Kia Telluride Might Get A More Rugged-Looking Off-Road Edition

A few months before its debut in production form at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, the Kia Telluride was previewed by a slew of off-road concepts at SEMA.

Most people didn’t take them seriously, focusing instead on trying to undress the studies to see what the production version would look like. However, there could me more to those concepts, as either an off-road oriented trim level or related  accessories could become available for the eight-seater SUV.

The information was confirmed to MotorTrend, which asked the Telluride’s designer Tom Kearns at NAIAS about such a possible variant, and got a very interesting answer. “I can’t really speak to that right now, but we’re definitely interested in something along those lines, either a trim level or accessories in the future”, he said.

Features such as the largee off-road tires, snorkels, auxiliary lights, skid plates, roof racks and bull bars, among others, could soon become either optional extras on certain Tellurides, or form an entirely new trim level – you know, for when you want to take the kids on a rather muddy adventure in your new Kia SUV.

MT also asked Kia North America COO, Michael Cole, whether the company could use the Stinger GT’s 365 hp twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6, but that won’t happen as it’s too difficult (and costly) to modify the longitudinal engine for transverse duty on the crossover. Thus, the Telluride will only be available with the 3.8-liter V6, rated at 291 hp (295 PS / 217 kW) and 262 lb-ft (355 Nm) of torque. The unit works in conjunction with an 8-speed auto, which channels the output to the standard FWD or optional AWD.