The new Kia Telluride just entered the top selling crossover SUV market. The name “Telluride” comes from the city in Colorado to signify its outdoorsy fun to drive character. The 2020 Kia Telluride is sure to standout in the crossover SUV segment with its stylist design, fully loaded suite of standard safety and technology features; and its smooth and quiet performance.
The Kia Telluride, which was originally introduced as a concept car in 2016, launched in the spring of 2019 as a 2020 model. The new Telluride is so remarkable that enthusiast magazine Car and Driver selected it as a “10Best Truck and SUV” winner among all-new or significantly remodeled vehicles.
The Kia brand, which has been steadily adding to its vehicle models and quality in the sedan and SUV classes in the United States, introduces the three-row Telluride sport utility vehicle to gain a competitive advantage in the hot-selling SUV market.
The Telluride lineup offers four different trim levels, which includes: base LX, S, mid-level EX, and the top-of-line SX which I road tested for a week. The five-door Telluride SX V6 AWD is powered by a 3.8-liter 6-cylinder engine that generates 291 horsepower. It is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and comes standard with 18-inch alloy wheels.
All four models have three-row seating and are packed with near-luxury features that are rare in other mid-size SUVs in this price range. Some of its features include Nappa leather trim, leather-trimmed and ventilated front seats, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Satellite Radio, and advanced driver assistance technologies, including smart cruise control, lane keeping assist and much more.
Exterior features include power tilt and sliding moonroof, power liftgate, and folding power mirrors. The SX models offers additional features that includes AWD, 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps and fog lamps, rear moonroof, second-row captain chairs, Harmon/Kardon surround sound audio, parking distance warning, and Homelink.
The Telluride SX averages 19 city and 24 highway mpg and starts at $43,490 MSRP. Price as tested was $47,255 MSRP, when the SX Prestige package options were included.
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