I think there will be something down the line. Interestingly enough, Kia Motors of America's Twitter account tweeted the link to this review and quoted that specific section of the review about off-road enhancements.
How does the Kia Telluride handle off-road? Will there be an off-road version?
Since the first Kia Telluride commercial came out, it's been marketed as a vehicle that's more than capable of going off-road. Cars.com decided to see if the Telluride can live up to the billing.
They took a regular SX with all-wheel drive and standard 20-inch wheels on the grounds of Wisconsin's Road America and they had some interesting findings. Basically, the Telluride is able to go off-road but you might want to invest in better tires if you do so.
They took a regular SX with all-wheel drive and standard 20-inch wheels on the grounds of Wisconsin's Road America and they had some interesting findings. Basically, the Telluride is able to go off-road but you might want to invest in better tires if you do so.
But what might be even more interesting is that James Bell, Kia's director of corporate communications is looking at enhacements to increase the Telluride's off-road capability.The Telluride's standard ground clearance is a respectable 8 inches, but its approach angle (17 degrees) and departure angle (20.9) are definitely limiting factors, and the Telluride isn't equipped with hill descent control as some light-duty SUVs are - but we tackled some of the trickier obstacles anyway. As I said, this wasn't a super-difficult route, and most of the red-trail vehicles - the Rubicon, a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison, 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 and select SUVs - didn't really break a sweat on the red portion of this course. The Telluride sweated more, mainly because its brake-based traction control had to work harder to keep the big thing moving up and over the damp hills on all-season tires. I sweated a bit myself, because I knew the Telluride has no skid plates, and the sound I heard when cresting the sharper hills was typical plastic underbody panels rubbing earth.
It's true. The Telluride has been seen at both the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit outfitted with all variety of off-road accessories, and the Super Bowl commercial's U-boat routine was disclaimed as a "water stunt" complete with an "aftermarket snorkel" (the invisible kind). Yet Kia itself offers none of these goodies. But that might change: Our experience with the existing suspension and AWD system suggests the Telluride is no poser, and James Bell said, "Kia is actively investigating potential enhancements for future model years and trim levels that might further extend the current vehicle's surprising off-road prowess."
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