2024 Kia Telluride

Any automaker hoping to trigger more than a blip on the radar of the USA's mid-size SUV segment would have to come up with a truly memorable car, as it's a hotly contested market sector awash with talent. The Kia Telluride finds itself in this cut-throat class among rivals that also provide a third seating row, including the likes of the new Mazda CX-90, as well as the Toyota Highlander, the Honda Pilot, and the Hyundai Palisade, with which the Telluride shares many of its parts.

The Telluride is not the most exciting to drive, and with 291 horsepower from its naturally aspirated V6 powertrain, it's outdone in terms of power and economy by more modern turbocharged rivals, but there's a lot to like. It has tons of space, boasts impressively upscale interior finishes, comes with a long list of standard features, and offers such a vast array of trims that there's a Telluride for everyone. Does the high-value price secure it a position on the top podium step, or has the competition caught up?

After a mid-cycle refresh last year, the changes to the 2024 Telluride are so minor that most people will miss them. The daytime running lights are now amber, and on the X-Line and X-Pro trims, the previously dark metallic exterior trim is replaced with gloss black trim. The ten trims stay the same in every other respect, except for a small price increase for the 2024 Kia Telluride range, amounting to a few hundred dollars per trim.

This year, the price of a new Kia Telluride starts at $35,990 for the LX trim, up just $300 over last year. This is followed by the S at $37,890, the EX at $41,590, and the EX X-Line at $45,885. The SX and SX X-Line will set you back $45,790 and $49,285, respectively, while the SX X-Pro goes for $50,285. For the most luxury, you need one of the Prestige trims that sit at the top of the range; these are the SX Prestige at $50,690, the SX Prestige X-Line at $52,185, and the SX Prestige X-Pro at $53,185. Adding AWD to one of the FWD trims will cost you $2,000. The prices are MSRP, so they exclude the $1,365 destination charge.

You don't even have to go all the way up to SX level to bag yourself a great Telluride. The EX X-Line is ready for the worst roads with its raised ride height, AWD, and self-leveling rear suspension, while it shares other great EX upgrades over the S, such as the leather upholstery, heated and ventilated power front seats, the power liftgate, and a sunroof. It's the sweet-spot in the range and only just breaches $47k, destination included.

The interior of the Telluride is properly modern, with a big horizontal dual-screen setup atop the dashboard in the vein of BMW's iDrive 8 infotainment system. Combined with surprisingly upscale materials and high-quality finishes, the cabin is a major Telluride strength and looks like it comes from a more expensive brand from a class above. Even the base LX is spared cloth upholstery and gets high-quality leatherette on the seats, while upper trims get the real thing. It's roomy inside and can accommodate up to eight people.

Getting inside is simply a matter of sliding across, thanks to the high ground clearance, large door openings, and handy grab handles on the B-pillars. Accessing the third row does require some clambering skills, but it's not any worse than you'd have to do in most other SUV's with a third row. Visibility is good, but reversing requires you to depend on the standard rear parking sensors and the backup camera on the base trims, as only upper trims get a surround-view monitor and other niceties such as automatic reverse braking and a blind-spot monitor.

Interior space is a strong point, and the Telluride beats the Highlander and CX-90 for second- and third-row space, surprising, considering the Mazda's wheelbase is around nine inches longer than the Kia's. The third row will prove tight for adults, but it's fine for children.

Up to eight passengers can be accommodated with the second-row bench found in the LX and EX. The EX also has access to two second-row captain's chairs - standard on all the other trims - which cuts the seating capacity to seven.

When it comes to trunk space, the Telluride once again beats the Highlander and CX-90, with a useful 21 cu-ft of trunk volume available, even with all three seating rows in use. This can be expanded to 46 cu-ft by folding down the 50/50-split third row and to 87 cu-ft by also stowing the 60/40-split second row. Interestingly, these figures also narrowly beat the Telluride's in-house Hyundai Palisade sibling that's of similar exterior size.

There's no lack of cabin storage, though some rivals offer more options. You get the usual glovebox, and it's supplemented with a lidded center-console storage bin, front seatback pockets, front and rear door pockets with bottle holders, and an overhead sunglasses holder. The space ahead of the gear shifter is also a wireless charging pad for your phone on all trims above LX, and the two front cupholders are just behind it, alongside the shifter. The second and third rows get their own cupholders.

The base LX is severely limited in terms of its available exterior and interior colors, and you get one take-it-or-leave-it option for upholstery: Black SynTex leatherette. The S is the same except for an additional Gray color choice. The EX gets leather upholstery as standard, and both this and the SX offer you a choice between Black, Gray, and Gray/Navy for free, while Mahogany leather costs $295. In the EX X-Line, SX X-Line, and SX X-Pro, the only no-cost option is Black leather, but you can have Terracotta or Sage Green for $295. The SX Prestige trims' color choices and pricing are the same as those of the normal SXs, except for the use of Nappa leather.

Only the Prestige trims get a SynTex faux-suede headliner. The shifter knob is trimmed in leather on all trims but the LX, while all trims get a leather-trimmed steering wheel.

The Telluride's equipment level is high, but the base LX is fairly basic. The entry-level trim gets a 4.2-inch driver-information display, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, power accessories, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, remote start, and not much more. The seats are unheated and manually adjustable. Higher up the lineup, you get heated power front seats, wireless charging, more interior colors, single and dual sunroofs, a heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and a lot more.

