The Kia Telluride is one of the most competitive products of the mid-size SUV segment and has been a favorite amongst American buyers ever since it came out in 2020. The imposing exterior design which contributes to the road presence, a sophisticated interior that is also one of the roomiest of the lot, and a long list of standard features made it stand out from the other bland offerings of the segment.
With the launch of the 2022 Kia Telluride, which is available for a starting price of $33,090, it manages to implement a few subtle changes in the form of a slightly updated exterior design, more standard features including a 10.3" touchscreen infotainment system even to the lower trims, and updates to the safety and driver-assistance tech. All the optional features and packages remain unchanged. Competing with the Hyundai Palisade, Chevrolet Traverse, and Ford Explorer, here are 10 things you need to know before getting the 2022 Kia Telluride.
10 Comes With A Punchy Powertrain
The 2022 Kia Telluride comes with the same 3.8-liter naturally aspirated V6 motor, producing 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. This is the same motor that is found in the Hyundai Palisade, and it is known for its bullet-proof reliability and excellent mid-range torque. The motor comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and FWD as standard.
Even though it is not going to light the racetracks on fire, the powertrain configuration is not going to disappoint any owners. The torque band is well spread out, and the automatic transmission makes sure that the car is always in the powerband. The shifts are fast and smooth, and the Telluride performs great on the highways. However, due to the lack of a turbocharger, the low-end acceleration is not the best of the segment.
9 Spacious Cabin Is Retained
With no major changes to the interior apart from the inclusion of a few more standard features, the 2022 Telluride retains the spacious cabin of the outgoing model. Manufactured on the same platform as the Hyundai Palisade, both of them come with unmatched cabin and cargo space, making it one of the best-selling offerings of the mid-size SUV segment.
The front and second-row seat occupants are going to be impressed by the top-notch headroom and legroom. You could also opt for the optional captains' chair for the second row, making the traveling experience even better. Unlike many other rivals, the third row could be occupied by the adults, even though the under-thigh support is not the best. The cargo capacity of 21 cu ft is the second-highest of the lot, too, coming after the Chevrolet Traverse.
8 Gets Many Standard Features
The 2022 Kia Telluride can be had in four trim configurations and what makes it an impressive proposition is due to the unmatched features list it comes with, even for the base LX trim. The LX trim, which comes at an MSRP of $33,090, offers a whole lot of features including a 10.25" touchscreen infotainment system, a 6-speaker audio system, dual-zone automatic climate control, and all the driver-assistance features as standard.
Go higher up the trim ladder and the Telluride feels much superior to the slightly bland and more expensive offerings like the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander. The top of the line SX trim of the Telluride comes with many flashy features like 20" alloy wheels, Harman Kardon audio system, heated and powered seats, memory seats, panoramic sunroof, and many more as standard.
7 Excellent Braking Performance
Like any Kia's out there, the braking performance has nothing to complain about. Stomp on the brake pedal from any given speed, and the 13.4" front rotors and 12" rear rotors do a wonderful job in shedding the speed. The ventilated front rotors mean that the heat is dissipated with ease as well.
The braking features like ABS, EBD, electronic parking brakes, brake assist, hill hold control, etc are standard too. All of these does help the 2022 Kia Telluride to give out a 60-0 mph braking distance of just 120 feet, which is well below the distance done by the Honda Pilot and Chevrolet Traverse
6 Not A Drivers' Car
The 2022 Kia Telluride is not going to excite any drivers with its cheerful nature. Take this SUV around a winding round and the driver is not going to be excited about its vague handling and driving dynamics, which are pretty in line with the rest of the rivals of the segment.
Even though the car doesn't have excessive body roll around corners, it does manage to understeer quite a lot when taking corners at higher speeds. Due to the weight concentrated to the front and being an FWD offering, the grip levels are not the best either. However, the optional AWD would partially solve it. Nevertheless, the steering feels well-calibrated and offers a decent feel and feedback, too.
5 Mediocre Gas Mileage
Fuel efficiency is one aspect where the 2022 Kia Telluride performs a bit poorly. Even with a base curb weight of 4,112 lbs, which turned out to be lower than most of the rivals, the gas mileage didn't turn out to be as good as expected. The naturally aspirated V6 motor and the tuning of transmission have to be blamed for the lower fuel efficiency.
If you go with the FWD variant of the 2022 Kia Telluride, it would give out a city gas mileage of 20 mpg and a highway gas mileage of 26 mpg, with combined gas mileage of 23 mpg. With an 18.8-gallon fuel tank capacity, the car could do close to 489 miles on the highway with a tank full. However, if you get the AWD variant, the fuel efficiency is going to drop even further.
4 Excellent Safety Features
Coming with all the bells and whistles in terms of driver-assistance features, including the forward collision warning, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring, even the base trim of the 2022 Kia Telluride turned out to be a safe proposition. All the basic safety features come as standard too.
Like with the earlier iterations of this mid-size SUV, we were more than impressed with the top-notch build quality. Most of the exterior panels are constructed of high-tensile steel and aluminum, and the car feels solidly put together. This helped the car to get an overall crash safety rating of 5-stars in the NHTSA crash test and the top safety pick title from the IIHS.
3 Infotainment Sees No Changes
This 2022 iteration comes with a 10.3" touchscreen infotainment system, and this is now even offered with the base LX and S trims. The infotainment turned out to be very fluid and has no major stutters or lags to report. We were also impressed with the excellent display quality and touch sensitivity, making it very easy to use.
Being a Kia, it comes loaded with all the required features like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM radio, navigation, voice recognition, wi-fi hotspot connectivity, Bluetooth, and many more. The 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is superb too, and the passengers are going to have a great time during those long road trips.
2 Ride Quality Is Decent
With the suspension tuned to the slightly softer setting, the ride quality of the 2022 Kia Telluride turned out to be superb, irrespective of the road condition and speeds that you do. Take the car through the broken city roads, and you would be surprised by how well the suspension system damps everything with ease. Even the worst of the potholes are filtered out very well.
While driving the car at freeway speeds, the independent front and rear suspension system makes sure that the vertical movement remains well under control. When met with a massive undulation or potholes at speeds above 60 mph, the car never gets unsettled. The body roll is not too high and could be only felt when driven like a hooligan.
1 Classy Interior And Exterior Design
The exterior design of the 2022 Kia Telluride is not like anything else. The entire car looks sharp with striking character lines, massive 20" wheels that fill up the entire wheel well, and the blacked-out exterior elements. The LED headlights, best in class ground clearance and width, and eight exterior colors look striking too.
More than the beautiful-looking exterior, many would find the interior to be the most exciting part of this SUV. The entire cabin comes filled with premium material and classy design choices. The German-esque dashboard design with neat silver and leather accents, chunky buttons and switchgear on the center console, and the nine interior color combinations look better than all the rivals.