R&T - The 2020 Kia Telluride Is a Nearly Flawless Three-Row SUV

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The 2020 Kia Telluride Is a Nearly Flawless Three-Row SUV

The Telluride meets 95 percent of American families’ needs. But what about that fifth percentile?

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The Telluride meets 95 percent of American families’ needs. But what about that fifth percentile?

By Kyle Kinard Jun 19, 2020

The Telluride is a three-row, unibody SUV that will cause Lexus shoppers fits. Its interior quality matches the midsize luxury SUVs from Japan (and most of the Germans), and betters them all when price is factored. Our top-of-the-line tester begs $46,860 from your wallet. Every penny felt defensible from the Telluride’s cockpit. The driver’s seat is supple, trimmed in soft leather, infinitely adjustable. A crisp ten-inch touchscreen anchors a simple, logical infotainment suite. Physical buttons flourish along the compact console. Materials lining the cabin feel upscale. There’s wireless phone charging, heated and ventilated front seats, acoustic glass to cut road noise, and probably a dozen USB ports. If the Stinger was a shot over the bow of Japanese luxury, the Telluride is something far greater: a direct hit.

OK, wouldn't exactly go that far.

Close enough to the FWD Japanese lux CUVs like the RX-L, MDX and QX60, and the compact Germans (X3, etc.), but not up to the level of something like the X5 and GLE (or the GV80), much less the X7 and GLS.

But for many buyers, the SX-P has enough level of luxury to be satisfactory (going to be paying a good bit more if want to get the next level of lux).

In Car and Driver’s review of the Telluride, they cite just one complaint: the Kia’s so good, there’s almost nothing to complain about. That’s mostly true. For most Americans’ use cases—commuting, family hauling, grocery-getting—the Telluride will fit the bill perfectly and do it better than any other midsize SUV. But if you’re looking beyond nine-to-five duties, I have just a couple caveats to the praise.

One such complaint is how the transmission seems to be unwilling to hang in a lower gear when incline and altitude play a large factor.