Considering that Kia unveiled the Telluride 3 years ago, it has been one of the most desirable three row crossovers on the current market, combining capability, luxury, type, and price in an desirable package that’s just the appropriate measurement for family members. The factor that has constrained the Telluride most has been its availability in the industry, with Kia proclaiming an regular of 4 days between shipping and revenue at the dealership.
Additionally, Covid-19 production stoppages and supply chain difficulties limited the volume of available cars in the previous two a long time. Despite this, the Telluride has continued to be a prime pick by automotive journalists and shoppers alike.
However, the marketplace can change quickly and makers need to adapt to maintain up. Kia, for its portion, has now taken the covers off the refreshed 2023 Telluride, which is a extremely slight update to its winning package. Is this facelifted Telluride enough to keep it on top of the large crossover segment?
From the exterior, this is plainly a delicate alter: the entrance and rear bumpers have been chiseled by Kia’s layout crew to seem far more upright with far better defined and a lot more built-in specifics. For instance, the front air ingestion down below the grille is now far better integrated into the deal with of the auto. The grille itself has also been a little bit squared off on the edges to give a beefier physical appearance. The Telluride’s headlights have been absolutely updated, shedding the halo effect daytime operating lights and incorporating a extra upright linear theme that seems additional contemporary but has sparked a good deal of criticism from men and women who liked the amber halos of the pre-facelift design.
The taillights have been revised as nicely, showing up extra purposeful and continuing the LED pattern into the tailgate although relocating the reverse lamps to the decreased bumper. Some new colors and new wheel variations have been extra, and the popular Nightfall edition has been replaced by the X-Line trim amount which arrives in a styling-only X-Line version and an X-Pro trim that contains more compact wheels and larger sized all-terrain tires with some other small mechanical updates to make the X-Pro slightly more capable off-highway (just really don’t confuse this included ability with a true body-on-body off-roader).
On the inside, the preceding far more standard dashboard has been replaced by a two-screen setup with 12.3” displays for each the gauge cluster and the infotainment interface. This delivers the Telluride in line with other new Kia styles which involve this dual-screen setup, and tends to make the Telluride’s interior sense really a lot like an Escalade on a spending plan. Further than the sprint, the seating designs are far more rugged for 2023, but very little else definitely improvements on the inside.
From a powertrain perspective, the Telluride stays unchanged with at 3.8L the natural way aspirated V6 furnishing an enough but not abnormal 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. This motor also nets the Telluride an normal gas economy of 23 miles per gallon. Having said that, this is a person of the regions wherever the Telluride is truly starting to demonstrate its age in comparison to the sector. The powertrain is neither highly performant nor really gas productive, meaning that these who have the funds to dismiss swiftly raising gasoline costs could come across it underpowered and these who are additional frugal will come across it exceedingly thirsty.
In comparison to competitors who have entered the market place given that Telluride 1st went on sale, this powertrain just isn’t very aggressive. For illustration, Jeep’s new Grand Cherokee L matches the Telluride in terms of luxurious and has an arguably additional attractive badge, but offers a 5.7L V8 with 357 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque (albeit with a decreased 17mpg average). On the other side of the spectrum, a Toyota Highlander Hybrid could be marginally fewer desirable than a Telluride over-all, but sees a 35mpg common gas economy, which commences to appear incredibly attractive with gasoline charges spiking.
Additionally, Telluride could commence observing additional competitors coming from the growing popularity of full-sizing SUVs, especially the new Toyota Sequoia which offers a more substantial package with much more electrical power and superior gas effectiveness for not a great deal a lot more dollars than a Telluride. Kia does not however have an presenting in this section and I’m confident they will begin to really feel this escalating levels of competition as the Telluride ages.
Finally, Kia requirements to look at competitiveness from inside of its company umbrella, as the 2023 Hyundai Palisade has gone through a much additional considerable redesign and now functions a a lot extra rugged glimpse. Even though the Telluride was without doubt the far more beautiful car or truck right before the redesign, Hyundai could pull a handful of prospective buyers about the fence with the most current Palisade.
Despite these difficulties, the Kia Telluride however has a robust placement in the current market as of these days, and it enjoys the continued momentum of its very good status. The alterations for 2023 do preserve the motor vehicle fresh, but can it maintain on to its crown right until a complete redesign, which is certainly a superior 2 or 3 a long time in the long term? We’ll see, but at the very least for me, I think it’s distinct that Kia will will need to tackle its lackluster powertrain, maybe by including a twin turbo, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid solution, and raise the Telluride’s measurement, or at least supply a extensive wheelbase variation, if it wishes to continue to keep up with shifts in the market. And if Kia receives the approaching EV9 massive electric powered crossover ideal, we could even see a different selection within just the Kia lineup that could steal again some of those people who may be swayed by the current and future level of competition but choose the positive aspects of the all-electric powered E-GMP platform.