The 2019 Kia Telluride SX V6 AWD
The 2020 Kia Telluride SX V6 AWD. Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical. Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days. Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Day in Monterey, California. Needless to say, these are quick drives and brief impressions that we hope to be able to flesh out with a full review of the vehicle at some point in the near future. Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley over Laureles Grade and back or off-road on the acclaimed Land Rover Experience on the grounds of Quail Lodge. My seventh drive of the day was in the 2020 Kia Telluride SX V6 AWD.
We set off in our land rover with Thury, M and T鈥檚 excellent 鈥榦ne man band鈥?cook and camp staff on board. Well, not right from the start; he joined us at the first stop one hour away from our home at 鈥楾鈥?falls, a town we have not frequented enough yet. Here we met with M; complete with Toyota full of 6 guests from UK and trailer on back with most of the camping equipment, kitchen sink and all. T was in another Friend鈥檚 pick up, coming along for the trip just like us; complete with lady friend and Thury. Thury had already had enough of 鈥榯hat鈥?group, he slipped into our land rover out of their vehicle once he saw we had plenty of space, quicker than you can say 鈥榦k! The first day was 4 hour drive slightly North to Lake Bogoria, a salt water lake; to see the flamingos and camp. M and T are very organised, having small tents for one night stopovers which came out for that purpose.
Loss of power on the Range Rover Sport can be caused by a number of issues. Most will require the vehicle plugging into diagnostic equipment to find the exact cause however the most common faults are EGR valves or a split in one of the intercooler hoses. This means that the air boost pressure is lost so the air and fuel mixture is incorrect leading to poor performance and generally black smoke from the exhaust. Most instances will put the car into restricted performance mode but not always. Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valves are fitted to most modern vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions. The EGR takes the gases from the exhaust manifold and puts it back into the cylinders at lower temperatures which produces less of the harmful nitrogen oxide gas. However, this process creates more soot which can eventually build up and prevent the valves from operating properly. Symptoms of faulty valves can be; heavy black smoke, loss of power, poor running and high fuel consumption.
The stock Series low range first gear ratio is 40.7:1 measured at the axle. The NP435/Series transfercase/4.7:1 R&P combination's low range first gear is 50.37:1 at the axle. The granny version gets you into gonzo rock crawling territory. Left side Ford NP-435 case. Right side Ford NP-435 case. Stock oil fill blocked by Series transfercase nose. The 2WD versions have a square tail-housing bolt pattern, while the 4WD version has a trapezoid pattern (lower bolts farther apart than top bolts). 4WD trucks that had a divorced transfer case also used the square tail housing bolt pattern. Different transfer case adaptors fit different tail bolt patterns. Be sure to verify that the gearbox will fit the adaptor for the transfer case you plan to use before handing over your money. There are 3 or 4 different adapters available to connect the NP-435 to the Series Transfer case. Advance Adapters has one type. Timm Cooper had at least two versions of adapter (only available used) and Ike has at least 2 versions of an adapter plate and custom tail shaft. The NP-435 has an aluminium top cover which is usually stamped with 'NP' enclosed in a circle.
