DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: New Kia SUV dwarfs LandCruiser
Massive, plug-in hybrid, seven-seat SUV concept takes Kia upmarket, but will it be sold here?Kia’s evolution from an affordable car brand into a full-line, completely credible mainstream front-runner looks complete with the debut of the Telluride, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV.
Stacked with technology including everything from cutting-edge multimedia to three-dimensional printing systems, the Telluride provides a strong hint that Kia is set to deliver a full-size SUV for the second time.
However, there's no confirmation the SUV will reach production or if it will be built in right-hand drive, but if it does reach showrooms it's likely to be a belated successor for the large Borrego/Mohave SUV produced only in left-hand drive.
“While there are currently no plans to bring the Telluride to production, Kia has a history of delivering production vehicles that bear strong resemblance to preceding concepts, and Kia’s large SUV is anything but a utopian fantasy," says the company.
The Telluride is a plug-in hybrid that’s also pitched as being more luxurious than Kia’s largest current production SUV. Kia hopes the concept -- a three-row seven-seater with suicide rear doors that open to 90 degrees -- will prove that it is serious about moving further upmarket.
And it’s a legitimate large SUV. At 1801mm tall, 2001cm wide and 5001mm long, the Telluride is 112mm taller, 119mm wider and 241mm longer than the Sorento and is bigger in all dimensions except height than Toyota’s current LandCruiser.
The 3081mm wheelbase is 302mm longer than the Sorento and a significant 231mm longer than the LandCruiser.
“The Kia Telluride makes an aesthetic statement for the Kia brand as a bold, all-new luxury SUV with an abundance of advanced technology, focusing particular attention on the experience and comfort of second-row occupants,” said Kia Design Center America chief designer Tom Kearns.
There are two seats in the second row, while the third row of seats folds into the floor. Second-row passengers, in business-class style, sink into reclining black leather captain’s chairs while resting their legs on fold-out footrests. These cosseted occupants can then use a swipe command in the centre console that enables selection and playing of various media.
But the big innovation, according to Kia, is the system that reads passengers’ “vital health information” and displays this on door panel screens for synchronisation with a “Light Emitted Rejuvenation” system that – get this – “utilises a massive, wing-shaped LED panel mounted beneath the oversized sunroof that displays a pattern of therapeutic light to treat desynchronosis (jetlag) and improve the passengers’ energy levels.”
So if you’re feeling a little seedy, or have just stepped off an international flight, a ride in the Kia Telluride will theoretically have you feeling better in no time.
Kia avoided being specific about the powertrain of the Telluride, but the all-wheel drive SUV pairs a transverse 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack.
While Kia isn’t confirming a new body language from the design, there are strong hints of Rolls-Royce about the SUV’s headlight treatment, while the grille is imposingly large.
It manages to carry its enormous length well, hiding its size at least under motor show lights. It’s boxy and unashamedly muscular, standing tall and imposing in a manner quite unlike any past or present Kia.
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