2023 Kia Telluride First Look | Is Kia's Popular 3-Row SUV Improved for 2023? | New Trims & More

The Kia Telluride has been a smash hit ever since it first debuted in 2019. And in fact, it's been Edmunds top rated SUV for three years in a row. Now, we've tested it. We've even owned one. And we've seen time and time again that Telluride proves it's an excellent choice for families looking in the mid $30,000 to $40,000 range. Well, now it's been updated for 2023 with a new look and this, the new X-Pro package. So is the Telluride still on top or did Kia take a good thing and mess it all up? Also, is anybody planning on coming and taking the crown away from the Telluride anytime soon? I mean, geez, it's been a long run already, but you should know that there are a few competitors coming down the pipe. There's the updated Nissan Pathfinder, refreshed Toyota Highlander, and rumor has it there's a fully redesigned Honda Pilot on the way. So where do we think the 2023 Telluride is going to fit into that new landscape? Let's take our first look at it right now. First, though, do me a huge favor and click that like button and hit subscribe so you can see more Edmunds videos just like this one. And if you're thinking, hey, that new Telluride looks sweet, maybe I'll trade in my car and get one. Well, you can go to Edmunds.com slash sell my car and get a cash offer on your car right now. The first thing you need to know is every 2023 Telluride comes with redesigned headlights and a new rear fascia style. There are going to be five trim levels and some of them have the option to add two packages. There's the X-Line and this. Now, both the X-Line and the X-Pro are more rugged than a typical Telluride, and they come with all-wheel drive standard. Here's what else you get. You get badging, plus a unique exterior grille and 20-inch wheels all its own. Kia is also throwing in roof rails so you can store stuff on top. But here's what I'm really excited about. Both of these rugged packages get an elevated ground clearance up to 8.4 inches, and there's a new traction management system to help you do better in the dirt. Finally, if you go for the Pro X version, you get these 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires, and the maximum towing capacity is upgraded from 5,000 pounds to 5,500. Pretty knobby. We don't yet know pricing for the 2023 Telluride, but given its improvements, we expect it to begin somewhere in the $37,000 range. Pricing for the new X-Line and Pro X trims will be available closer to their on-sale dates. For every 2023 Telluride, there are a couple of new additions to the interior. So let's check them out. First, you cannot ignore these two giant screens right in front of me. Now, the first one is in front of the driver. That's a 12.3-inch digital display, and I have to say it looks stunning. Like, from this view, you've got a beautiful little icon car, and then pretty blue skies and green grass around it. Like, that's just a pleasure to look at. Can't wait to see how it does on the road. And then the second one is also 12.3 inches. That is the center touchscreen, and it's running a Kia infotainment system that we're very familiar with and like a lot. Another change is Kia says they redesigned the steering wheel. Honestly, it looks exactly the same as the old Telluride to me. The only difference is our long-termer had this stitching pattern in a perfect circle, and this is kind of a weird-looking trapezoid thing. Other than that, the controls look the same. But what is definitely different is this dashboard design, which has just been modernized a little bit, but definitely looks stately and classy. Very nice. There are enhancements to the driver assistance features, too. For instance, there's a new intelligent speed warning system, which will send you an alert if it notices speed limits ahead are about to change, and it can even slow down the car if it's necessary. That comes standard. There's also a new forward collision avoidance system that can work in intersections. And then finally, there's downhill brake control, which is activated by a small button over here. Now, this is commonly referred to as hill descent control. I don't know why Kia decided it couldn't call it the thing that everybody else calls it, but essentially, if you're going downhill on a trail or something and you hit that button, you can take your foot off the brake and the car will slowly bring itself to the ground. Pretty neat, but just call it hill descent control. It's the same thing. Otherwise, it's the same great Telluride interior in here that we've been raving about for a couple of years now. It's super spacious inside, and these seats are really, really comfortable. One interesting thing, though, is that the 23 Telluride has almost identical center stack controls to the last model. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but recently I've been driving the new Kia Sportage, and that gets an interesting but maybe controversial feature. It's a screen that can act as your climate controls, but then if you hit another button, they become controls for the center touchscreen. I thought it was going to be super annoying, but by the end of driving it for a few days, I kind of liked it, and it's a little confusing why they didn't decide to include it in the Telluride, but this is not a bad system at all. I mean, let me know. Do you think you'd rather have that system in the Telluride, or are they just sticking with a good thing? We found a lot to like about the original Telluride. I mean, after all, we did name it our top-rated SUV for three years in a row. Did I mention that already? Anyway, we liked it a lot, but we're nitpickers by nature, so there were a few things that we thought could be improved. Let's go one by one and see if this new model addresses them, or not. First up is the V6 engine. Now, we found it great to drive in most circumstances, but under 3,000 RPM, it could feel a little bit underpowered. Kia decided not to make any changes this time. We also felt like in-cabin storage could be improved upon. Again, Kia decided not to do that this time. There is some small refinement to one of the cubby areas inside, but it's probably not enough to change our score during testing. Now, there is one area that was kind of sort of addressed, and that has to do with the rear hatch. Telluride had a feature where if you kept the key in your pocket and walked up to the rear hatch, it would open automatically. That part remains. But what's cool is that now, if you have the key in your pocket and walk away, it will close automatically. That's pretty neat, and it's new for 2023. Now, the problem we ran into was that sometimes it would open when we didn't really want it to, either when someone was just standing too close, or in one instance when we had a bike rack attached to the hitch and the gate slammed into the bike rack. I asked Kia about that, and they said that part was user error. We also had a small nitpick because the Telluride is not available with a power folding third row button. Some competitors have this, but Kia says that A, their system for folding down the rear seats is easy enough already, and B, to implement something like that would take away from cargo space. So no power folding third row for 2023, but the rear hatch of the Telluride remains very usable. So there are lots of cool new improvements to the 2023 Telluride, but they didn't address everything. And remember, those new competitors are coming in hot. There are all kinds of cool, clever storage spaces in the Highlander, and we're expecting that redesigned Honda Pilot to make a big splash. I guess we'll know for sure when we get all three in for testing, so stay tuned for that. Well, that's our first look at the updated 2023 Kia Telluride, which sure seems poised to rejoin our three-row SUV rankings somewhere near the top. But we'll have to put it through the full Edmunds testing procedure before we can say for sure. First impressions, though? Very good. But that fully redesigned Honda Pilot that nobody has seen yet? That will probably have something to say about our number one ranking. So keep it locked to edmunds.com and the Edmunds channel so that you can stay up to date on the three-row SUV wars. And also leave me a comment below and let me know which one of those models suits you the best. Until next time, thanks for watching.