Kia Telluride gets tougher
Kia’s answer to the Toyota Prado gets rugged new variants with improved towing and off-road capabilityThe facelifted 2023 Kia Telluride has broken cover at the 2022 New York motor show, exposing a tough new look and adventurous new X-Line and X-Pro model grades with improved ground clearances.
Improvements to the Toyota Prado-rivalling large SUV’s intelligent safety systems and infotainment technologies are also part of the MY23 upgrade for the US-focussed model named after a town in Colorado.
However, unlike its Hyundai Palisade sister model (a facelifted version of which was also revealed overnight in New York), the Kia Telluride remains off-limits to Australians because it’s not built in right-hand drive.
The 2023 Kia Telluride is the Korean brand’s biggest and most expensive SUV in the US – for now – and introduces a bolder new look via resculpted, vertically-stacked front LED headlight clusters and new LED tail-lights on reprofiled front and rear bumpers.
The exterior changes are not dramatic, but there are three new colour options, redesigned alloy wheels and the two new ‘X’ model grades.
Other upgrades to the facelifted 2023 Kia Telluride include the fitment of a larger 12.3-inch central touch-screen paired with another 12.3-inch digital display for the instrument cluster, integrated into a ‘curved-screen’ layout.
A larger 10-inch head-up display is also available.
Digital Key functionality allows owners to use Samsung or Apple smartphones to unlock and start the eight-seat, three-row SUV, while a new steering wheel and revised dashboard with fresh air-vents are also part of the facelift.
Along with the usual semi-autonomous driving features that help accelerate, brake and steer the big Kia, two new safety assistants have been added. Intelligent Speed Limit Assist uses speed sign recognition to alert and even limit the cruise control, while Junction Turning Assistant can hit the anchors if it detects a car when the driver doesn’t while turning at intersections.
The US Telluride’s single powertrain offering is unchanged, meaning the ageing 3.8-litre petrol V6 soldiers on, pumping out the same 217kW and 355Nm through an eight-speed automatic transmission – as per the Hyundai Palisade, which also offers diesel power in Australia.
Front- all-wheel drive layouts are available, the latter using an electro-hydraulic AWD coupling and multi-plate clutch to split power between the front and rear wheels (up to 50 per cent).
Kia Telluride X-Line and X-Pro models
The new Kia Telluride X-Line features a unique grille, bridge-type roof rails, X-Line badges and unique 20-inch alloy wheels, along with the 10mm higher ride height delivering slightly improved approach and departure angles for better off-road capability.
Traction control software has been tweaked to improve off-road performance and towing, the latter via a new sway control function and tweaks the eight-speed transmission’s shifting software.
Interior upgrades are minimal, including only X-Line embossed seats.
The new Kia Telluride X-Pro, meantime, is fitted with everything listed above but also scores unique 18-inch black wheels shod with Continental all-terrain tyres – a crucial upgrade for heading bush.
The vehicle’s towing capacity is also increased by roughly 225kg to just under 2500kg, and the Telluride X-Pro also scores a 110-volt inverter outlet in the boot.
Both new X models are fitted as standard with AWD.
The Kia Telluride was named 2020 World Car of the Year but is currently manufactured only in left-hand drive in the US for North American markets and therefore isn’t on the menu for RHD markets like Australia.
This is despite Kia Australia previously indicating its desire for the vehicle, which would give it an eight-seat large SUV to slot above Kia Sorento and, crucially, a more direct rival for the country’s best-selling large SUV, the Toyota Prado.
Kia Australia’s chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, previously stated the brand needs more SUVs, saying: “We need one or two more bigger ones”.
Although the Telluride will not be offered Down Under, a new ladder-chassis SUV model to directly rival the Prado is more likely to become available from Kia Australia, and it could be based on the same platform as the Korean brand’s upcoming ute.
Related: Kia upgrades its answer to the Toyota Prado
Related: First Kia ute will be available with pure electric power
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