I was driving home & passed by a Kia dealership, so I decided to pop in to go for a test drive. Thoughts:
1. They said they had the only Telluride available to test-drive left in the state. Apparently they are selling like crazy & most dealers are price-gouging, both of which are unusual for a Kia. The dealer I stopped at was only selling at MSRP, zero negotiation, with a 4 to 6-week lead time. No custom orders at the time - they could only get what the factory sent them!
2. My only complaint was that the initial acceleration was slow. It had plenty of power after it "woke up", but there was a delay in the accelerator. I didn't remember to put it into sport mode or whatever to see if that resolved the issue. Their 8-speed transmission is plenty smooth, unless like FCA's. 291HP on all models, V6. No real complaints other than it wasn't snappy off the line or when you wanted to punch it. I don't know if that's a comfort-mode thing or a transmission thing. I'll have to check it out again sometime to see if there's a button to push to get better throttle response.
3. Driver's seat felt like I was driving an RV...big, comfortable, relaxing. Easy to drive. Surprisingly way less body roll around corners than I was expecting. It had the same bobsled feeling that the Stinger had...like it was a coffin box for your legs. This felt much wider than the Stinger's driver seat, but still had that left & right-side boxy feeling going on. It did not bother my legs, however (my knees bump in most cars, which is super annoying).
4. Interior space is ridiculous. I'm 6' tall and could fit my fingertip to wrist above my head. The 7-seater had captain's chairs in the middle...I had PLENTY of legroom! The back seats were also functional for adult human beings - I wouldn't want to spend a long drive in them, but my head didn't bump!
5. I would 100% take this over the Honda Pilot or Ford Explorer, no contest. It's a fantastic vehicle.
6. I think it kind of compares with the Tahoe, although it feels more compact for some reason. But much bigger than my wife's Forester. The Forester is pretty zippy & easy to pop in & get around in. The Telluride definitely feels more like a cruiser.
7. All of the seats fold down easily, and fold flat. I LOVE flat! You can get in & out of the back seat SUPER easily because of their motion system. Very smartly designed out. If you have kids, pets, or need to move a lot of people on a regular basis, this is the next best option after a minivan. Side note, I really wish their Sedona minivan was offered in AWD!
8. Their top-end green is SUPER ugly. It looks like metallic baby poop. Not a fan. I also don't like the design of the black rims that go with it at all. I actually don't like most of their rim options very much at all.
9. The front grill is definitely the central focus of the design. It's a very nice-looking SUV overall. The grill works with some colors, but not with others...it worked well on the dark gray model.
10. Overall, I am extremely impressed with it. Kia has a homerun on their hands; they really knocked it out of the park. The price is reasonable for what you get. I like a lot of things more than other competing mid-sized SUV's. If I needed a car that large, this would be the one I would choose!
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