Last week, I drove from Detroit to Columbus, Ohio, in a 2020 Kia Telluride, the Korean carmaker's first vehicle designed specifically for U.S. customers, and boy, did they nail it.
Why it matters: Kia has come a long way in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. The new Telluride, its largest vehicle ever, checks all the boxes: bold styling, smooth handling, a sharp interior and appealing technology.
Details: The Telluride comes with a 291-hp, 3.8-liter V-6 engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission.
- It has room for 8 with a second-row bench seat, but my 7-passenger SX AWD came with optional captain's chairs.
- The quilted Nappa leather seats and genuine wood trim across the dash made it feel more luxurious than its $45,815 price would suggest.
- Driver-assistance features were plentiful, including: standard blind-spot monitoring, automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist and rear parking sensors.
- On 2-lane country roads with no shoulder, I got more lane-keeping warnings than I would have liked, but the technology did its job.
- A helpful feature for parents: a reminder to check the back seat upon exiting the vehicle.
The bottom line: The Telluride is a great family SUV. Too bad I was on the road all by myself.