It’s been far too long since I’ve had a new car. I had my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit for over six years and just shy of 100,000 miles (I only made it to 99,968...). It was a great vehicle and we went on many excellent trips together, but it was time for something new and different.
I knew I wasn’t going to get a new Grand Cherokee, because it (still) hasn’t been significantly updated since I got my own. And Jeep also hasn’t yet announced official plans for their larger three-row SUV. I’ve always lusted after a Ford Raptor, but that would probably be too expensive and too extreme (not to mention difficult to squeeze into the garage).
Really, my decision was mostly made up for me in fall 2018 when Hyundai/Kia announced their new large SUV twins (the Palisade/Telluride). These were pretty much the perfect size, had the features I needed/wanted, and were priced very competitively. The Telluride started hitting dealers in February 2019, and the only thing that prevented me from jumping on one right away was indecision over whether I preferred it or the Palisade (which wasn’t coming until July).
Although they are essentially the same car, there are some minor feature differences, and of course they each have their own distinct style. It was a tough decision. I really liked the Telluride’s rugged exterior, but I was intrigued by the upscale luxuriousness of the quilted Palisade interior and its full digital dash. Fortunately, my mind was made up for me when my fiancé decided it was time for a new car of her own, and I thought it would be a rather interesting experiment to get one of each. She wanted the Palisade. That means I would get a Telluride. Since we were both going to do this properly, each would be fully loaded (a Palisade Limited and a Telluride SX with the Prestige Package). There would be no loser here.
So at the end of July, I got the ball rolling for my Telluride. The local Kia store didn’t have any SX models in stock or inbound that weren’t sold (not surprising given their popularity), so I went ahead and placed an order for a Gravity Grey model with the gray (read:white) interior. Yes, there is an inconsistency with how they spell gray. Expected arrival: four to six months. That’s a painful thing to hear when you crave instant gratification, but oh well.
The next week, we were on vacation and my fiancé decided to start the process for her Palisade. She wasn’t as flexible as I was with color: it would need to be Moonlight Cloud (dark blue) with a black interior. Turns out™ a Hyundai store in nearby Arkansas had one... but it was front wheel drive (not our preferred choice). After a little debating, we decided it was the right choice since it was $1700 cheaper and we don’t seriously get much (or any) deep snow here in SW Missouri, anyway. She’d have hers in a few days.
It arrived at the end of our vacation, just early enough for us to take a day trip to Kansas City. Since she is the best, my fiancé let me drive there and back, so I got a chance to try out the Palisade from the driver’s seat. Obviously, it was spacious and comfortable, with great seats and a smooth ride. I was mostly interested in messing around with the tech features, including the highway drive assist (which allows for mostly autonomous driving with minimal intervention required), the in-dash blind spot monitor display, the 360º cameras making it super easy to maneuver in tight spaces, and of course, Apple CarPlay on a huge 10.25” screen. And the cooled seats work incredibly well!! It also had way more than enough space for our IKEA and Trader Joe’s trips. An excellent first impression.
And then the waiting game began.
A few months later, on October 11, I had just placed my order at Five Guys and sat down at my table to wait. I opened up my email and noticed that less than thirty minutes prior, I had an email from the Kia store... they had a “deal change,” which meant there was a white SX with the Prestige package available. I immediately left and headed over once I confirmed it had the tow package as well. No, it wasn’t the same color that I had originally ordered, but I was already having a difficult time deciding between white and gray anyway. And I also think getting a dark interior is ultimately a better idea. While the light interior would have looked cool, I don’t know how well it would have aged. Anyway, of course, I was due to start work in less than an hour. So I tried to expedite the process as much as possible, but I still wound up being a little late that day. But I had my new vehicle at last!
So, how has it been? As of early December, I have driven it nearly daily for a little over seven weeks, plus have taken it on one Sunday trip to Kansas City and a weekend trip to Wisconsin over Thanksgiving. I’m at nearly 3500 miles at this point. I’m definitely enjoying it! Obviously, it’s a new vehicle, and that in itself is a fun thing. But I’m impressed with nearly every aspect of the vehicle. Probably the most obvious difference versus my Grand Cherokee is the power, because this is more comparable to the V6 GC (I had the Hemi V8). It’s fine, but it’s not going to blow the doors off anything. It will keep up and keep me out of trouble. Sport mode will make it much more responsive for times when I’m more eager for aggressive throttle inputs. The other thing that I’m losing compared to the GC is the “real” off-road capability. This has all-wheel drive and the smarts that come along with it (including various drive modes and the ability to lock the output 50/50 front/rear up to 25 mph), but there’s no low range or adjustable air suspension for added ground clearance. Again, it’s more than enough for what I would typically ever use it for (and performed admirably on the messy rural Wisconsin roads and poorly-cleared Minnesota freeways during and after some fresh wintry precipitation).
