William Clavey of The Drive has had the opportunity over the years to test drive many capable, reliable, and high-tech cars and SUVS, and this past week produced an in-depth feature about the 2020 Kia Telluride. The first thing that he commented on was the overall delivery of the product, touting excitedly that this is “Something that will make you rethink Toyota and Honda ownership for good.” Everyone on duty here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis agrees with William here that the Telluride is our means of penetrating the lucrative segment of SUV ownership.
This “second take” for us arrives during an era when consumers just “can't get enough SUVs”, and when Korean brands are developing trust due to increased reliability and superior tech regarding the competition. We enjoyed the comparison of the Telluride with its width and boxiness being reminiscent of “a Korean interpretation of a Chevy Tahoe”. In a world where all 3-row mall finders look the same, the Telluride is the one that the kids will feel they look the coolest in after being dropped off at school!
With the new model seeing availability in front or all-wheel-drive, the Telluride is powered by a naturally aspirated 3.8-Liter V6 good for a claimed 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. The zero to 60 mph sprint takes place in about seven seconds flat, and the towing ability goes up to 5,000 pounds. This puts it right at the core on par with competition such as the likes of the Honda Pilot, Volkswagen Atlas, Chevy Traverse, and Subaru Ascent. In comparison to the Palisade, it is said here that the Telluride has what is a more mainstream and laid-back vibe and is host to conventional analog gauges and gear lever instead of push-button gear selector.
Even though some may feel the presentation and functionality of the infotainment center is a bit on the simple side, the large colorful icons, quick-reacting screen, and redundant physical buttons are all worthy of praise for not over complicating things. The testing staff here recommends driving it hard for fun in Sport mode, where it remains surprisingly spongy and soft with bursts of high performance. The naturally aspirated V6 sees praise here for being smooth, quiet, and adequately tune for its intended daily use.
This is the first time that an SUV has won these three prestigious awards in one year:
· 2020 NACTOY Utility Vehicle of the Year
· Motor Trend SUV of the Year
· Car and Driver 10Best
Bringing these high-level accolades home as the ultimate trophy caps a year of unprecedented success for the brand we love so much to represent here every day, and heartily confirms our brand as among the best in the industry. It has also successfully been granted numerous “Best of” honors and top accolades from various other print, online, and video outlets.