The infotainment system is comprehensive, even in the LX, complete with a 12.3-inch touchscreen incorporating Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM, Wi-Fi capability, the Kia Access app, Bluetooth, and a six-speaker audio system. More features are added as we move up the range: EX trims gain an additional USB charging port, SX trims get a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a ten-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and Prestige trims get a 10-inch head-up display.

The naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6 engine in the Kia Telluride makes 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft. This gives it a 0-60 sprint of around 6.7 seconds with AWD, so performance is good for this class. The Mazda CX-90's base engine makes 280 hp and 332lb-ft, and it needs around seven seconds for the benchmark sprint. Torque on the Telluride is a lot lower than that of the turbocharged competition, so the engine needs a few revs to do its best work.

Standard drivetrain features include an eight-speed automatic transmission that shifts unobtrusively, a choice of four driving modes, hill-descent control, and torque-vectoring cornering control. LX, S, EX, and SX trims are front-wheel drive, with optional all-wheel drive, but it's standard on all other trims. X-Line and X-Pro trims get a tow mode and self-leveling rear suspension while boasting a 0.4-inch higher ground clearance at 8.4 inches. Trailering is a given with an SUV, and the regular Tellurides' 5,000-pound towing capacity equals the maximum of the Highlander and CX-90. However, the X-Pro trims are rated to tow even more at 5,500 pounds.

It's not all about acceleration and top speed in an SUV, and in general driving, the engine is smooth and pleasant to use, with enough power on hand for any situation and a nice soundtrack. Handling is hardly something to write home about, but the Kia acquits itself well, with steering that is sharper and more responsive than you would expect and with good body control, yet still offering a comfortable and absorbent ride. While hardly turning it into a Wrangler, the X-Pro enhancements give the Telluride good off-road performance and rock-crawling ability within the limits of its ground clearance, despite lacking dual-range gearing.

The FWD Kia Telluride trims' mpg figures on the EPA's city/highway/combined cycles are 20/26/22 mpg, while the AWD trims return 18/24/20 mpg. Gas mileage is comparable to other V6-engined rivals like the Honda Pilot (19/25/21 mpg with AWD) but worse than turbocharged SUVs like the Highlander (21/28/24 mpg with AWD).

An 18.8-gallon fuel capacity ensures a range of 376 miles for AWD trims and 414 miles for FWD trims.

At the time of writing, there was only a partial safety review of the Kia Telluride from the NHTSA for 2024 and 2023; it was comprehensively tested in 2022, and those results indicate that the Telluride offers good safety with a five-star overall rating. The IIHS tested the 2023 Telluride, giving it a coveted Top Safety Pick+ award - the agency's highest rating. We see no reason this shouldn't carry over to 2024.

The Telluride comes with nine airbags and the expected ABS brakes, stability control, tire-pressure monitoring, and a backup camera. To these features, Kia adds a suite of driver assists, and the base four trims get hill-start assist, hill-descent control, front-collision alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection, junction-turning detection, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop & go, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, and lane-following assist. Yet, there's more; rear parking sensors, highway-driving assistance, driver-alertness monitoring, speed-limit assist, and safe-exit assist are all standard too. The SX additionally gets blind-spot monitoring for approaching traffic when exiting parallel parking, as well as a blind-spot camera, evasive steering assist, front parking sensors, more advanced adaptive cruise control with machine learning, automatic reverse braking, a surround-view monitor, and a more advanced highway driving-assistance system. Only the SX Prestige trims get a ten-inch head-up display.

JD Power has not yet evaluated the reliability of the 2024 Kia Telluride, but the 2023 model received an excellent 85 out of 100 for Quality & Reliability. No recalls have been listed for the 2024 Telluride so far, but the 2023 model was recalled twice - for a blank gauge cluster and inoperative rear side airbags. The 2022 Telluride also suffered the blank gauge cluster, in addition to being recalled for an incorrect spare tire and shorting tow-hitch wiring that may cause a fire.

Adding to your peace of mind is the class-leading warranty of the 2024 Kia Telluride. The limited warranty is valid for five years/60,000 miles, and the powertrain warranty is for an impressive ten years/100,000 miles.

The Kia Telluride is eye-catching with its chunky styling, big grille, tall stance, and modern highlights, including the familiar tiger-nose grille. The LX has no roof rails, but the other trims do, and of various types and finishes. The LX and the X-Pro trims run on 18-inch alloy wheels - the latter with all-terrain tires - while the rest all use 20s in various finishes. All Tellurides have LED projector-beam headlights, while all SXs have LED foglights. LED taillights feature on all trims except LX and S. The X-Line and X-Pro trims get blacked-out exterior treatment and black headlight and foglight bezels. A power sunroof is optional on the S and standard on the EX and EX X-Line, but the others all get dual glass sunroofs with a fixed rear pane.

The Telluride does enough to get our vote in this class. It does not lead the pack in any particular discipline but has no glaring fault, and if proof is needed that a consummate all-rounder is often the best in its class without being the best at anything in particular, the Telluride is it. Performance and economy are decent, the cabin is excellent both in terms of space and quality, and equipment levels above the base trim are high. And all of this comes at high-value prices and with an excellent warranty, which makes the Telluride the pick of the bunch.