Kia Telluride test drive experience

[dpaisley325]

I test drove a Kia Telluride today, AWD EX. I enjoyed most aspects of the car except the acceleration. After a stop at a light, I agressively pushed the gas peddle and the car seemed to down shift and slowed down in an abrupt fashion. I let up on the gas and it was then ok and accelerated in a normal fashion, though some of the other shifts at first did not seem smooth. The car was in Comfort mode. I switched to Sport Mode and things improved, though it did not seem to shift as smoothly as my 2015 6 cylinder 6 speed Highlander. It was a bit off-putting for me. Everything else about the car I liked, including the space, seat comfort and handling. Has anyone else had this experience? Any insights?

 

[BanditLover]

I test drove a Kia Telluride today, AWD EX. I enjoyed most aspects of the car except the acceleration. After a stop at a light, I agressively pushed the gas peddle and the car seemed to down shift and slowed down in an abrupt fashion. I let up on the gas and it was then ok and accelerated in a normal fashion, though some of the other shifts at first did not seem smooth. The car was in Comfort mode. I switched to Sport Mode and things improved, though it did not seem to shift as smoothly as my 2015 6 cylinder 6 speed Highlander. It was a bit off-putting for me. Everything else about the car I liked, including the space, seat comfort and handling. Has anyone else had this experience? Any insights?

We have the Telluride SX AWD and have not experienced those issues, however we keep the car in "Smart Mode" and make certain the Idle Stop and Go System is off unless we are in slow moving, stop and go traffic. If the Idle Stop and Go was active it saves fuel by shutting down the engine when the vehicle is at a standstill so that might account for your experience. The Idle Stop and Go feature looks like an A with a circle around it.

 

[dpaisley325]

We have the Telluride SX AWD and have not experienced those issues, however we keep the car in "Smart Mode" and make certain the Idle Stop and Go System is off unless we are in slow moving, stop and go traffic. If the Idle Stop and Go was active it saves fuel by shutting down the engine when the vehicle is at a standstill so that might account for your experience. The Idle Stop and Go feature looks like an A with a circle around it.

Thanks. So are you happy with the accleration needed to get on the highway and passing quickly? Have you compared it to the Suburu Ascent or Honda passport/Pilot? THX

 

[BanditLover]

We LOVE our Telluride SX AWD with the prestige package!!!!!!!! The vehicle has more than enough acceleration for our needs. Before purchasing we drove the following: Audi Q7, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Buick Escalade. In the past we have owned Mercedes, Infiniti and Mazda and our humble opinion is for the "total package" the Telluride blows all of those away. Many of these vehicles had price tags that were $40K higher than the Telluride and we could not come close to finding more that $5K of added value based on their configuration and performance. We have heard good things about the Ascent but we did not find the exterior as appealing as the Telluride. The same was true for us on the Pilot.

______________________________

 

[Sal Collaziano]

I test drove a Kia Telluride today, AWD EX. I enjoyed most aspects of the car except the acceleration. After a stop at a light, I agressively pushed the gas peddle and the car seemed to down shift and slowed down in an abrupt fashion. I let up on the gas and it was then ok and accelerated in a normal fashion, though some of the other shifts at first did not seem smooth. The car was in Comfort mode. I switched to Sport Mode and things improved, though it did not seem to shift as smoothly as my 2015 6 cylinder 6 speed Highlander. It was a bit off-putting for me. Everything else about the car I liked, including the space, seat comfort and handling. Has anyone else had this experience? Any insights?

This doesn't sound right at all for a new vehicle. Something was wrong with that Telluride. Test drive another one before you make a final decision. But I'm also trying to understand exactly what happened... You hit the gas aggressively as the traffic light turned green --- at what point did it downshift? Or were you already going 30 or 40 AFTER the stoplight and hit the gas aggressively - only to have it bog down? Also, in comfort mode, the Telluride should shift smoothly...

 

[Chwtom]

I test drive the sx prestige today.

