10 Best Features of the 2023 Kia Telluride

2023 Kia Telluride ・ Photo by Kia

The 2023 Kia Telluride is a full-size SUV with seating for the whole family and all their cargo. It has a beautifully appointed interior, especially in its top trims, with comfortable seating and luxurious materials.

There’s also good room for cargo along with the capability to tow with a responsive engine. Here are the 10 best features of the 2023 Kia Telluride.

Responsive V6 Engine

No matter which trim you choose, the 2023 Kia Telluride is powered by a 3.8-liter V6 engine with 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. This is paired to a smooth 8-speed automatic transmission that keeps noise to a minimum.

It’s a responsive powertrain with ample power for getting up to highways speeds and enough in reserve to easily maneuver around slower traffic. The engine is powerful, but it’s also quiet, which is important in a family car. No one wants a loud engine waking up the kids on the next road trip, so the Telluride delivers its power quietly and unobtrusively.

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Available Captain’s Chairs

The 2023 Kia Telluride is a family hauler so it has seating for up to eight people with a second-row bench seat. While this seat is comfortable with room for three adults, there are also second-row captain’s chairs that deliver a more premium experience. The kids might not care so much, but adult passengers will notice the difference.

This does take seating down to seven, but unless you really need that extra seat, the captain’s chairs are the way to go. They’re more supportive than the standard bench seat, and they offer a pass through in the middle that helps improve access to the third row. It also lets you use the space in between for cargo, like a cooler with drinks and snacks for those long drives.

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A Choice of 10 Trims

There is no shortage of choice with the 2023 Kia Telluride thanks to a lineup that includes 10 trims. This makes it easy to find one that fits your needs and your budget. No matter which trim you choose, the Telluride has a well-appointed interior that makes it a great value.

Pricing starts at $35,890 for the base LX equipped with front-wheel drive. At the top of the lineup is the SX-Prestige X-Line with a price of $51,985. That’s a wide spread of pricing, but it’s all about choice. You can find exactly what you want within the Telluride lineup, no matter your budget.

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Room for Lots of Cargo

There’s plenty of room for all your cargo in the 2023 Kia Telluride with 21 cubic feet behind the third row, 46 cubic feet behind the second row, and a total of 87 cubic feet behind the first row. That’s impressive for the class, and it makes it easy to take along everything a busy family needs whether for a day’s outing or a week-long vacation.

If you have a full load of people and need more room for cargo, then the Telluride can also tow up to 5,000 pounds in most trims. That number increases to 5,500 pounds in the new X-Pro trims. This makes the Telluride a versatile option that can accommodate lots of people and lots of cargo.

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Standard 12.3-Inch Infotainment Touchscreen

The larger the infotainment screen, the easier and less distracting it is for the driver to operate. While some models have smaller screens on base trims with larger screens only available on pricier top trims, the Kia Telluride doesn’t play that game. Instead, the full lineup has a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen.

This makes it easier for the driver to view quickly and for both the driver and front passenger to operate. Standard features include Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, Sirius XM, and multiple charging ports located throughout the vehicle. A 6-speaker audio system is standard with an available 10-speaker Harman Kardon system for a premium experience.

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New X-Line and X-Pro Trims

Both the X-Line and X-Pro trims are new to the Telluride this year. These trims represent the most rugged versions of each Kia vehicle with extra features designed to provide improved handling and capability off-road. The X-Line adds a higher ground clearance, raised roof rails, 20-inch wheels, an upgraded traction control system, and downhill brake control.

The X-Pro goes a step further by adding to those features with a higher tow rating of 5,000 pounds, a dedicated tow mode, 18-inch wheels, and all-terrain tires. No matter which you choose, you’re getting a capable SUV that can handle off-road adventuring for families who love to explore.

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A Long List of Standard Safety Features

There are lots of advanced safety features that are standard on the 2023 Kia Telluride. As a part of the Drive Wise safety suite, there’s blind-spot warning, forward collision avoidance with pedestrian, cyclist, and junction turning, driver attention warning, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance, smart cruise control with stop and go, and rear occupant alert with ultrasonic sensors.

Also standard is intelligent speed limit assist, lane keeping assist, lane following assist, reverse park distance warning, and safe exit assist. This long list of standard safety features helps set your mind at ease, especially when the whole family is along for the ride.

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Available All-Wheel Drive

Standard on base trims of the 2023 Kia Telluride is front-wheel drive; however, all-wheel drive is available as an option so there’s no need to move to the top trims just to get this key feature. As you move through the trim lineup, it becomes standard, so most trims come with this capability.

While it might not seem like a necessary feature if you live where snow isn’t a worry, that’s not the only time that all-wheel drive comes in handy. Any time the roads are less than perfect, including rain, sand, or mud, then all-wheel drive can help you stay confidently in control of your vehicle.

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Multiple Drive Modes

The 2023 Kia Telluride offers a choice of four drive modes depending on current conditions. These adjust the powertrain, drivetrain, and steering to provide optimum vehicle response. Eco focuses on delivering the best possible fuel economy. Comfort is ideal for long highway drives with a smooth ride and lighter steering response.

Sport puts the focus on performance with more responsive acceleration and tighter steering while Smart switches between modes automatically. Trims equipped with all-wheel drive also have a Snow mode for managing winter weather and an AWD Lock mode that delivers equal power to all four wheels.

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Good Fuel Economy

Especially when it’s time to head out on that summer road trip, a vehicle with good fuel economy can help you stay on budget and let you spend more of your money on having fun. Although it’s not a small vehicle, the 2023 Kia Telluride offers good fuel economy.

Equipped with front-wheel drive, it gets an EPA-estimated 20 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined. All-wheel-drive models drop to 18 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined. In either configuration, the Kia Telluride has fuel economy that lets you go further between fill-ups so it’s easier on your wallet.

Photo by Kia