The Telluride is an impressive three-row SUV. It boasts a quiet and luxurious cabin, impressive technology, extensive standard features, adult-friendly third-row seating, and a satisfying driving experience. It has some minor flaws, but overall this Kia is a great choice for a three-row crossover SUV.
Excess
The luxurious ride and well-shaped seats offer all-day comfort
Spacious interior for large families
Plenty of standard technology and safety features are worth the money
The driver assistance features work well and are easy to use
What's new
Minor changes to exterior styling
Part of the first generation Telluride introduced in 2020
Summary
Since its debut for the 2020 model year, the Kia Telluride has been a popular choice for many people shopping for a three-row midsize SUV. It provides plenty of comfort and spaciousness and has even earned an Edmunds Top Rated award every year since. This is no small feat as most vehicles will eventually be overtaken by new competitors. But every time a new competitor emerged to challenge the Telluride, it failed.
Last year, the Telluride underwent the most significant refresh in its short history, with updated styling, rugged new trim levels, and improved driver assistance features. 2024 brings some more styling changes, although none of last year's major design updates are undone.
This may also apply to the 2024 Telluride. But as part of your car shopping, you might want to take a look at the related Hyundai Palisade. It has a lot in common with the Kia but exudes a more luxurious personality. Other worthy alternatives include the all-new Mazda CX-90 and the recently redesigned Honda Pilot. Read our Expert Ratings below for our full report on the Telluride's comfort, cargo space, and more.
What is it like to live together?
For a more accurate ownership experience, Edmunds added the 2020 Kia Telluride SX V6 AWD to its long-term test fleet. In the time spent with our staff, the Telluride proved again and again why it's the best SUV in its class. Check out our impressions of this vehicle and many others used in the real world.
How does the Telluride drive?
The Telluride is a satisfying SUV to drive. The V6 engine is responsive, although acceleration is average for a three-row SUV. In Edmunds testing, our Telluride test vehicle sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, similar to the acceleration of the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Palisade. The brakes are strong and can stop the Telluride quickly. We recorded consistent stops from 60 mph in 123 feet, which is slightly shorter than the class average. The brakes are also easy to control for consistent and smooth stops on the road.
The steering is light at parking lot speeds and the weight increases naturally when cornering. The Telluride is stable when turning around and doesn't exhibit excessive body roll. We also like the engine's fuel-saving stop-start feature, which runs smoothly and quietly. The transmission shifts can be a little rough under hard acceleration, and the transmission can buckle on certain grades, but overall these are fairly minor issues.
How comfortable is the Telluride? The Telluride is quite comfortable. The seats are supportive and nicely contoured, with almost pillow-like headrests. Noise from outside barely penetrates inside, making the luxury car's cabin quiet even at freeway speeds. Engine noise is present, but never intrusive or intrusive. For a three-row SUV, the Telluride generally rides smoothly, although it can be a little rough on uneven pavement. The off-road-oriented X-Pro is also surprisingly good on pavement, providing a layer of ride comfort and isolation from potholes and road seams.
The climate control system is easy to use and regulates temperatures correctly in all three rows. While seat heating and ventilation aren't the strongest on the market, it's nice to see them available for both first and second-row passengers.
What about fuel savings?
EPA-estimated fuel economy on the all-wheel-drive Telluride is slightly below average at 21 mpg combined (19 city/24 highway). On the plus side, our test Telluride achieved about 23 mpg on a 115-mile mixed driving evaluation route, indicating that the EPA numbers are realistic. You can run the V6 on regular gas, unlike some rival SUVs that require premium fuel to return their rated power and fuel economy figures.
Is the Telluride a good value?
The Telluride is probably the best value in its class for what you get. At each price point, you get a little extra, from the driving experience to the interior to the standard and available features. And in top trims, you get an almost luxurious experience. Overall, we were very impressed with the quality of the Telluride. You also get Kia's impressive 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
It looks like Kia tried hard for a "baby Land Rover" feel and succeeded without the Telluride looking like a knockoff. It's luxury bargained for in a good way, and Telluride's space, design, and driving experience are a step above the competition.
How is the interior?
The Telluride offers a very roomy, upscale-feeling cabin with easy access to all three rows. Passenger space is excellent in the second and third rows. The room feels more open thanks to the many large windows. Only the front passenger's knee room is a bit tight.
Controls are clearly labeled and logically grouped. Kia has repositioned the touchscreen closer to the driver, making the extra-long reach a thing of the past. Visibility is excellent thanks to the many large windows. A camera system and parking sensors are useful additions.
How is the technology?
