The Kia Telluride is already one of the hottest three lines on sale today, and has been a huge hit since its US debut in 2018. But for the 2023 model year, Kia is updating its beloved Telluride with a fresh exterior styling, extra tech, and two new trims to match. solid to choose from.
Front and center, the Telluride has an updated headlight treatment, featuring standard LEDs with available LED fog lamps. The bumper itself is also new, offering more aggressive detailing up top and sculpted elements or large gray inserts below, depending on which trim you choose. Kia’s ubiquitous “Tiger Nose” grille remains, but gets a new balancing black net.
The rear of the Telluride 2023 looks cleaner, with a new bumper design and new taillight inserts that now feature a slim vertical LED strip. Three new body colors – Midnight Lake Blue, Dawning Red, and Jungle Wood Green – cover updated body panels, while each version of the Telluride gets a new wheel design.
The rugged X-Line and X-Pro trims make their way from the Sportage to the new Telluride, adding more style and some light off-road cues. With the X-Line, the Telluride gets a new grille, roof rails, special alloy wheels, and a 0.4-inch (10mm) increase in height. Meanwhile, the X-Pro gets all the same features as the X-Line model, plus 18-inch all-terrain rubber-wrapped alloy wheels and an increased towing capacity of 5,500 pounds, compared to 5,000 pounds.
The same 3.8-liter V6 from last year still makes 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. That engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with all-wheel drive available, and new for 2023, Kia added a Downhill Brake Control feature that gives the SUV a controlled descent on steep – or off-road – roads.
Inside the updated Telluride is where things get interesting. A new 12.3-inch touchscreen with navigation – up from 10.3 inches – graces the dashboard, now with Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity and over-the-air updates. There’s a larger heads-up display, too, growing from 8.5 inches in the past to 10.0 inches, now offering even more features.
Kia is also expanding the list of active safety gear in the new Telluride, adding things like navigation-based cruise control, Highway Driving Assist 2, side collision avoidance, steering assist, and more. The Kia Telluride 2023 goes on sale later this year, but there’s no word on pricing yet.
