The segment of the Toyota Fortuner, till now, no one has been able to conquer it for a decade other than the Toyota Fortuner itself. You see, there is a reason why people like the Fortuner so much, and we believe that particular reason is ridiculous yet psychologically acceptable.

The STATUS SYMBOL. This is why today, the very Unworthy and the very Overpriced Toyota Fortuner is literally on top of its segment’s Sales chart. A ₹60 lakh vehicle, which does not even hold a feature as essential as a Sunroof or a 360 degree Camera, with respect to its price, is still on top compared to its rivals. Strange!

But, it is nice to observe that today, buyers are changing. They want a meaningful value to the amount they pay. They need to feel more fulfilled after getting their vehicle out of the showroom, and this is what might change the Toyota Fortuner’s current scenario.

Well, according to Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, when one door closes, another one opens. What do we mean by that? Today, if you are one of the changed Indian buyers who finds value proposition in whatever you buy, then maybe this SUV could take the position of the Fortuner for you. Meet a Full-size SUV from the Korean Auto Giant - KIA TELLURIDE. This SUV packs the ability to steal the crown over Fortuner’s head and keep it for itself.

Though this SUV is not available in the Indian Automotive Market, but chances are high for it to launch in the future. And man-o-man, we are eagerly waiting for that day to appear. Therefore, let us make use of this article to learn more about the 2024 Kia Telluride, and let us evaluate Kia Telluride's India launch price and its expected India launch date. 

But note one thing: As the Telluride is not available in India, we would take the USA market’s Kia Telluride as our source of information.

About

Kia Telluride was first showcased in its conceptual avatar back in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, it was officially launched in the USA’s Automobile Market.

Kia Telluride is based on Hyundai’s Palisade. They both are built on a Unibody construction. They also share most of their mechanical parts, which, ultimately, also makes them sister SUVs.

The Telluride has also won the 2020 World Car of the Year award.

Exterior: Different.

The exteriors of the Telluride are unlike any other SUVs in its segment. Usually, SUVs of its segment go for a typical boxy-like design language, which suits its SUV quotient more. Overall, it becomes easy to design a particular SUV, as there is no need to carve it creatively with curves which could define its beauty. About the Telluride, it does contain boxy elements, but they have been kept minimal in order to maintain the distinction.

Starting from the front, Kia’s signature Tiger-Nose grille is huge and has a thick mesh-like treatment in it. The new Kia logo sits right in between that Tiger-Nose grille. Coming down, as we said, the boxy elements have been kept minimal, and the lower bumper is one of those areas having the boxy elements. We can see a cylindrical border design has been given to the Air dams, inside which we could spot a few boxy-like design inserts. At both ends of this particular cylindrical compartment, we can spot Fog lamps placed. At both the lower corners of the front, we could see the inclusion of Air curtains for better Aerodynamic efficiency.

The Headlamps are kind of boxy, but they have a 3D effect on them. We could see that the headlamp housing kind of curves out with the side of the car; overall, it looks great. The technology in use is LEDs; there are a total of four LED beams, two placed horizontally beside each other on each side. DRLs over the Telluride have been given a different approach; where we till now have seen ‘white’ colored LED DRLs, but in the Telluride, you get them in ‘yellow’ color. They have been placed below the LED beams, vertically beside each other.

Sliding over to the sides, the vehicle overall looks enormous. The wheel arches, though, have been kept minimal, unlike any other SUVs. But, the claddings have a decent thickness to them, adding some points to the rugged factor of the SUV. The wheels upon which the Telluride stands are very complicated to talk about. Wonder why? It gets a total of Six Alloy wheel options based on your desired trim. Of these, two are 18 inches, and the remaining are 20 inches. We can see the proportions between the window and body area are almost the same. Which also provides us with big windows, further increasing the sense of roominess inside the cabin. Remember, we talked about the overall vehicle’s presence being enormous; the majority of the credit for this goes to the stretched D-Pillar of the vehicle. But, when you just look at the D-Pillar for a moment, it kind of gives us a sense of BMW X7’s presence. Anyways, over the top, the Roof rails on all the variants are functional.

At the rear, the vehicle is curved, adding to the statement that it has minimal boxy elements in its design, unlike any other SUV from its segment. In fact, the highlight of the rear is its Tail lamps because the rest of its design is simple and smooth-flowing. The Tail lamps are vertical, with a curve at their top, extending them into the Tailgate; they also get a 3D appearance in them. Talking of the Tailgate, it has a utilitarian function in it, where, if your hands are occupied, and you can not press the button to close the tailgate, you can just walk away because it gets an intelligent closing feature.

Interior: Spacious + Tech-filled.

The interiors are spacious. They carry a good vibe in them, thanks to the selection of materials done for the interiors. We can see that the ‘light brown’ shade has been used extensively to increase the luxurious aura of the cabin. A touch of fake wooden feel has also been added to enhance the premium look of the cabin. We can notice that the use of light colour shades has been done throughout the cabin to add a sense of airiness in the cabin.

Talking of the dashboard, it is wide, further adding a sense of space in the cabin. It holds a set of two 12.3-inch screens, one for the Instrumentation and the other for Infotainment purposes. These screens have also been given a connected look by placing them in one single glass panel with a slight curve. The screens obviously get a load of features; after all, the Kia-Hyundai group. It packs features like a Surround view camera, Head Up Display, Blind-spot view monitor, and Remotely operated features.

As we can see, the interiors have also been kept practical with the inclusion of physical buttons for necessary operations. The Media, Climate and a few utilitarian features have physical buttons for their usage.

The Center console also gives room to many mechanical & technological operatives, like Ventilated seats, Terrain modes, Drive selector stick, and Electronic parking brake.

With all these features, the most important one is situated on the roof. Until now, we have seen car makers giving sunroofs in their cars, and Telluride has it. But, we have seen chiefly one sunroof in a car; well, talk about the Telluride because it gets two of them. Do we need to talk about anything else? This car gets two sunroofs, and it is enough to make it superior to the Fortuner. And we haven’t even mentioned that the Telluride also gets 17 ADAS features. 

The seating option in the Telluride can be opted in between Six to Eight seaters. Most probably, the India launch model will be equipped only with the 8-seater option.

Powertrain

The Telluride just gets one engine to power its humongous presence, a 3.8 L V6 Petrol engine, which chunks out 291 hp. This much power makes the Telluride capable of towing 2.5 Tonnes. The India-spec Telluride model will get the same engine option.

INDIA Launch & Expected Price

The Kia Telluride holds a decently high chance of being launched here in India. It is expected that Kia Telluride's India launch will take place by late 2024 or in the initial period of 2025.

However, Kia Telluride's India model's price is expected to be competitive because if it gets launched here in India, Kia will most probably manufacture it here. Therefore, the prices will be on the lower side. We believe it will start from ₹35 lakhs and go up to ₹45 lakhs (these are ex-showroom prices) .