 300 mile each way beach trip a real pleasure.
- Cross-Traffic avoidance [RCCA] is terrific. Reliable, well tuned, and much appreciated. All vehicles should have this.
- Handling is a lot better than expected. Fairly neutral, with very little understeer in situations where the Jeep would push badly. I find I can lean on the front outside tire very comfortably.
- Brakes are terrific! The two truly hard braking experiences I have had were impressive. No surprises, very linear ABS operation.
- LED headlights are superb.
- Everyone finds the car super comfortable, and really well appointed.
- [Potentially controversial] Smart mode is much better than expected. In fact, its my default choice. It took a while to discover that a little throttle modulation brings Smart mode alive. Its dead easy to initiate downshifts for acceleration, and equally easy to have it upshift at cruising speed. I actually enjoy it!

CONs:
- Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist [BCA] is the child of the devil. The Warning level is great, but cruising at highway speed and having the Assist level kick in is terrible. It applies hard opposite front wheel braking, which has some nasty dynamic effects. I have BCA permanently turned OFF.
- No side mirror tilt in reverse. Seriously?? Holding such a basic feature for the highest trim level is poor judgement. I set the side mirror selector to the right side, and push the down control when reversing. That works.
- No wireless iPhone/Android support. Seriously?? Not sure what games Kia is playing by having this feature in some Kia models with the 10.5 display, but not the Telly. Cables are old school, and not that reliable.

OVERALL: Luvvit! If you had told me at any time in the past that I would even consider buying a Kia I would have called you crazy. I was wrong.

 

[Ferg42995]

Thanks for your review! As one who has one on order but is not yet driving it, I have 2 questions for clarification purposes.
1) "The display blackout software update" -- What is a display blackout?
2) What is HDA?

Thanks again for the review!

 

[TONYK11]

Thanks for your review! As one who has one on order but is not yet driving it, I have 2 questions for clarification purposes.
1) "The display blackout software update" -- What is a display blackout?
2) What is HDA?

Thanks again for the review!

The display blackout was a software bug that only applied to EX and lower trim levels. FIrmware update fixed it.
HDA = Highway Drive Assist. Here's a good article on HDA

 

[Ferg42995]

The display blackout was a software bug that only applied to EX and lower trim levels. FIrmware update fixed it.
HDA = Highway Drive Assist. Here's a good article on HDA

Thank you so much for clarifying!

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[Tellurider22]

- No side mirror tilt in reverse. Seriously?? Holding such a basic feature for the highest trim level is poor judgement. I set the side mirror selector to the right side, and push the down control when reversing. That works.

The SX def has side mirror tilt in reverse. The below thread has info on how it works. Just flagging in case it's something the dealer can fix for you if broken!

https://www.tellurideforum.org/threads/side-mirrors-tilt.867/

 

[cegrrg]

The SX def has side mirror tilt in reverse. The below thread has info on how it works. Just flagging in case it's something the dealer can fix for you if broken!

https://www.tellurideforum.org/threads/side-mirrors-tilt.867/

Agreed - Our side mirrors tilt just fine in reverse.

 

[itsmeken]

The SX def has side mirror tilt in reverse. The below thread has info on how it works. Just flagging in case it's something the dealer can fix for you if broken!

https://www.tellurideforum.org/threads/side-mirrors-tilt.867/

OP is acknowledging side mirror tilt in reverse is available on the SX trim. He's suggesting it should be on all trims.

"Holding such a basic feature for the highest trim level is poor judgement"

 

[bruesjoh04]

- No wireless iPhone/Android support. Seriously?? Not sure what games Kia is playing by having this feature in some Kia models with the 10.5 display, but not the Telly. Cables are old school, and not that reliable.

No Kia/Hyundai/Genesis models with 10.25” screens or larger have wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The only ones to offer it at this point are certain 2021+ models with 8” screens. That’s it so far. The Telluride isn’t being held out on… it has no more limitations than its sister cars.

Don’t forget there are always adapters like CarPlay2Air or AA Wireless to enable wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, respectively. Or, if you don’t care about the CarPlay/AA interfaces, there’s always good old Bluetooth audio.

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[Tellurider22]

OP is acknowledging side mirror tilt in reverse is available on the SX trim. He's suggesting it should be on all trims.

"Holding such a basic feature for the highest trim level is poor judgement"

You're right! I missed in the signature that OP ordered an EX. Good catch.

 

[TONYK11]

Agreed - Our side mirrors tilt just fine in reverse.

If you have the highest SX Prestige trim level then yes, they do. If you have any other trim level, no they don't.

