Update: Read our First Review of the 2020 Kia Telluride
Telluride’s a quaint little ski town nestled high in the Colorado Rockies. In early days, long before skiers, cowboys riding into the rugged box canyon where it’s located were often warned by the locals: “To hell you ride!” Hence, “Telluride” stuck as the name for the gold mining town that arose in the 1870s. It’s also the long 9-letter name that Kia has plastered across the hood of a new 3-row crossover SUV that just went on sale as a 2020 model.
More significant, I recently had the chance to drive the new 2020 Kia Telluride from Colorado to California, by way of Moab, Monument Valley and the Mojave National Preserve. Long story short, during this 1,109-mile 4-day road trip across the Great American West, my wife Patty and I were as impressed by the new Telluride as we were the epic scenery.
Leaving Colorado
Our trip began inauspiciously. When we picked up the 2020 Telluride — an SX model looking sharp in its Dark Moss paint and 20-inch black wheels — at the Gateway Resort in Colorado, its fuel tank was nearly empty. Its indicated range was only 38 miles, but the nearest gasoline, in Grand Junction (just “Junction” to the locals), was 45 miles away. Fortunately, the security crew there put a few gallons of their private reserve into the Telluride for us, allowing Patty and me to get on our way.
Highway 141 toward Grand Junction proved strikingly beautiful, following a creek northeast through dramatic red rock country and past several idyllic ranches. On this twisty road under threatening skies, the Telluride impressed. It was a comfortable and quiet shelter from the chilling temps (and occasional snow flurry), its 8-speed automatic shifted smoothly, and our mobility was assured by its on-demand all-wheel-drive system. Moreover, the upright windshield and generous side glass made it easy for us to admire the towering rock formations. If we’d had rear passengers, they would have enjoyed looking up through the large fixed glass panel of the rear sunroof, further underscoring this big new Kia’s credentials as a fantastic road-trip machine. Finally, late that afternoon, we pulled into Grand Junction for snacks and fuel.
Into Utah
Although we were a couple hours behind schedule, we still wanted to reach our hotel — along the Colorado river in a remote part of Utah — before dark. This meant hustling the Telluride — a super well-equipped all-wheel-drive SX model with a price of about $47,000 — west along Interstate 70 in Utah, where this big Kia SUV easily maintained the posted 80-mph speed limit. Wind noise was low, and at that speed the 291-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 was running at a relaxed 2,000 rpm. On these highway stints, the Kia’s blind-spot monitor was especially helpful because drivers tended to hang off our rear flanks, presumably to get a better look at this big new Telluride that they had never seen before.
Despite our best efforts, it was dark by the time we pulled off the freeway to head south on 128 to our hotel. We were basically alone on this 2-lane state highway, but this was open-range country, which meant cattle roamed freely in the area, without fences. Wisely, we kept our speeds in check.
A few miles north of the Colorado River, in total darkness (no street lighting out here), I caught a quick flash of light in the distance, dead center, maybe 125 yards ahead. As I braked fairly hard, an image came into clear focus: a large black steer standing right in the middle of the road. Although we didn’t come that close to hitting the bewildered bovine, we pondered what might have happened if the Telluride’s bright LED headlights hadn’t reflected in its eyes. The steer, for its part, moseyed off as we crept past, unbothered by it all.
We arrived at the Red Cliffs Lodge at about 9 that night, pleased to see the restaurant was still serving. The hot soup, with warm bread and a cold beer, couldn’t have been tastier.
In the morning, Patty and I relaxed over a buffet breakfast and soaked up the magnificent view of the Colorado, which looked right out of a Western movie. In fact, it was right out of a Western. Several of them had been filmed on that very spot, and the little downstairs museum did a fabulous job of capturing the many films made in the greater Moab area. They even had the mannequin that doubled for Thelma (or was it Louise?) that went flying off the cliff in the 1966 Ford Thunderbird. Frankly, the doll looked a bit creepy and remarkably unrealistic inside its glass display, right around the corner from another odd sight: a stuffed albino coyote.
Dead Horse State Park
That final scene of Thelma & Louise soaring off the cliff in the T-Bird was shot at nearby Dead Horse Point State Park, so we thought it might be fun to check it out instead of the more popular Arches National Park. After stopping at the visitor’s center and then soaking up the view of the Colorado winding its way through the canyonlands desert far below us, we headed south on Highway 191 through Moab toward Monument Valley.
That long drive gave us ample opportunity to listen to a playlist of songs I had loaded onto a USB stick, as well as catch up with some podcasts Patty had on her iPhone. Playing both types of media on the Telluride’s 630-watt Harman Kardon Surround Sound Audio system proved simple, and the sound from the 12 speakers was full, crisp and clear. Also, the Telluride’s front bucket seats, covered in optional quilted Nappa leather, proved to be all-day comfortable. While I fiddled a bit with the power lumbar support, it was driven by curiosity, not discomfort.
While the standard active cruise control did a fine job of keeping the gap consistent to the vehicle in front of us, we also enjoyed experimenting with the Telluride SX’s Highway Driving Assist (HDA). Via subtle automatic steering inputs, HDA kept the Kia following the path of the meandering highway, as long as there were clearly marked lines on both sides. After about a minute of slight nervousness (on our part), the Telluride would then remind us to put our hands back on its leather-wrapped steering wheel. Other times, after a long stint behind the wheel, it would politely suggest we take a break from driving. Also, let it be known that polarized sunglasses, such as my Bolles, made it impossible to see the Telluride’s optional head-up display (HUD).
