The 2021 Kia Telluride earns our Best Car To Buy nod with its excellent features, warranty, space, and style. The Telluride blocks out a distinct place in the crossover SUV realm. With the 2021 Telluride, Kia can tote up to eight passengers, with available all-wheel drive and all the luxury fittings it applies to some of its most expensive sedans. It’s an excellent value even in high-end versions, and brings strong safety scores and a long standard warranty with it. Sold in LX, S, EX, and SX versions, the 2021 Telluride has something for everyone.
Shorter than a Chevy Tahoe but bigger than a Honda Pilot, the 2021 Kia Telluride wears all the right angles. It’s not thematically different from, say, a Mercedes GLS—but it’s all but perfect in the blend of a few upticks and slight curves with what’s essentially a basic two-box design. The details define Kia’s latest and greatest personality to date: the Telluride’s electric-razor grille and its C-shaped headlights and taillights turn an ordinary SUV shape into a crossover with ideal proportions and a smart, sporty stance. The interior matches with well-chosen textures and finishes arranged in horizontal planes, above average in quality at the very least, and quite lush at the Telluride SX level.
The Telluride’s performance stays closer to rivals. A 291-horsepower 3.8-liter V-6 teams with an 8-speed automatic to provide ample but not blazing power, but it’s easily accessed with the well-sorted gearbox. Suspension tuning outpoints rivals like the Pilot; where it thuds over bumps the Telluride ushers them out a side exit, wordlessly. All-wheel drive and all-weather traction are fine, and so is towing, but the Telluride’s gas mileage is just average.
An airy interior seats up to eight in very good comfort in the Telluride. The standard three-person bench in the middle row can be exchanged for a pair of captain’s chairs. Adults will fit in every seat in this crossover SUV, and up to 46 cubic feet of cargo will fit behind the second row of seats, no matter if there are two or three of them.
Kia’s earned top crash-test ratings with the Telluride, and automatic emergency braking is standard; so are blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control. Every Telluride also comes with power features, at least an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and synthetic leather upholstery. At the top of the lineup, the Telluride SX can have all-wheel drive, nappa leather, a 10.3-inch touchscreen, a sunroof, and a blind-spot camera that feeds video to the instrument cluster.
The $33,160 Telluride LX sports standard power features, active safety features, seating for eight, keyless start, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. All-wheel drive costs $2,000. The $35,560 Telluride S gains 20-inch wheels, heated front seats, power driver seat adjustment, and second-row captain’s chairs. Pass it up and spend into the $38,560 Telluride EX, which adds leather upholstery, wireless smartphone charging, a power tailgate, cooled front seats, a 10.3-inch touchscreen, and a sunroof.
For $43,360, the Telluride SX feels like a gateway to luxury with its 20-inch wheels, surround-view camera system, and Harman Kardon audio—and it is, when $2,000 more gets you heated and cooled second-row seats, Nappa leather, a heated steering wheel, and a head-up display. All Telluride crossovers get coverage from a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Kia has come a long way in a short amount of time. Nothing is more evident of that than the 2021 Telluride which has quickly become top dog in its class. With inoffensive bold looks, as much room as some minivans, and topnotch technology with a great value proposition; it’s easy to see how the Telluride is stellar. For those looking to try something new and step out of the current large SUV flock, the 2021 Kia Telluride is definitely worth a look.