Don’t forget there are always adapters like CarPlay2Air or AA Wireless to enable wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, respectively. Or, if you don’t care about the CarPlay/AA interfaces, there’s always good old Bluetooth audio.

That's right. I contributed to the AA Wireless project in June. It will arrive eventually. Was scheduled for October delivery but supply chain issues hit the project hard this year. I'll wait.

 

[Tellmeride]

"- No wireless iPhone/Android support."
What?! I just used this function today.

 

[HillCountry]

Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist [BCA] is the child of the devil. The Warning level is great, but cruising at highway speed and having the Assist level kick in is terrible. It applies hard opposite front wheel braking, which has some nasty dynamic effects. I have BCA permanently turned OFF.

What is triggering the assist level and what happens when it does kick in? Thx for the review!

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[itsmeken]

"- No wireless iPhone/Android support."
What?! I just used this function today.

OP is referring to wireless Car Play and Android Auto and not Bluetooth connectivity.

 

[TONYK11]

"- No wireless iPhone/Android support."
What?! I just used this function today.

Basic bluetooth yes you may have. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto wireless? No you didn't.

 

[TONYK11]

OP is referring to wireless Car Play and Android Auto and not Bluetooth connectivity.

Many thanks to @itsmenken for providing clarity on a couple of points. Much appreciated.
My bottom line in the first post says it all. This is a great vehicle. The listed Cons are things that could be improved in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
So, here are a couple more annoyances. Maybe Kia will take note.
- Inconsistent Reset of some features. While menu driven settings are retained over on Off - ON sequence, some things are not.
Reverse proximity sensors are turned back on at every startup, which is a pain when a bike rack or trailer is hooked up.
Auto start/stop too. If they are set to off, please leave them off at next startup.
- Auto start/stop is a joke, right? In summer with the AC running auto stop restarts in less than a minute! Less than a stoplight cycle.

 

[beato1]

- Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist [BCA] is the child of the devil. The Warning level is great, but cruising at highway speed and having the Assist level kick in is terrible. It applies hard opposite front wheel braking, which has some nasty dynamic effects. I have BCA permanently turned OFF.

Oh, wow, sorry about your experience! I like BCA. It prevented me from collision 3 times. But yeah, it felt weird and disconcerting right after it happened, but I immediately realized what just took place (BCA warning flashed in the instrument cluster briefly) and I was glad that it was on! That "opposite wheel braking" is designed to pull you away from the other vehicle. I was more afraid of the other vehicle getting into my lane if not for the quick BCA feature kicking in! Thanks.

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[Tellthemride]

I have never experienced BCA activate. Only BCW, which blinks warning indicators, audibly sound, and vibrate the steering wheel. I always use my turn signals when intending to change lanes even if it is right before, and the BCW is always enough to stop me from fully changing lanes even if I already started to drift towards the lane marker. It also helps to have BVM on the SX trim.

I would imagine BCA would activate only if there is a legitimate threat of collision with a car in your blind spot. If it is triggering for all your lane changes, you may have a problem with your sensors or BCA system.

 

[TONYK11]

I have never experienced BCA activate. Only BCW, which blinks warning indicators, audibly sound, and vibrate the steering wheel. I always use my turn signals when intending to change lanes even if it is right before, and the BCW is always enough to stop me from fully changing lanes even if I already started to drift towards the lane marker. It also helps to have BVM on the SX trim.

I would imagine BCA would activate only if there is a legitimate threat of collision with a car in your blind spot. If it is triggering for all your lane changes, you may have a problem with your sensors or BCA system.

Agreed. The BCW function is terrific, and very helpful. The conditions, including proximity, are triggered on the long stretches of construction on Rt66 just outside the Washington beltway. The lanes are constrained and weave around quite a bit which tends to create situations where BCA sees the car behind but in the adjacent lane as encroaching within its trigger threshold. Like you, I turned BCA off and rely on BCW.

 

[Tellthemride]

Agreed. The BCW function is terrific, and very helpful. The conditions, including proximity, are triggered on the long stretches of construction on Rt66 just outside the Washington beltway. The lanes are constrained and weave around quite a bit which tends to create situations where BCA sees the car behind but in the adjacent lane as encroaching within its trigger threshold. Like you, I turned BCA off and rely on BCW.

Ok, I understand why BCA might be not working properly in your case. It does mention in the manual on curves it might not function as intended.

To be clear I always keep my BCA feature turned on. I drive on some pretty tight roads that bend around sharp curves with other cars nearby as well, but it has never tried to brake for me.