Kia's Full-size SUV, Telluride wins big at the 2020 World Car Of The Year Awards. 'World Car Of The Year' is a prestigious award in the automotive world and this is for the first time in the history that a South Korean car has been awarded it. Moreover, Kia Soul EV also won the World Urban Car of the Year 2020 award at the same event. In this article, we will be talking about what makes the Kia Telluride a special SUV and if it is coming to India or not.
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Looks and Dimensions
The Kia Telluride is a prodigious-looking SUV. This behemoth features Kia's signature tiger-nose grille at the front along with large vertically-stacked LED headlamps with LED DRLs which also double up as turn indicators. Underneath it gets faux-skid plates along with quad ice-cube shaped fog lamps on the bumper. The side profile of the car is a bit boxy to give it a typical SUV stance but it does looks imposing from every angle and runs on 20-inch tyres with blacked-out alloys which look very sporty.
At the rear, the Kia Telluride sports inverted L-shaped LED tail-lamps with a roof-mounted spoiler and a shark-fin antenna. The SUV gets all-around body-cladding with faux skid-plates both at the front as well as at the rear. It also gets big 'Telluride' embossment on the front hood and on the rear tailgate. The Kia Telluride is a big SUV and it measures 5000mm in length, 1990mm in width, and 1750mm in height with a wheelbase of 2900mm.
Powertrain Options
The Kia Telluride is powered by a 3.8-litre naturally-aspirated V6 petrol engine that belts out a blistering 295 PS of maximum power at 6,000 RPM along with 355 Nm of torque which peaks out at 5200 RPM. The transmission duties are handled by an 8-speed automatic gearbox and one can choose between a front-wheel-drive version and an active on-demand all-wheel-drive system.
Interior and Features
The Kia Telluride is available in a 7/8 seater layout, with the 7-seater variant getting two captain seats in the middle row. The Telluride offers a plush interior with double-stitched, quilted Nappa leather upholstery along with brushed metal and matte-finished wood inserts. It also gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Harmon Kardon audio-system and Kias UVO connected car technology, a HUD (heads-up display), wireless smartphone charger, a surround-view monitor, electronic parking brake with auto-hold function, roof-mounted rear climate controls with 360-degree vents, dual electric sunroofs, six USB charging ports and much more.
Safety Aids
Kia Telluride comes with a total of seven driving modes which include: Comfort, Eco, Sport, Smart, Snow, Mud, and Sand. The safety tech of the car includes Safe Exit Assist (SEA) that detects cars approaching from the rear and cautions passengers who may intend to exit the vehicle, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, Vehicle Stability Management, Lane Departure Warning, Driver Attention Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Downhill Brake Control, Smart Cruise Control, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, etc.
Price and Rivals
Kia Telluride is currently sold in overseas markets where it is offered in four different trims, namely LX, S, EX and SX. The base LX variant is priced at 31,890 US Dollars (Rs. 25 lakhs converted) while the top-end SX trim is offered at a starting price of USD 41,790 which roughly translates to about Rs. 32 lakhs. Internationally it rivals the likes of Hyundai Palisade, Volkswagen Atlas, Ford Explorer, etc. However, in India, it will lock horns against the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, etc.
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Is It Coming To India?
Some media reports claim that the Kia Telluride will be launched in India in 2021 but it seems uncertain as the Telluride SUV is currently only available in the left-hand-drive configuration. The company has no immediate plans to introduce the right-hand version of the SUV in any of the markets. This suggests that the Telluride SUV is not coming to our market any time soon. However, if Kia develops the right-hand version it could be launched in India as CKD and will be positioned as Kia's Flagship SUV. It could garner good sales numbers too as Indians love SUVs and this full-size SUV will give tough competition to the Fortuner and the Endeavour. In other news, Hyundai is evaluating the Palisade SUV for the Indian market and it is based on the Kia Telluride.
