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I drove a $47,000 Kia Telluride - and the verdict is that this upstart SUV is the best on the market
I drove a $47,000 Kia Telluride - and the verdict is that this upstart SUV is the best on the market
Dec 18, 2019, 23:06 IST
The Kia Telluride I tested was a 2020 model year of the new three-row SUV, outfitted in "Everlasting Silver."
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The Telluride is a handsome SUV that wears its size well. I also rather liked the 20-inch alloy wheels, in black, which filled the wheel-arches and gave the impression of larger spinners.
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The weakest part of any SUV design is .. . the rear end. But that's not the designer's fault. There's only so much one can do with an upswinging barn door.
Telluride is, of course, an upscale ski town in Colorado. It was a bold decision for Kia to co-opt the implicit branding — but the vehicle comes through!
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The Telluride's interior isn't luxurious, but it isn't mass-market. For most consumers, it's pure Goldilocks: Just right.
The black interior featured brushed metal details and expanses of beautiful, grained wood trim.
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Three-row SUVs are, on one level, an alternative to minivans. As a former minivan owner, I get it and I don't. Minivans do everything better. But the Telluride does three rows as well as I've seen in an SUV.
The dual moonroof is becoming a standard thing on the higher trim levels of SUVs. For a vehicle as big as the Telluride, they prevent the cabin from taking on a cave-like gloom.
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The all-motor (No turbos!) V6 communicated blissfully with the eight-speed automatic and the all-wheel-drive system.
Kia is currently selling what I consider to be one of the top infotainment systems on the market. The 10-inch central touchscreen is nearly perfect, and the use of old-school buttons, knobs, and switches is welcome.
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The verdict is that I can't think of a single good reason to tell you NOT to run right out and buy a Kia Telluride if you need three rows and don't want a minivan.