Everything else about this vehicle revolves around creature comforts and roominess. Even though this is only about a half-foot longer than my Jeep (and about the same amount shorter than a Tahoe), it has actual space for a third row, and a decent amount of space for cargo even with the third row up. Put the third row down (which it likely will be much of the time), and there is a significant amount of room for cargo (lots more than there was in the back of my Jeep). The second row has plenty of legroom, even with the front seats in a normal driving position for me. They recline, and are both heated and ventilated (!), the latter of which is a feature unheard of in this price range. Not to mention the fact that the ventilated seats in the Telluride (and the Palisade) are super impressive... I’ve had ventilated seats in most of my vehicles in the past decade, and most of them have been mildly helpful on hot days at best. These feel like they actually cool you down, and quickly. I often have to turn their level down since they work so well. On top of that, any potential passengers will not have to worry about running out of charge, since every seat has a USB port.
Anyway, up to the front of the vehicle, which is most important for me. I appreciate the rugged, yet luxurious design. The 10.25” infotainment display is excellent for displaying multiple things at once, or providing a huge canvas for Apple CarPlay (Android Auto, oddly enough, only takes up 2/3 of the screen... I can’t tell if it’s because Google hasn’t done updates yet for oddly shaped screens or what). The display also shows a detailed view of all of the cameras, including forward, backward, left, and right. They also are stitched together to give a simulated bird’s-eye view. There are definitely better implementations out there of the 360º camera, but not in anything I’ve seen that’s less than $50,000. I would certainly appreciate the fully digital instrument cluster that the Palisade has, but the gauges in the Telluride are nicely laid out (and even has a video blind spot monitor that will display when you have your turn signal on). I do wish there was a second trip odometer: I really liked that on my Jeep since I would usually always reset when I refueled, but it would be nice to be able to also reset at the beginning of a trip. Everything is laid out very nicely and is right where I need it. I have a Qi wireless charger for times when I don’t necessarily want to plug in to get CarPlay but want to top up my phone a little bit (or provide some juice for a passenger). Speaking of screens, I enjoy having a head-up display on here (the SS has one as well). It’s slightly dimmed by polarized sunglasses, but still visible enough during the day to be helpful. It’s a great feature to have on both of my cars!
The driving assistance features have advanced a little bit in the last six years. Now I have the ability to not only set my speed and maintain a certain distance behind vehicles in front, but take the vehicle down to a complete stop and resume again. All of this while the system will keep me centered in my lane. It truly allows for very relaxing highway driving. Need to take both of your hands off the wheel for a moment to open a drink or something? No problem. When on the highway, it will often let you go upwards of a half a minute before it will get angry at you for not having your hands on the wheel. It will even negotiate curves quite well. I’m still in a stage where I’m mostly babysitting the system to gauge what it does and does not do well, but overall I am super impressed.
Gas mileage has been more than acceptable thus far. It’s not going to be terribly impressive given the size of the vehicle, but it certainly beats where I was coming from. It is rated at 19 city/24 highway/21 combined, and I have been exceeding the combined figure regularly. I even averaged about 25 mpg on my ~1450 mile trip over Thanksgiving. I also appreciate being able to use regular 87-octane gas (the Jeep recommended using 89-octane in the owner’s manual). It would benefit from a larger fuel tank (it is only ~18 gallons whereas the GC was ~24 gallons). It is helped by the improved mpg, but I would definitely appreciate more range, even though realistically it isn’t necessary since my bladder or my back will fail me on a long journey long before I’ll ever run out of fuel. Really my only other gripe is that the key fob doesn’t have a remote start button (even though the Palisade does). So if I want to start the Telluride up without getting in, I have to do it through the Kia UVO app. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter much for me, because the only times I would ever want to remote start, I’m further away than the key could reach anyway. But it would be nice to just have it there in case.
As I said earlier, I had my eyes on these vehicles from the moment they were introduced, and the first reviews for both of these models were very strong. Now that more time has passed, awards are beginning to stack up. First, in the November 2019 issue of Car and Driver (long my favorite magazine), the Telluride and the Palisade finished 1-2 in a test against other mid-size three row SUVs. They both handily beat out the Mazda CX-9, Buick Enclave, and Ford Explorer. Then, the week before Thanksgiving, Motor Trend announced its 2020 SUV of the Year and Car and Driver named the Telluride as one of its 2020 10 Best cars. Surely more will follow. I’m happy with my choice regardless, but the awards certainly help to validate my decision.
I know there’s plenty of stuff I’ve missed. Like how glad I am that the horn doesn’t have the pitiful beeping sound that I’ve noticed on older Kia/Hyundai vehicles. Or the overarching impressiveness of the group’s ability to produce more and more enticing vehicles. Which ultimately has worked, because it finally got me to put some of my own money down rather than just talk about how they seem like “better cars” or “a great value.” I’m sure I’ll try to add on if there’s anything big that I think I’ve missed. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy my new vehicle and keep racking up the miles!