We love a good quarter-mile time, impressive skidpad g’s, and the visceral thrill of a rev-matched downshift. But we also know that most people, most of the time, are just inching along in the dropoff line at school or slogging from stoplight to stoplight in a never-ending series of errands. As today’s family car of choice, three-row SUVs are sentenced to live out much of their days doing just this kind of duty, along with road trips, car pools, and the occasional crosstown move. It can be grindingly mundane, but as the Kia Telluride proves, your three-row SUV doesn’t have to be.
While the Telluride isn’t likely to find itself uncoiling the Tail of the Dragon, its degree of polish, well-considered design, level of equipment, and just plain niceness elevate the everyday. Its 291-hp 3.8-liter V-6 murmurs contentedly from beyond the firewall, the engine’s linear response combining with the eight-speed automatic’s demure gearchanges to provide effortless thrust. Its composed chassis is expertly tuned to the task at hand. And if you care to live some of that SUV dream life, the Telluride acquits itself capably off-road—more so this year with the arrival of standard hill-descent control and slightly higher ground clearance for the X-Line and X-Pro trims.
When we had a 2020 Telluride for a 40,000-mile test, we said, “Kia has built a Range Rover for the middle class.” We don’t just mean in terms of exterior style, interior execution, or an arm-long list of features, although the Telluride excels in all of those areas. We mean that the Telluride overall is really a class above. That’s how this Kia grabbed our attention despite being mired in what should be a forgettable field—and it’s what has earned the Telluride a remarkable fourth-straight 10Best win.
The Telluride’s runaway sales success (and buyers’ demonstrated willingness to pay egregious dealer markups) has given Kia the green light to raise prices, and it has. As a result, the Telluride is no longer the screaming bargain it was when it first appeared. But it still strikes us as a good value. It’s just that now the secret is out.