Positives:
Seats are very comfortable.
10” screen is bright and responsive
Heads up display is great, not many cars have this
Second row seats have great legroom
Folding second row seats from the trunk is a great feature
Keeps you in your lane unless you have the blinker on, nice safety feature
Quiet, smooth ride
Good acceleration
When the blinker goes on, rear view camera activates next to the spedometer. Cool feature
Stereo sounds great

Negatives:
I don’t like the look from behind the car. Front and side it looks masculine and stocky. Just don’t like how it looks from behind
A little wind noise from the driver window. Might be some plastic or something, it wasn’t bad.
Engine seemed to strain with the gas down.

 

[CAsuKiHy]

This feature, of not letting you switch lanes unless you have signal light, should be government mandated for car manufacturers.

 

[ucinn]

You can still switch lanes without a signal, you just get some beeping

______________________________

 

[dpaisley325]

This doesn't sound right at all for a new vehicle. Something was wrong with that Telluride. Test drive another one before you make a final decision. But I'm also trying to understand exactly what happened... You hit the gas aggressively as the traffic light turned green --- at what point did it downshift? Or were you already going 30 or 40 AFTER the stoplight and hit the gas aggressively - only to have it bog down? Also, in comfort mode, the Telluride should shift smoothly...

It was on initial acceleration. Could have been that particular car. I like how my v6 2015 highlander accelerated and I was hoping for similar performance.

I test drive the sx prestige today.

Positives:
Seats are very comfortable.
10” screen is bright and responsive
Heads up display is great, not many cars have this
Second row seats have great legroom
Folding second row seats from the trunk is a great feature
Keeps you in your lane unless you have the blinker on, nice safety feature
Quiet, smooth ride
Good acceleration
When the blinker goes on, rear view camera activates next to the spedometer. Cool feature
Stereo sounds great

Negatives:
I don’t like the look from behind the car. Front and side it looks masculine and stocky. Just don’t like how it looks from behind
A little wind noise from the driver window. Might be some plastic or something, it wasn’t bad.
Engine seemed to strain with the gas down.

The last line, "Engine seemed to strain with the gas down.", was what I experienced. Maybe I just needed to ease up on the gas.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

I like how my v6 2015 highlander accelerated and I was hoping for similar performance.

I'd be very surprised if the Telluride wasn't at the very least highly competitive with the Toyota Highlander performance-wise. Definitely try test driving a different Telluride...

 

[kiakane]

I test drove an EX and SX over the weekend. I was very impressed. It was quite responsive. The lane keep assist worked well but the smart cruise control was hit and miss for me. Blind spot monitor and warning was perfect.
The cockpit is very comfortable and the layout and design gets a 10 out of 10. Everything was intuitive and beautifully executed inside.
I have been looking for a new vehicle for the last few months. Tried the Traverse, Sorento, Acadia, Highlander, 4runner, explorer, pilot, and telluride.

I have narrowed it down to pilot (elite) vs telluride sx. Honda dealership is giving me such an amazing deal on the top trim Pilot that it actually ends up cheaper than telluride SX so that is hard to pass on.

@dpaisley325 When I drove the Sorento a few weeks ago I experienced the same behavior you are explaining. The lag and then strange burst. It was really terrible. I figured it had to be a bug or a setting gone wrong. Turned me off right away. Sounds like you experienced the same with the Telluride.

 

[Bruce_wayne8887]

I test drove an EX and SX over the weekend. I was very impressed. It was quite responsive. The lane keep assist worked well but the smart cruise control was hit and miss for me. Blind spot monitor and warning was perfect.
The cockpit is very comfortable and the layout and design gets a 10 out of 10. Everything was intuitive and beautifully executed inside.
I have been looking for a new vehicle for the last few months. Tried the Traverse, Sorento, Acadia, Highlander, 4runner, explorer, pilot, and telluride.

I have narrowed it down to pilot (elite) vs telluride sx. Honda dealership is giving me such an amazing deal on the top trim Pilot that it actually ends up cheaper than telluride SX so that is hard to pass on.

@dpaisley325 When I drove the Sorento a few weeks ago I experienced the same behavior you are explaining. The lag and then strange burst. It was really terrible. I figured it had to be a bug or a setting gone wrong. Turned me off right away. Sounds like you experienced the same with the Telluride.

