VALUE
The base Telluride LX has an MSRP of
$32,785. For that you get 18-inch alloy
wheels and a ton of equipment—ranging
from a leather-wrapped steering wheel
to Kia’s 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple
CarPlay and Android-compatible UVO
infotainment system interface and five
USB ports. As mentioned, the price
includes a full suite of active safety
technologies and driver assistance
aids. Plus, there’s room for seven with
second-row captain’s chairs or eight with
the bench seat with a 60/40 split-folding
second row and a reclining third row that
provides ample room for three preteens.
Senior production editor Zach Gale
noted that even the base LX model came
with many of the features, such as the
powered second row, as the range-topping
SX: “What I really like about this SUV is
how much of its experience isn’t tied to
the loaded trim.”
The base Telluride is a terrific value
as a family vehicle, but so is upgrading
to the $42,585 Telluride SX. Standard
equipment includes 20-inch wheels, a
Harman Kardon surround sound audio
system, dual sunroofs, and a 12-way
adjustable driver’s seat with memory.
Add just three key options—all-wheel
drive ($2,000); the towing package
($795), which adds self-leveling rear
suspension; and the SX Prestige
package ($2,000), which includes a
head-up display, heated and ventilated
second-row seats, and the soft Nappa
leather trim—and it’s an impressively
smooth and quiet, lavishly equipped, and
beautifully finished SUV that puts even
ritzy rides like the standard-wheelbase
Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator
on notice. All for $47,380.
Or, as Loh put it: “A handsome SUV,
loaded with the goodies families want
(and want to show off ), for a WTF price.”PERFORMANCE OF INTENDED
FUNCTION
Smartly styled, loaded with standard
equipment, roomy and pleasant to drive,
and, to cap it all, an astonishingly good
value, the 2020 Kia Telluride is one of
the most compelling family SUVs on the
market today. Performance of intended
function? Nailed it.
“It just does everything right,”
features editor Scott Evans said. “It’s
quiet, comfortable, smooth, stylish, and
affordable.”
That’s the real genius of our 2020
SUV of the Year. A great mass-market,
mid-price family SUV like the Telluride is
a very, very hard product to execute. We’ll
posit that it’s harder, in fact, than making
a good luxury SUV—where the price
premium afforded by the badge gives
designers and engineers more spending
headroom on equipment and tech that
improve performance and refinement,
along with perceived quality and luxury.
In an era when consumer behavior
is influenced by an unremitting cycle
of social media show and tell, buyers of
affordable mainstream vehicles want to
feel special. They want to feel they are
getting something with premium levels of
style and quality, features and technology,
and refinement and dynamic capability—
without paying a premium price. And
with the Telluride, Kia has delivered an
SUV that does exactly that. Q2020 Kia Telluride SX V6 AWD
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD
ENGINE TYPE 60-deg V-6, alum block/
heads
VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
DISPLACEMENT 230.6 cu in/3,778cc
COMPRESSION RATIO 13.0:1
POWER (SAE NET) 291 hp @ 6,000 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET) 262 lb-ft @ 5,200 rpm
REDLINE 6,500 rpm
WEIGHT TO POWER 15.3 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic
AXLE/FINAL DRIVE RATIO 3.65:1/2.36:1
SUSPENSION, F; R Struts, coil springs,
anti-roll bar; multilink,
coil springs, anti-roll bar
STEERING RATIO 15.6:1
TURNS LOCK TO LOCK 2.9
BRAKES, F; R 13.4-in vented disc; 12.0-
in disc, ABS
WHEELS 7.5 x 20-in cast aluminum
TIRES 245/50R20 102V M+S
Michelin Primacy Tour A/S
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE 114.2 in
TRACK, F/R 67.2/67.6 in
LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 196.9 x 78.3 x 68.9 in
GROUND CLEARANCE 8.0 in
APPROACH/DEPART ANGLE 17.0/20.9 deg
TURNING CIRCLE 38.8 ft
CURB WEIGHT 4,460 lb
WEIGHT DIST, F/R 56/44%
TOWING CAPACITY 5,000 lb
SEATING CAPACITY 7
HEADROOM, F/M/R 39.5/38.8/37.8 in
LEGROOM, F/M/R 41.4/42.4/31.4 in
SHOULDER ROOM, F/M/R 61.6/59.9/55.3 in
CARGO VOLUME BEH F/M/R 87.0/46.0/21.0 cu ft
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30 2.5 sec
0-40 4.0
0-50 5.3
0-60 7. 2
0-70 9. 3
0-80 11.4
0-90 14.4
PASSING, 45-65 MPH 3.7
QUARTER MILE 15.4 sec @ 90.5 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 126 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.76 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT 28.7 sec @ 0.62 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1,700 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
BASE PRICE $44,585
PRICE AS TESTED $46,910
STABILITY/TRACTION
CONTROL Yes/Yes
AIRBAGS 7: Dual front, front side,
f/r curtain, driver knee
BASIC WARRANTY 5 years/60,000 miles
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 10 years/100,000 miles
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 5 years/60,000 miles
FUEL CAPACITY 18.8 gal
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 19/24/21 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 177/140 kW-hr/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.93 lb/mile
RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded regularJANUARY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 41