Used 2021 Kia Telluride

Winner: 2021 Best Buy Award
Winner: 2021 Best Resale Value Award
#1 in Best 3-Row Midsize SUVs for 2021

The Kia Telluride debuted just last year, marking the brand’s biggest and most ambitious SUV yet. This 3-row midsize crossover arrived looking to challenge some of the most popular family SUVs around, namely the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Ford Explorer. And Kia clearly did its homework beforehand. Big, bold, and brash yet sophisticated and filled with oodles of technology and safety features – not to mention excellent value – the Kia Telluride quickly proved itself to be the best in class. In its first year out, the Kia Telluride won the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award for its segment, and was also named the overall Best New Model.

Though new to the market, the Kia Telluride basically gets everything right. It comes standard with a potent V6, the latest technology, a full suite of standard active driving-assist and safety features, and among the best cargo and passenger room in its class. The Telluride is also a clear value with a starting price under $32,000.

This Kia family SUV can seat up to eight (or seven with the optional 2nd-row captain’s seats), and has an interior that ranges from impressive to downright luxurious at the upper end. On the outside, the Telluride bucks the trend of softer, more rounded crossovers with a bold and blocky design that conveys strength.

Built in America, designed for the U.S. market and backed by a warranty that includes 10 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain, the 2021 Kia Telluride is among the most recommendable family SUVs money can buy.

We’ve had extensive seat time in the Kia Telluride, driving it first from Colorado to California by way of Moab and Monument Valley, then weeks more of testing for our Best Buy Awards, and finally months longer when one joined our fleet of long-term test vehicles. Long story short: We are highly impressed with this vehicle.

The Kia Telluride is all-day comfortable and has a ride quality that is quiet and makes the miles fly by. Its standard 3.8-liter V6 engine with 291 horsepower rarely feels taxed, and various drive modes – Comfort, Eco, Sport, and Smart – enable you to modify the driving characteristics. We often leave it in Smart, in which the Telluride monitors your driving manners and adjusts as necessary.

All-wheel-drive models have an additional mode for snow, plus a lock feature that optimizes power between the front and rear wheels for optimum traction in off-highway use.

The Telluride’s standard active cruise control does a fine job keeping the gap consistent between it and the vehicle in front. The Highway Driving Assist (HDA) feature on EX and SX trims proved helpful in recognizing posted speed limits and adjusting as necessary.

The view out the 2021 Telluride’s nicely appointed cabin is pleasing, and the suspension tuning does well as blending ride comfort with excellent chassis control. The 8-speed automatic transmission is smooth and well-matched to the V6. Even the engine start/stop system is quite smooth, and can easily be disabled by the driver with the touch of a button.

RELATED: Best 3-Row Midsize SUVs for 2021

All Kia Telluride models have three rows of seating and room for either eight or seven passengers. The latter, 7-passenger setup comes via two captain’s seats in the second row. That arrangement is optional on S and EX models, and standard on the top-line SX trim.

The Telluride has one of the roomiest cabins in its segment. There’s a sense of width inside this big Kia, which is enhanced by a low center console with two prominent grab handles and a large storage area.

Even with its power sunroof, the 2021 Kia Telluride has ample headroom and legroom. A tall person can sit behind a tall driver, no problem. However, like others in this segment, the 3rd-row bench is on the tight side for average-size folks. It’s best suited for people who are about 5-foot-8 or shorter. For the record, the seating in the new Telluride is stadium-style, with each row slightly higher as you go rearward.

The Telluride also excels in cargo room. Folding both rear rows creates 87 cubic feet of cargo room.

Top-line SX models could pass for a luxury SUV costing twice as much with premium Nappa leather upholstery, suede-like headliner, double-stitched dash, and available 2nd-row heated/ventilated seats.

