The Kia Telluride is the most surprising SUV of the year

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  A nice combination of clean lines and gentle curves. [credit: BradleyWarren Photography ]

Let's get this out of the way: if you're in the market for a three-row SUV, you need to look long and hard at the Kia Telluride. It is legitimately the best three-row SUV I've driven since... ever. No wonder it won the 2020 World Car of the Year award.

When I first laid eyes on the Telluride at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, my first reaction was "this doesn't look like a Kia." There are no quirky design aesthetics like the Kia Soul. Instead, the Korean automaker has gone for the classic SUV look, swapping out whimsy for gravitas. Instead of the cartoonishly large grille and tiny Kia badge of the Soul, the front of Kia's new flagship SUV has a more restrained-looking grille with "Telluride" spelled out in large block letters à la Range Rover. The Telluride exterior is all clean lines and gentle curves, with the B and C pillars blending into the windows and metal trim around the windows going from front to back.

Designed with the US market in mind, the Telluride starts at $33,690 for the LX trim. Priced at $46,860, our review model was a top-end Telluride SX with the $2,000 Prestige Package (heads-up display, Nappa leather trim, and heated/ventilated back seats) included. Fully loaded, it's an impressive beast of an SUV.

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