2020 Kia Telluride SUV Revealed At New York Fashion Week
Highlights
The 2020 Kia Telluride is the next mega-SUV from the automaker for the North American markets and the offering has made its pre-production debut at the New York Fashion Week. Quite a unique place for an SUV to be unveiled, the new Kia Telluride SUV was the star of Brandon Maxwell's runway at NY Fashion Week this year. The bespoke Telluride draws inspiration from Maxwell's Texas-themed Spring Summer 2019 collection, with the SUV customised like it's built for the wild wild west sporting a host of off-roading goodies.
Also Ride: Kia Rio X-Line Review
The Kia Telluride is an 8-seater offering and will be the company's largest SUV in the US. The boxy-styling is on point with the off-roading yet premium appearance of the model, with the model designed at Kia's U.S. design studio in Irvine, California. For the bespoke version though, the Telluride gets several upgrades including the ladder, customised roof rack with leather strap and even the snorkel. It's a lot of functional elements on the concept including custom bumpers, skid plates and Burly 265/50R-20 off-road tyres. The high-mounted external spare wheel may does not look the most appropriate, but thankfully this is a only specific to the bespoke version.
The SUV gets spruced up with natural wood trims, and saddle-inspired double-stitched leather. You can also find leather details on the dashboard, door panels and grab handles that extend on the rear-view mirrors, door handles and the cargo area. The Telluride comes finished in a deep green colour that is a throwback to the concept which debuted two years ago. Compared to the concept, the pre-production version comes with a more prominent grile and a vertically-stacked headlamp. The taillights are now thicker and shorter than the ones on the concept.
(The Telluride's cabin is upholstered in leather inspired by the deserted landscape of Texas)
The 2020 Kia Telluride will be assembled at the company's Georgia plant in the US and will serve as a more luxurious and even rugged people's mover. The interior details seem to have been shared with the automaker's premium K900 and Stinger models comprising a massive touchscreen infotainment system and a host of other top-of-the-line features. Kia has confirmed that the Telluride will be powered by a V6 engine under the hood and will take on the likes of the Toyota Land Cruiser, Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLS and the likes.