How much does this cost?” my wife asked after a half-hour ride in the passenger seat.
“About $54,000,” I replied. “It’s pretty loaded.”
“This one seems nicer than the previous press car you had,” she added.
That previous car? A Range Rover costing at least three times as much.
I can’t fault her observations.
Compared to the six-figure Range Rover, the Kia Telluride didn’t break or offer any frustrations.
The Telluride’s glove box opened when commanded. The Range Rover’s stopped doing so.
The Telluride’s second-row seats motored forward on command. The Range Rover’s flipped out.
The Telluride’s tailgate always closed without complaint. And, well, the Range Rover had issues here, too.
The Telluride is roomy yet easy to park. The interior door handles are right where you expect them. The second-row seats felt open, roomy and inviting. Plus, on our 2026 Kia SX-Prestige X-Pro, you get USB plugs back there–plus privacy screens.
Kia delivers actual knobs and switches for the things that you actually use–unlike with the Range Rover, there’s no need to move your eyes from the road to navigate a screen.
The shifter is old school and appreciated: PRNDL. No knobs, no buttons. Get in and go.
The Telluride is quiet and comfortable, quick and composed. It tracks straight. It even looks good. Firm, supportive seats, clear gauges. Road trip? Long road trip? Sure, let’s go.
The microfiber headliner looks and feels rich. Not gimmicky. Not forced. Just rich.
More to love: When you flip on the turn signals, you get a view down the side of the car right there on the dash. Simple. Elegant. Practical.
The Kia might lack a nameplate associated with bottom-of-the-barrel status in the J.D. Power standings, but the Telluride just works. Need a larger SUV? Cannot fault you for starting here.
I feel like the Telluride is better than it has any right to be. Kia (and, by association, Hyundai) really knocked it out of the park.
It's been a few years since I drove one in L.A., but it still checks a lot of boxes–although the new hybrid Pallisade checks one more box.
Oh goodness. Not sure how that one slipped by unnoticed.
Thank you for bringing that to our attention. It should be all fixed now. 
Where's the truck version?
They seem to be good vehicles right up to 80k miles from what I have seen. Everyone I know that had one hit 80k got rid of them soon after saying "they just started having many issues" mostly electronic, not powertrain.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:Where's the truck version?
+1 for this request.
Colin Wood said:Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:Where's the truck version?
+1 for this request.
Where the Santa Cruz, Ranchero, Baja, et al missed the boat is that Americans want our trucks to look like trucks. The Telluride has a nice truck-ish front end. Might as well finish the job!
I spent some time in a Telluride a few years ago and really enjoyed it, from driving manners to comfort and space inside. It would be near the top of my list for cars in that category.
Kia is pretty good at packing a lot of features in for the money, but man - we had so many issue with my wifes Optimas that we ended up with a Wrangler 4xe - and thats been more reliable with better build quality.
Little stupid stuff too - failed rear O2. A/C that didnt work after 900 miles (ruptured line). All the door panels delaminating, even the rear seats that literally never had anyone sit in them. Like single digit amount of use instances, always garaged. Delaminated after 30k miles and 3 years. Passenger door power window switch died (again, used sparingly). Drivers heated seat became intermittant.
Granted, this isnt much comparison compared to a British car, but pretty pathetic for an Asian brand.
We shopped the 2023s when we got our since departed Pilot. They where kinda our "first idea" since we were moving from a 2017 Santa Fe.
They were very nice, and interior feel is subjective. My wife HATED the velour headliner and A pillars. She said it felt like driving a velvet painting. Also the Tech was very "I HAVE DRIVING TECH LOOK AT ME". It didn't assist it was ever present. This may be great for some but we much prefered we the more augmentive Honda system.
Ultimately though the Telluride left the list as soon as I learned it did not correct the biggest issue with the Santa Fe. Hilariously low Payload capacity. 1173 lbs. For a 7 seat SUV.. that could tow 5500lbs? Put 550lbs of tongue weight on, put 2 adult humans in it, and leave the race car tools at home. Have 4 200lb adults? Better keep the luggage very light.
It was excellent but for its size and towing it NEEDS 1400+lbs of payload.
Interesting. We have a 2022 sorento (2.5T, awd, dct). We started off by shopping for telluride and palisade but my wife didn’t like the power delivery (she came from a Focus ST pre kids). Sorento drives amazing with great low end torque. Very minor issues but we did just turn 80k miles!
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