Is the 2023 Kia Telluride Still Top of the Heap?

Considering the fact that Kia unveiled the Telluride 3 many years back, it has been one of the most attractive 3 row crossovers on the current market, combining capacity, luxurious, design and style, and benefit in an attractive package that’s just the ideal dimensions for family members. The factor that has restricted the Telluride most has been its availability in the market, with Kia boasting an common of 4 times amongst delivery and sales at the dealership.

Also, Covid-19 production stoppages and provide chain difficulties limited the quantity of available cars in the previous two years. Despite this, the Telluride has ongoing to be a best pick by automotive journalists and people alike.

Having said that, the marketplace can change quickly and makers need to have to adapt to keep up. Kia, for its part, has now taken the covers off the refreshed 2023 Telluride, which is a extremely slight update to its successful package deal. Is this facelifted Telluride sufficient to keep it on top of the large crossover segment?

From the outside the house, this is evidently a refined change: the front and rear bumpers have been chiseled by Kia’s design and style staff to look extra upright with better outlined and more built-in information. For instance, the front air intake underneath the grille is now better incorporated into the encounter of the motor vehicle. The grille alone has also been marginally squared off on the edges to give a beefier visual appearance. The Telluride’s headlights have been thoroughly up to date, getting rid of the halo result daytime jogging lights and introducing a much more upright linear topic that seems much more present day but has sparked a ton of criticism from folks who cherished the amber halos of the pre-facelift design.

The taillights have been revised as properly, showing additional purposeful and continuing the LED pattern into the tailgate while transferring the reverse lamps to the reduce bumper. Some new colours and new wheel models have been extra, and the common Dusk edition has been changed by the X-Line trim level which arrives in a styling-only X-Line variation and an X-Professional trim that incorporates smaller wheels and larger sized all-terrain tires with some other modest mechanical updates to make the X-Pro marginally more able off-road (just don’t confuse this included capability with a correct physique-on-frame off-roader).

On the inside of, the preceding more regular dashboard has been replaced by a two-display screen setup with 12.3” displays for both equally the gauge cluster and the infotainment interface. This delivers the Telluride in line with other new Kia products which consist of this dual-screen setup, and would make the Telluride’s interior sense extremely substantially like an Escalade on a finances. Beyond the dash, the seating designs are more rugged for 2023, but absolutely nothing else really alterations on the within.

From a powertrain point of view, the Telluride continues to be unchanged with at 3.8L by natural means aspirated V6 furnishing an enough but not extreme 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. This engine also nets the Telluride an regular gas economic system of 23 miles per gallon. Even so, this is a person of the spots the place the Telluride is definitely starting to show its age in comparison to the sector. The powertrain is neither highly performant nor very gasoline successful, meaning that people who have the dollars to overlook rapidly elevating gasoline rates may well find it underpowered and individuals who are far more frugal will discover it exceedingly thirsty.

In comparison to opponents who have entered the industry considering the fact that Telluride 1st went on sale, this powertrain just is not pretty competitive. For instance, Jeep’s new Grand Cherokee L matches the Telluride in phrases 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 lessen 17mpg common). On the other side of the spectrum, a Toyota Highlander Hybrid may perhaps be slightly considerably less fascinating than a Telluride overall, but sees a 35mpg common gasoline financial state, which commences to seem incredibly appealing with fuel prices spiking.

Furthermore, Telluride could begin viewing far more competition coming from the growing popularity of full-sizing SUVs, particularly the new Toyota Sequoia which provides a bigger package deal with additional electrical power and greater fuel performance for not a great deal much more money than a Telluride. Kia does not however have an presenting in this phase and I’m confident they will start off to come to feel this escalating opposition as the Telluride ages.

Lastly, Kia requires to take into account levels of competition from inside its company umbrella, as the 2023 Hyundai Palisade has undergone a significantly much more substantial redesign and now functions a considerably far more rugged glance. Though the Telluride was certainly the additional interesting car or truck just before the redesign, Hyundai could pull a couple of buyers more than the fence with the most recent Palisade.

Regardless of these difficulties, the Kia Telluride nevertheless has a strong placement in the marketplace as of these days, and it enjoys the ongoing momentum of its excellent track record. The adjustments for 2023 do continue to keep the auto fresh, but can it hold on to its crown till a entire redesign, which is absolutely a very good 2 or 3 years in the upcoming? We’ll see, but at minimum for me, I assume it’s distinct that Kia will require to deal with its lackluster powertrain, most likely by including a twin turbo, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid selection, and raise the Telluride’s dimensions, or at least offer you a extended wheelbase variation, if it wants to preserve up with shifts in the industry. And if Kia receives the approaching EV9 substantial electrical crossover ideal, we might even see a different alternative in the Kia lineup that could steal back again some of people who may be swayed by the recent and upcoming competitiveness but prefer the advantages of the all-electric E-GMP platform.