Might want to look into the ZF 9 Speed in the pilot and passport. It has a very bad reputation on the Pilot message boards. It was also used in the 2014-2019 Jeep Cherokees and had a bad rep. Its whats making me not consider the passport right now although I love everything else about it.

______________________________

 

[Chwtom]

Forgot to mention two other aesthetic negatives:

The simulated wood accents look cheap and plasticky. Surprised they didn’t do a better job there.
I don’t like the look of the headliner. It has a nice feel to it but it’s depending on the direction you touch it it leaves a dark or light line, kind of like velour. Looks messy in my opinion.

 

[dpaisley325]

Might want to look into the ZF 9 Speed in the pilot and passport. It has a very bad reputation on the Pilot message boards. It was also used in the 2014-2019 Jeep Cherokees and had a bad rep. Its whats making me not consider the passport right now although I love everything else about it.

Re: Passport, that is exactly my concern, though I think they have resolved the situation. I am concerned that the transmission fluid needs to be replaced every 30K at $180 and that the engine has a timing belt which needs the replacement at 100K at over $800. Otherwise i like it. The Telluride is an unknown, except previous reputation with other SUVs are on the up and up.

 

[Bruce_wayne8887]

Re: Passport, that is exactly my concern, though I think they have resolved the situation. I am concerned that the transmission fluid needs to be replaced every 30K at $180 and that the engine has a timing belt which needs the replacement at 100K at over $800. Otherwise i like it. The Telluride is an unknown, except previous reputation with other SUVs are on the up and up.

i'm still sceptical. Just youtube 2017 pilot transmission problems and the jerking is pretty harsh. I'm just not as confident dropping 30 grand on a suv with a questionable transmission history now. No one seems to have been able to fix it. Most vehicles have timing belts that need replaced at 100,000. My brothers subaru hit 100,000 and the dealer quoted him 1500 for the timing belt change but had a smaller shop do it and it was 900.

 

[dpaisley325]

i'm still sceptical. Just youtube 2017 pilot transmission problems and the jerking is pretty harsh. I'm just not as confident dropping 30 grand on a suv with a questionable transmission history now. No one seems to have been able to fix it. Most vehicles have timing belts that need replaced at 100,000. My brothers subaru hit 100,000 and the dealer quoted him 1500 for the timing belt change but had a smaller shop do it and it was 900.

THX. Most Toyotas do not have the belt. I think the Kia does not have the timing belt.

______________________________

 

[ucinn]

Most manufacturers have gone away from belts and went back to chains. It's a big selling point for me.

 

[astranger]

i'm still sceptical. Just youtube 2017 pilot transmission problems and the jerking is pretty harsh. I'm just not as confident dropping 30 grand on a suv with a questionable transmission history now. No one seems to have been able to fix it. Most vehicles have timing belts that need replaced at 100,000. My brothers subaru hit 100,000 and the dealer quoted him 1500 for the timing belt change but had a smaller shop do it and it was 900.

I believe there's really nothing you can do to 'fix' that transmission. It is not faulty, but just the way it is. Alex on Auto mentioned a few times about that transmission.

 

[ucinn]

We went and test drove an S tonight since it has the 20 inch wheels ike the SX will have. Our dealer was down to just two left, a grey S AWDand a white EX FWD. This thing is so quiet and smooth..even decent size pot holes didn't seem to disturb this thing. I thought our Sorento drove smooth, but it's nothing compared to this ride. Pep seemed about the same as the Sorento but sport mode made a bigger difference on the Telluride than it does on the Sorento. The test drive pretty much made up our mind we are going to get one. Our dealer can't keep them on the lot and the two SX's were gone the minute they hit the lot. Our salesperson has our number and is going to give us a call when the next SX's come in and that will be the end of march, beginning of April. If we don't get in on that, we might then end up ordering one since the founder offer is over at the end of April.

 

[G-347888]

Test drove sx and I agree with you all. Telluride is no pair to pilot/highlander when it comes to engine. Look inside and out is far better but since I am supposed to drive it I pass on teluride and wait for new pilot coming next year or new highlander. I am not a fan of turbo 4 cyl so dont even consider Subaru or mazda