Kia continues to build some of today’s most handsome vehicles, and the Telluride builds on that with a rugged yet elegant design featuring a windshield that’s a bit more upright than is common these days. Kurt Kahl, lead designer of the Telluride, explains: “The first thing you’ll notice is that Telluride is boxy. That’s on purpose. Unlike SUVs of the recent past, which are rounded out to look more and more like sedans and wagons, the Telluride is wide, solid, and firmly planted on the road. It has a long, broad hood, and the widest tiger-nose grille of any Kia, with an elegant chrome finish across the top and bottom to make the grille even more prominent. Bold stacked headlights wrap around the fenders to convey power and stability. The rectangular shape is really distinctive, and the SX model features a ring of orange LEDs [around the headlights] for an even more dramatic look.”

Even a base Telluride rolls on 18-inch wheels, with 20-inchers optional. The new Nightfall Edition that’s optional on EX and SX trims gives the Telluride a darker, more aggressive tone with blacked-out elements. It is also available in an exclusive new color – Wolf Gray.

BLIND-SPOT VIEW MONITOR
This innovation takes blind-spot monitoring to the next level. Rather than just illuminating a light to warn of a vehicle in your blind spot, this displays a real-time video image in the instrument cluster from side-mounted cameras. This lets you literally see where you otherwise wouldn’t. It comes on top-line SX models.

10.25-INCH INFOTAINMENT SCREEN
This large TFT (thin-film transistor) touchscreen, standard on the EX and SX, is as useful as it is handsome in controlling features like the Telluride’s navigation system or Apple CarPlay. Kudos to Kia for also including a row of physical buttons below the screen to make navigating the various systems much easier (and less distracting) while driving.

The 2021 Kia Telluride is available in four trims: LX, S, EX, and SX. Even a base model is quite well equipped, coming standard with Sofino synthetic leather upholstery, rear-passenger air conditioning, keyless entry with push-button start and remote vehicle start, one-touch sliding and folding 2nd-row seats, and 18-inch alloy wheels. The standard infotainment system includes an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and 6-speaker audio system and five USB inputs throughout.

The Telluride has an impressive level of standard safety systems. Included is forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control with stop and go. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert is also included. And like other new Kias, the Telluride has an amazing warranty that includes 10 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain.

While even a base Telluride has generous features, we think an S trim or above is a better choice. The S adds amenities like a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, sunroof, roof rails, and heated front seats.

The EX brings leather upholstery and ventilated front seats, and a power-operated tailgate that can open when you stand behind it with your key. The EX’s Driver Talk in-cabin microphone means you don’t need to turn around and shout at the kids. You also get wireless phone charging, a 10.25-inch touchscreen display, dual-zone climate control, and the Highway Driving Assist system.

The top-line Telluride SX model includes dual sunroofs, 10-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system, the slick Blind Spot View Monitor (see Favorite Features), and surround-view monitor, LED headlights and automatic high beams, and 7-inch digital panel in the instrument cluster. This model can be further upgraded with heated/ventilated 2nd-row seats, a head-up display, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and Nappa leather upholstery.

All-wheel drive is available on all trims, as is a rear-seat entertainment system. A towing package with self-leveling rear suspension and hitch is offered on EX and SX trims.

The sole powerplant offered in the Telluride is a 3.8-liter V6 mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The direct-injected aluminum-block engine produces 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque on regular unleaded gasoline. While shift paddles would have been nice to help us use the transmission to slow the Telluride on long downhills, you can slide the shift lever to the left and use it to downshift manually. The front-wheel-drive (FWD) Telluride is rated by the EPA at 20-mpg city/26-mpg highway/23-mpg combined. With all-wheel drive (AWD), the Telluride slips slightly, to 19-mpg city/24-mpg highway/21-mpg combined. Given the Telluride’s 18.8-gallon fuel tank, owners can expect to go about 400 miles between fill-ups, further solidifying its credential as a great road-trip vehicle.

3.8-liter V6
291 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
262 lb-ft of torque @ 5,200 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 20/26 mpg (FWD), 19/24 mpg (AWD)