[Kia Telluride News]

Kia has surprisingly taken over top spots on J.D. Power Initial Quality studies, especially in recent years, outpacing many well respected automakers. This along with some of the best warranty terms in the industry, competitive pricing and well configured models, removes the stigma often associated buying from an underdog.

No reports have been published on the new Telluride just yet. Coming close is the highly praised 2018 Sorento, as seen in a new J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, that scored 5/5 making it the highest-rated midsize SUV. Updates to the current year model should ensure it betters its best, unless the Telluride does.

Another predictive tool are overall brand reliability ratings from Repair Pal and Consumer Reports that place Kia at 4.5 out of 5, with ownership costs, repair shop frequency and severity of issues being of little concern. Simply put, its the best position a car manufacture can be in.

As you can tell by now, innovation and quality is clearly at the forefront of Kia's business model. Assessing this new model and where its components are derived from, we're confident in the probability of Telluride reliability ratings being high. Innovation is obvious, Kia hasn't made drastic changes like this in a long time. Quality on the other hand has been proven to an extent in other models.

For example, the 3.8-liter offered here has a history with the reliable body-on-frame Borrego/Mohave, now refined as a fuel efficient Atkinson cycle engine. Transmission on the other hand is the same 8-speed that made its debut back in 2016, now in other J.D. praised models like the Cadenza, Sportage and of course Sorento.

 

[wilson]

I'm not the least bit surprised having known many people who praise Kia and Hyundai for being today what Japanese automakers were back in the 90's. Meanwhile Japanese automakers have slipped but still hold strong.

 

[Four Flusher]

Any guess how many Telluride's are being built per day? Seems like a slow roll out.

 

[zora3]

Not just a slow build-out but apparently a slow growth in interest, judging by the minimal participation on this forum.
It does seem, however, when local dealers do finally get them in, they don't last long. A day or two and they're sold. I wonder if there's much discounting from MSRP.

 

[MPenny]

Some dealers are offering $1000 rebates for switching brands and there are some good financing and lease options for this car. You can also get a loyalty discount worth the same amount if you are an existing Kia customer.

 

[danporges]

Not just a slow build-out but apparently a slow growth in interest, judging by the minimal participation on this forum.

I was speaking with a good friend who is a manager at the local Kia dealer and we came to the same realization, Kia has intentionally delayed the "press" on this launch for really no apparent reason. Find one magazine who has reviewed or compared the Telluride to the Pilot, Atlas, Traverse, etc as compared to how the Stinger was in magazines being fully tested nearly a year before it hit showrooms. I can tell you my VW Atlas had not only been tested, but had been in multiple 3-row comparisons when they hadnt even released the first production batch to transport, let alone in dealers.
It really is unprecedented that a major brand (which Kia now qualifies as) would launch a vehicle that is poised to be very competitive, if not lead the segment, and not provide a single test vehicle or hold a single press launch for the magazines and all.

 

[zora3]

The lack of information on the Palisade is equally odd, perhaps in a coordinated way? I don't know how truly independent Kia is from Hyundai, especially in terms of marketing.

I guess one possibility is Kia wants to avoid the common problem when introducing a brand new vehicle, of early (manufacturing or supplier) problems that tarnish its future desirability. In other words, maybe they want to be sure they have the production tweaked in a low-volume, low-key way for the first couple/few months.

 

[wilson]

I wonder if it has anything to do with the phasing out of existing 3-row SUV's each brand offers. I heard Hyundai plans to phase the Santa FE XL out, so coordinating with that primarily might be more important.