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.
2020 Kia Telluride Reliability
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.
