- Spacious interior
- Well-equipped
- Class-leading warranties
- Strong resale values
- Pricing starts at $35,990 (plus $1,365 destination) | Price yours
- On sale now | See listings near you
We’re incredibly consistent. So is the Kia Telluride. This is the fifth year in a row it’s won our 3-Row Midsize SUV Best Buy Award. And the Telluride has been in existence for five years. There are several great contenders in this class, and we had long conversations exploring all their various virtues. But we couldn’t get away from the obvious and logical conclusion — the Telluride is too good to be toppled.
It does everything a midsize SUV has to do, and does it well. Factor in all the features for the price, and the Telluride looks even more attractive. Speaking for ourselves a moment, we like the chunky/cool styling, and we really like driving it. So does everyone else, it seems. Demand remains high, both for new examples and used models, keeping the resale values robust.
The Telluride remains our top midsize SUV recommendation.
Exemplary Interior
This is where the 2024 Telluride delights. In its basic form, this 3-row midsize SUV has seating for eight. And yes, a couple of adults can fit in the third row, as long as they’re not on the basketball team.
The base trim, LX, is far from basic. It comes with a dual-display setup with driver information and the infotainment touchscreen set into one unit that dominates the dashboard — the kind of thing found in Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles.
Higher trims bring a pair of captain’s chairs into the second row, reducing the occupant count to seven, but raising comfort levels while making access to the third row a little easier. Each row is a little higher than the one in front, an arrangement called “stadium seating.” This adds to the open feeling of the Telluride’s cabin.
If the Kia badge were removed from the steering wheel and replaced with a luxury vehicle logo, no one would think twice about it. That’s how upmarket both the design and the materials are.
At the higher trim levels, the Telluride brings truly premium features like fine Nappa leather seating surfaces, ambient cabin lighting, and a Harman Kardon surround-sound system (also found in many BMWs).
Since we’re singing the praises of the 2024 Telluride lineup as a whole, though, there are a couple of standard features that illustrate how good it is as a family vehicle. Driver Talk pipes the driver’s voice through the speakers, so even those in the third row can hear it. And the audio system’s Quiet Mode uses just the front speakers when the little bundles of joy in the back are napping.
Top Tech
The standard navigation system has a Connected Routing function. It plans routes with traffic information factored in. A digital key enables access through a smartphone or smartwatch. Every version has at least five USB ports. And a rear-seat entertainment system is on the options list.
Practical Examination
Let’s not forget the utility part of a sport utility vehicle, or SUV. As well as plenty of headroom and legroom for all occupants, the 2024 Telluride has a luggage area behind the third row of 21 cubic feet. That’s about the size of a 2-door refrigerator.
Fold down the second and third rows to reveal 87 cubic feet. Those trips to IKEA might even start to feel like fun. From the SX trim and up, the smart-powered tailgate has hands-free opening and automatic closing.
Playing it Safe
Every new Telluride SUV comes with a comprehensive array of standard driver assistance systems like forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian/cyclist detection, plus blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and rear parking sensors. Junction turning assistance is especially useful when waiting to turn left at an intersection and oncoming traffic is difficult to see.
If circumstances spiral beyond the control of person and machine, it’s reassuring to know that the Telluride has been given a maximum 5-Star overall score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and named a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) after going through crash tests.
V is for Vroom
A midsize 3-row SUV full of people and their stuff needs a good engine. The 2024 Telluride definitely has one of those. It’s a refined 3.8-liter V6 developing 291 horsepower — muscular enough for any road trip.
Kia offers an unsurpassed powertrain warranty of 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever happens first. The new-vehicle warranty is also one of the best: five years or 60,000 miles.
The Telluride X-Pro version can tow up to 5,500 pounds. The rest of the range can handle 5,000 pounds, which is where most rivals are at.
Xtra Rugged
The X-Line and X-Pro variants both ride on the wilder side of midsize family SUVs. They come with all-wheel drive as standard, featuring Snow and AWD Lock modes for slippery surfaces, plus slightly higher ground clearance than the rest of the range. The X-Line also wears all-terrain tires on its 18-inch alloy wheels.
Dollars and Sense
Starting with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $35,990, the 2024 Telluride also happens to be among the best values in the segment. And with strong resale values having a beneficial effect on overall ownership costs, it also looks good in the bigger picture. That’s why we’ve made the Kia Telluride 3-row midsize SUV a Best Buy. Yet again.
Photo Tour: 2024 Kia Telluride
More 2024 Kia Telluride
- Read our full review
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Our 2024 Best Buy Award Winners
- Best New Model: 2024 Toyota Prius
- Best Subcompact SUV: 2024 Hyundai Kona
- Best Compact SUV: 2024 Honda CR-V
- Best Full-Size SUV: 2024 Ford Expedition
- Best 3-Row EV: 2024 Kia EV9
- Best Electric Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5
- Best Compact Car: 2024 Honda Civic
- Best Midsize Car: 2024 Honda Accord
- Best Minivan: 2024 Toyota Sienna
- Best Compact Truck: 2024 Ford Maverick
- Best Midsize Truck: 2024 Toyota Tacoma
- Best Full-Size Truck: 2024 Ford F-150
- Best Electric Truck: 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning
- 2024 Best Buy Awards Home