All Tellurides come with a variety of collision avoidance and mitigation systems as well as adaptive cruise control that operates right up to a stop. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration is also standard, and plenty of USB ports are spread across all three rows, although only one can transmit data. Wireless smartphone connectivity is still non-existent. The standard 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen is mounted in a housing that places it right next to the gauge cluster. This gives all trim levels a large view that's easy to reach from the driver's seat.
SX models and above also get a matching 12.3-inch instrument cluster screen. A larger instrument cluster display makes the blind spot display system more useful. The previous screen was only 7 inches and was small and pixelated, but the new screen looks much clearer and works well when combined with the blind spot warning system to provide useful information to the driver. Kia's Highway Driving Assist system is great. It accelerates and decelerates smoothly while keeping the Telluride in the center of its lane without ping-ponging from side to side.
How is it stored?
Cargo space is generous, with 21 cubic feet behind the third row and 87 cubes with both rows folded. The hatch opening is wide and accommodating, and there's a useful underfloor compartment too. With a maximum towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, the Telluride is right up there with the class leaders.
Storage of small items is a weakness. While there are several options for organizing small items, there is much less space for small personal items than in some competitors. Have small children? Child safety seats are easy to install, and car seat anchors are easy to find.
Like last year, the SX trim gets our recommendation. In addition to the digital instrument panel, you also get additional safety features like updated adaptive cruise control and a Harman Kardon premium audio system.
Kia Telluride models
The 2024 Kia Telluride is available in five trim levels: LX, S, EX, SX, and SX Prestige. There are also X-Line versions of the EX, SX, and SX Prestige, as well as X-Pro versions of the SX and SX-Prestige. Each trim comes standard with a 3.8-liter V6 engine (291 horsepower, 262 lb-ft of torque) paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is available on all trims except the SX Prestige, which comes standard with AWD. Highlighted features include:
LX
Starting you off with:
18-inch wheels
LED headlights
Keyless entry and push-button start
Seating eight passengers
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Rear passenger automatic climate control
Synthetic leather upholstery
12.3-inch touchscreen with navigation
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration
Six-speaker audio system
All Tellurides also come with the following advanced driver aids:
Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-determined distance between the Telluride and the car in front; can also react to traffic signs and regulate speed)
Blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert (alerts you if the vehicle is in a blind spot when changing lanes or when reversing)
Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
Lane-keeping assist (directs the car back into its lane if the car starts to cross a lane marker)
S
The mid-level S trim builds on the LX's underpinnings, adding:
20-inch wheels
sunroof
Tap rail
Heated front seats
Power-adjustable driver's seat
Second-row captain's chairs (seats seven people)
Wireless phone charger
EX
The EX trim returns the second-row bench (optional captain's chairs) and 18-inch wheels but adds more features, including:
Strong folding exterior rearview mirror
Hands-free liftgate with an intelligent opening system (stand behind the liftgate for 3 seconds with the key fob and it will open automatically)
Leather seating
Power-adjustable passenger seat
Ventilated front seats
Second-row window blinds
Sound-absorbing front door window glass
Auto-dimming rearview mirror
SX
The SX includes all of the EX's standard and optional features listed above plus:
double sunroof
Upgraded power driver's seat with memory settings
10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system
12.3-inch instrument cluster display
Blind-Spot View Monitor (shows the blind-spot camera view in the Telluride instrument cluster)
Surround view camera system (gives you a top-down view of the Telluride and its surroundings for tight parking situations)
Highway Driving Assist 2 (adaptive cruise control enhancement that adds the ability to change lanes simply by flicking a turn signal)
An improved frontal collision mitigation system that detects oncoming and cross traffic and adds evasive steering assist
SX Prestige
The SX Prestige tops it all off with:
Premium leather seats
Head-up display (displays important information in your line of sight on the windshield)
The second-row seats are heated and ventilated
Heated steering wheel
110-volt household-style outlet
Adjustable ambient interior lighting
Optional Towing Packages available for the EX and SX include:
Self-leveling rear suspension
Tow hitch with trailer wiring harness connector
X-Line and X-Pro
There are X-Line versions of the EX, SX, and SX Prestige. They added:
All-wheel drive is standard
Slightly raised suspension for more ground clearance (0.4 inch)
Higher roof rails
Distinctive grille design
20-inch rims with all-season tires
Improved traction control system
The exterior trim is gloss black
The X-Pro is for the SX and SX Prestige trims only. It has the same features as the X-Line but with:
18-inch rims with all-terrain tires
Increased towing capacity from 5,000 to 5,500 pounds
110-volt household-style outlet in the cargo area
Off-road-oriented suspension tuning