Into Monument Valley
Just past Bluff, Utah, we headed west on 163, through Mexican Hat, and then down into Monument Valley, which is on Navajo land in southern Utah and northern Arizona. We turned off at Monument Valley Road and hit the Navajo Tribal Visitor Center, where we paid a $20 entry fee that gave us access to the network of red dirt roads that wend their way through a spectacular valley filled with towering buttes and other rock formations that are so real they look fake, like background props from a Western. Truth is, that’s exactly what Monument Valley is, a backdrop for countless Western movies, none perhaps more famous than The Searchers, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne.
Only a few minutes into our unguided valley tour, we stopped at John Ford Point, a magnificent overlook favored by the famous director. Patty and I just stood there and circled, marveling at the sheer beauty of the place, then we chowed down on some tasty Indian fry bread, dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Although we sat at a humble little plastic table, never before had we eaten in a restaurant with such spectacular atmosphere. Not far away, a young Navajo named Jay was on the most scenic point, conducting a brisk business by having visitors get their photograph taken on Spirit, his beautiful buckskin horse.
As we continued our driving tour, towering sandstone buttes appeared after towering sandstone buttes, each with its own appeal, but we were most taken by the glorious panorama that appeared before us at Artist’s Point. The colors of the earth (ever changing in the light) were absolutely spectacular, and the 3-dimensional appearance made Patty and I feel like we were in the middle of some old Western diorama, perhaps in an exhibit at Knott’s Berry Farm’s old Calico Ghost Town. But it was real!
The Telluride, for its part, negotiated with ease the red dirt roads of Monument Valley, which were groomed, hard-packed and thankfully dry, because if the roads are wet from rains they generally are closed to the public. Traction, therefore, was nary a concern, and in the few instances in which we had to cross a small berm or drive though a dip, the extra ground clearance of the Kia was appreciated. At no point did the Telluride’s underbody ever scrape; nor did it ever need all-wheel drive (although it certainly was reassuring to have).
Arizona and Vegas
After soaking up the valley for a few hours and admiring some wild horses grazing by the side of the road as we left the place, we headed south to Kayenta for some fuel and then north on Highway 98 to Page, Arizona. We overnighted in Page, a little town formed in the late 1950s when the folks building the Glen Canyon dam, forming Lake Powell, needed a place to live. Fun fact: It took 17 years (!) for Lake Powell, which is 186 miles long, to be filled by the Colorado River after the dam was completed.
While our trip to Las Vegas — which involved checking out the dam from the spectacular Glen Canyon Overlook and a picnic lunch in Hurricane, Utah — took much less time, it still lasted most of one day. Enough time, in fact, for us to get through all 10 episodes of the deeply harrowing Dr. Death podcast.
As we pulled into Vegas late that afternoon, we took a ceremonial drive up the Strip. Would the Telluride get any attention? It certainly did. People stared at it. Folks on the sidewalk pointed when they saw it go by. While some of the attention undoubtedly stemmed from the SX’s rim of orange-colored LED daytime running lights surrounding the Telluride’s headlights, the boxy lines and bold black wheels of the big new Kia SUV also draw plenty of admiring glances.
For Patty’s birthday dinner that night, we continued the Western theme of our Telluride trip and hit Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House, a place north of town that’s famous for its mesquite-grilled steaks. Patty, a big fan of the Duke, appreciated all the John Wayne memorabilia, plus the dozens of original old Western movie posters on the walls of the place, which had a throwback ranch-house feel. It was like stepping back into 1955, and the ribeyes did not disappoint.
Into California
On Monday it was back to Southern California. Like everybody else headed to Orange County or Los Angeles after a weekend, we took I-15 south. But rather than going straight to Barstow on the 15, we took Cima Road for a beautiful trip through the Mojave National Preserve, which was green from rain and features the largest forest of Joshua trees in the world. Visitors must stay on recognized roads in the preserve, but the sandy ones we found there were no challenge for the Telluride, whose AWD system automatically sends power to the wheels that need it most. Even with it kept in Eco mode for most of the time (which means no more than 35 percent of the engine’s power can be sent to the rear wheels), the Telluride plugged along on the sandy roads with minimal concern.
Following a lunch at the Del Taco in Barstow (the best Del Taco in the world; a place where you can still get a Bun Taco), we pulled into the driveway of our home about 4:00 that afternoon. Usually, after a 300-mile day, we’d be exhausted at that point, not wanting to do much at all, especially unpack. But in this instance, after a full day in the quiet and comfortable new 2020 Kia Telluride, we felt fresh, as if we had just driven in from across town.
Comfortable Cruiser
That says something about this comfortable new Kia, which is built in Georgia alongside the Optima sedan and smaller Sorento SUV. While it’s true that any number of large 3-row crossover SUVs could have completed this road trip across the American Southwest, few would do so with the panache, refinement, comfort, quietness and interior room of the 2020 Kia Telluride, which has a fantastic 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and makes long drives seem much shorter than they really are. For reasons like these, the 2020 Kia Telluride shines as a road-trip machine.
RELATED: 2020 Kia Telluride long-term ownership review
We were also impressed with the Telluride’s fuel efficiency. On long highway stints, we regularly saw 25 mpg. And in the mixed city/highway driving of our 4-day, 1,109-mile adventure, the big new Kia SUV averaged about 20 mpg, not bad for a 7- or 8-seat vehicle with a tow rating of 5,000 pounds. While you’re not going to fit eight people and all their gear inside the new Kia Telluride, you can fit a couple of suitcases and some small handbags in the compact (21 cubic-foot) area behind the third row.
That understood, we feel the new 2020 Kia Telluride is best appreciated with its first two rows dedicated to seating people and the 60/40 split third-row seat folded flat, creating a huge 46-cubic-foot cargo well that can carry all your luggage or adventure gear.
Ready to buy a Kia Telluride? See what’s in stock at a dealership near you!
