Driving the 2024 Kia Telluride for 6 Months: Our Experience
Author:
Brian Moody.
We recently added a 2024 Kia Telluride as a long-term test vehicle. The Telluride received some mild updates for 2024, but Kia knew not to mess with a successful formula. The Telluride has been one of those hits Kia seems to be cranking out lately. So, the 2024 Telluride is not dramatically different than the previous version of the Telluride, but you can see some differences in the color choices, the wheel choices, some packages, and the front end. Daytime running lights are a little different too. Instead of having that hoop around the front headlights, there are now two smaller amber lights. The rear end looks slightly different too, but all in all, it’s essentially the same car. And that “basically the same car” is quite good. Several staff members say the Telluride is the best mid-size 3-row SUV you can get. It’s not unanimous, but a few of us here at Oversteer think that. This isn’t just an opinion; Kia has won numerous awards, even setting a record for the “highest total number of awards earned in a single year,” says J.D. Power.
Our Telluride
The specific Telluride that we ordered is the SX Prestige with all-wheel drive. That is about a $51,000 SUV. While the SX is a very nice SUV, we opted for the Prestige, which moved the Telluride up to near-luxury status with things like Napa leather seats, Heated and ventilated second-row seats, head-up display, rain-sensing wipers, and a digital rearview mirror. The Telluride comes with just one engine. And that is a 3.8-liter direct-injection, gasoline-powered V6. It’s connected to an 8-speed automatic transmission, and the version we got has on-demand all-wheel drive. On top of that, there are a couple of options:
- Midnight Lake Blue paint for an extra $495.
- Rear bumper applique for $75.
- Carpeted floor mats for $225.
- Cargo cover for $155.
- And a carpeted cargo mat with third-row seat back protection for $115.00.
The grand total for our 2024 Telluride SX Prestige V6 all-wheel drive is $53,350, including a $1,395 destination fee. The base version of the Telluride is just under $40,000.
Early Impressions
The Kia Telluride resembles the Hyundai Palisade and competes with the Toyota Grand Highlander, Chevrolet Traverse, and Ford Explorer. It’s a bit more plush than those, although you can order a Grand Highlander in Platinum trim, which is also quite nice. Acceleration is good. The V6 is powerful and smooth. The Telluride does not feel like an overly powerful SUV but is more than adequate. There’s a sport mode that enhances throttle response, and that works well for those times you need to get up to highway speed a little quicker than usual.
We like the boxy look of the Telluride. It makes it very practical, but it also looks modern. It feels like the kind of SUV that a younger family has. Also, there’s something about the road manners of the Kia Telluride. It just drives and handles well. It’s not that it’s pretty. It’s not that it’s perfect; it just has an on-road demeanor that is very pleasant for a family car. Especially a 3-row SUV, the kind of vehicle you might not normally look forward to driving.
The optional Midnight Lake Blue is stunning in person. It’s a $500 option. Whether that’s worth it or not is up to the individual buyer. One thing that makes the Telluride seem that much nicer is the Gray & Navy interior. The gray is so light many people will almost think it’s like a white. Either way, light interiors always make a car look more expensive. With this color interior, some of the dash and interior surfaces are blue – again, that feels like something you see in a high-end luxury SUV. It’s certainly better than an all-black interior.
A Plush and Utilitarian SUV
The Kia Telluride is many things: attractive, surprisingly plush inside, with tons of smart features and excellent driving dynamics. Ultimately, you buy an SUV like the Telluride for one overriding reason — utility. For me, utility is just a little more important than those things. Utility is like a friend who’s always there — available and on time — emphasis on the “on time” portion of that. Punctuality has such an extreme utility it’s nearly impossible to calculate in modern life. Granted, the Telluride doesn’t have a mind of its own, but with midsize SUVs, but its utility in the form of reconfigurable space is just as important as punctuality in person. It’s not relevant all the time, but when it’s important, it’s really important.
Three Rows of Seats
In the Telluride, there are three rows of seating. Our SX Prestige has two second-row captain’s chairs. If you want a second-row bench seat, get the EX. The third row folds down, but it does so in a 60/40 split. The utility of this is that you can carry stuff and people. In the EX, it would be 6 or 7 people and a generous amount of stuff. In the SX, it’s five people and then some stuff; think luggage or removing junk from grandma’s house. Plus, you still have room for several “helpers.”
Scuff Prevention
Our Telluride SX has another thoughtful feature: a scuff strip at the entrance to the cargo area. Have you ever asked a teenage kid to help you load up a bunch of junk? They drag, scrape, and fumble the stuff into the car or truck as if it wasn’t their $40,000 that bought that new car. Oh, wait, it wasn’t their money.
Thankfully, in the Telluride, there are two preventative measures – the stainless-steel scuff strip that meets the carpet and the optional bumper protective strip on the upper part of the back bumper. This thin strip of adhesive plastic keeps the upper part of the rear bumper from being scratched. You can barely tell the protective strip is there. Kia calls this specific option “bumper applique,” which costs an additional $75. If you’re leasing a Telluride or hate all those little scratches and gouges that build up around the cargo area over time, it’s money well spent. Cut out six grande Mocha Frappuccinos this summer, and you just found the money to pay for it. The updated Kia Telluride is many things. Thankfully, practical is one of them.
A Big Touchscreen
Lately, there’s a lot of debate about the size of in-car touchscreens. It makes sense. The screens today have become so big and so colorful that they might become a distraction, even though the touchscreen is designed to be something that reduces distraction. However, in the Kia Telluride, the big screen serves one purpose that is very helpful to the driver: It has one of the best camera layouts I’ve ever seen. It’s clear, it’s sharp, and it shows you exactly where your car is in relation to everything around it. It’s one of those things that makes the Telluride feel more comfortable and easier to manage.
The Telluride isn’t as big as a Chevy Suburban or even a Tahoe. Those two truck-based SUVs feel much bigger by comparison. The Kia Telluride is more similar to a Toyota Grand Highlander, a Hyundai Palisade, or even a Ford Explorer. Still, those vehicles can feel big; they’re long and wide, and they have three rows of seats to accommodate lots of people or cargo. Sometimes, parking those vehicles can be a bit of a hassle. What makes it easier is a great parking camera. What makes a great parking camera system? A great display screen does. Panoramic displays are best. Vertical screens were cool for print advertisements. Until 2021, Tesla used long portrait-mode touchscreens, but today, horizontal is the way to go. The landscape-oriented screen in the Kia Telluride divides the visual information up just so perfectly. Related:
2024 Kia Telluride: Choosing the Right Trim.
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