2023 Kia Telluride

Pros

• A comfortable ride and well-made seats will keep you comfortable all day.
• Large families will like how much space there is inside.
• Many standard safety and technology features are relatively inexpensive.
• The technologies that help drivers are both valuable and easy to use.

Cons

• Less storage space for small items in the cabin than some competitors
• When going full speed, there is a slight jerk.

It’s fun to drive an SUV like the Telluride. It has a quick V6 engine, but for a three-row SUV, it moves slowly. In InvoicePricing tests, our Telluride test vehicle got to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, which is about the same as the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Palisade. The brakes are strong and could stop the Telluride quickly. We could stop from 60 miles per hour in 123 feet, which is a little shorter than the average for the class. The brakes are easy to adjust so that you can always stop in a smooth, even way on the road.

The steering is light and turns quickly. When going around turns, the Telluride stays stable and doesn’t roll over too much. We like how smoothly and quietly the engine’s stop-start system works to save fuel. The upshifts may be rough when accelerating quickly, and the transmission may jump around on some grades, but these are minor problems.

Telluride is a lovely place to stay. With their pillow-like headrests, the chairs are comfortable and well-made. Outside noise rarely gets inside, so the cabin is as quiet as a luxury car, even at highway speeds. There is engine noise, but it doesn’t bother or bother me. The Telluride rides well for a three-row SUV, but it may be slightly bouncy on rough terrain. The X-Pro is designed to be used off-road, but it also does a great job on the pavement. It makes the ride more comfortable and protects you from potholes and road seams.

The climate control system is easy to use and keeps all three rows at the right temperature. Even though the heated and cooled seats could be better on the market, it’s great that both the front and back seats have them.

The Telluride’s interior is roomy and luxurious, and all three seats are easy to get to. Both the second and third rows have a lot of room for passengers. The space feels more open because there are a lot of large windows. Only the knee room for the person in the front seat is a little tight.

The controls are labeled and set up in the right way. Kia moved the touchscreen closer to the driver, so you no longer have to reach far to use it. Because there are so many big windows, the view is excellent. The parking sensors and camera systems are great additions.

All Tellurides have many technologies that help prevent and avoid collisions and an adaptive cruise control system that can be turned off. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay allow for smartphone integration into vehicles. Are also standard, and all three seats have USB ports, but only one can send data. The lack of wireless connectivity on smartphones stands out. A shell next to the gauge cluster holds a standard 12.3-inch touchscreen for entertainment. It has a big screen that is easy to see on all trim levels from the driver’s seat.

The same 12.3-inch display is also found in the SX and higher models. The blind-spot vision system works better because the show in the instrument cluster is bigger. The old collection was pixelated and only 7 inches long, but the new one is much clearer and works well with the blind-spot warning system to give the driver important information. Kia’s Highway Driving Assist is an excellent piece of tech. It speeds up and slows down smoothly, keeping the Telluride in the middle of its lane and not bouncing from side to side.

The cargo space is excellent, with 21 cubic feet behind the third seat and 87 cubic feet when the second and third rows are folded down. The entrance to the hatch is open and roomy, and there is also generous storage space underground.

The storage for small things needs to be fixed. Even though there are many ways to organize small things, there is much less space for small personal items than in some other bags. Do you have young kids? Car seat anchors are easy to get to, and child safety seats are easy to put in.

The EPA says that the all-wheel-drive Telluride gets a combined 19 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. On the plus side, our test Telluride got almost 23 mpg on our 115-mile mixed-driving route, which shows that the EPA ratings are accurate. The V6 can run on regular gas, unlike some of its competitors, which need premium gas to get the power and gas mileage they claim.

When you look at what you get, the Telluride may be the best deal in its class. At each price point, you get more, both in terms of how it drives and looks inside and the standard and extra features. And the high-end trims feel almost like a luxury. We are happy with Telluride’s quality as a whole. You also get Kia’s great powertrain warranty for ten years or 100,000 miles.

Kia seems to have worked hard to make the Telluride feel like a “baby Land Rover,” They did it without making it look like a copy. It’s a nice affordable luxury, and the Telluride has more space, looks better, and is easier to drive than most cars.

It’s hard to choose between the different trim levels of the Telluride. But for the updated 2023 Telluride, we like the SX trim. It has a better instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch display, more modern driver assistance systems, leather upholstery, and heated and ventilated front seats to make passengers more comfortable.

Telluride Kia models

There are five trim levels for the 2023 Kia Telluride: LX, S, EX, SX, and SX Prestige. There are X-Line and X-Pro variants of the EX, SX, and SX Prestige, as well as X-Line and X-Pro versions of the SX and SX-Prestige. Each model has a 3.8-liter V6 engine with 291 horsepower, 262 pound-feet of torque, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is optional on all models except for the SX Prestige, which comes with it as standard.