North Carolina's Uwharrie National Forest is the
location of what many claim is the gnarliest trail in the state, named Daniel.
This is the kind of place where you are sometimes traversing the area at 2
miles per hour, and defying obstacles that would stop any unworthy trawler dead
in its tracks. The USDA Forest Service bestowed upon it a rating of “extremely
difficult”, for many different reasons. The most intimidating section requires
the driver to basically drive right up a wall of boulders, then negotiate a
quick switchback with a long drop situated on the outside corner.
The only time Ezra Dyer of Popular Mechanics was
able to run the entire trail was in an American Expedition Vehicles Jeep
Wrangler Rubicon, boasting locking differentials and 35-inch tires. The summit
can be reached from the milder version of trailhead, but you still have to
contend with plenty of steep, rock-strewn climbs. Even on the slightly easier
part, you see scraps of bodywork from the less fortunate by the side of the
trail. The decision was then made to have this place be where the Kia Telluride was put to the test, and see if it had the
necessary gusto to conquer this very untamed section of the wild.
He made the trip with the Telluride EX AWD, sporting Yokohama Geolander tires, and a
makeshift skid plate over the oil pan. One of Ezra's first observations was
that even if the Telluride does not look particularly off-road oriented to
begin with, it has good angles, such an important component in conquering an
area such as Uwharrie. Brandishing a 17.0 -degree departure angle is not too
far off from the Dodge Ram 4X4's 18.9 degrees, and the departure angle resides
at 20.0. This largest-sized member of the Kia lineup also has a very high
amount of traction: the center clutch distributes torque front to rear, and it
can be locked into a fixed 5 – 50 split, which allows the AWD system to behave
like an old-school 4-wheel-drive setup.
Even without front or rear locking differentials,
the traction control is able to imitate a locker's steadfast performance with
the ability to grab the brake on a slipping tire, sending torque to the side
with traction. When he first arrived at the trailhead, he did not have very
high expectations, as running this identical route over the last year with a
Toyota Tacoma TRD proved to be quite the challenge. The first test for the
Telluride was the signature berms which basically proved themselves to be like
speed-bumps from hell. The testing crew had once come here with a full-size 4x4
pickup, and had to immediately turn back because there was not enough breakover
to clear these.
By making use of an angled approach, the Kia fared
well out of the gate. Then, a rock-strewn climb up a very steep grade was in
order, rapidly oozing stellar performance during a situation where if you fail,
you're going to end up a LONG way down the mountain. The footage here does a good job of showing the complexity of the
trail, and the determined stature of the Telluride to conquer it. Even though
Ezra had to leave on a donut tire's wing and a prayer while the exhaust lost a
hanger, the Telluride lived to tell the tale, and drove like new after the
fact! We hope you come down to visit us at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis
and check this amazing piece of off-road mastery out this summer: boasting the
ability to dominate a trail like this will always set an aggressive and able
stature for the hill-climbing SUV that is the best choice out there for summer
2019!
