Butch Cassidy, wackadoo tech and Range Rover whispers: What people think of Kia's Telluride concept

It’s nearly covered the car market from side to side and top to bottom, and now Kia appears to be making bold plans to raise its game on the crossover/SUV side. The full-size Telluride concept, the brand’s biggest crossover or SUV since the Borrego was scrapped after the 2010 model year, debuted at the Detroit auto show with a reflective green paint job and far-out features. Here’s what some critics and journalists are saying about the Telluride.

“The Telluride is an SUV unlike any Kia has sold before. Its name, Telluride, makes us wonder if Kia will ever run out of names based on ritzy resort cities, like Sorento and Sedona. Photos hardly do justice to the Telluride’s looks and proportions. (Are we crazy about the olive drab color? Not really.) In concept alone, the blocky, chunky Telluride seems a competitor to the Toyota Land Cruiser and Infiniti QX80: SUVs with a pedigree for go-anywhere capability.” -- Jeff Jablansky, New York Daily News

“In a landscape where most full-size SUVs resemble cyborg wildebeests, the Telluride is crisp and handsome. The blunt and unashamedly rectilinear front end feels like the best parts of ’70s and ’80s American truck design, and the side profile exhibits some very pleasing proportions with smart, unfussy detailing. The rear suicide doors are a welcome and useful innovation in this segment, and I even like the novel taillight treatment.” -- Jason Torchinsky, Jalopnik

“The official line is that Kia has no plans to put the Telluride into production. Don’t believe it. Kia’s U.S. sales are at a point where the Sportage and Sorento can afford to have a bigger sibling, especially one that appears more trucklike. The boom times for nonpremium large SUVs may have passed, but there’s still money to be minted with these machines. Butch Cassidy didn’t rob his first bank until 1889 -- in Telluride, no less -- some 17 years after the first miners founded the place. So there’s time yet for Kia.” -- Clifford Atiyeh, Car and Driver

“This being a concept car in 2016, the Telluride also has all kinds of wackadoo technology, like embedded sensors in the seats that measure each passenger's vital signs and uses them to control ‘a massive, wing-shaped LED panel mounted beneath the oversized sunroof that displays a pattern of therapeutic light to treat desynchronosis (jetlag) and improve the passengers' energy levels.’ Ooooookay then. I don't care about that. If the Telluride ever becomes a reality, you know damn well it won't treat your jet lag. But I sure hope it comes looking exactly like this concept. Because it's damn near perfect. The slight but notable resemblance to an XJ Jeep Cherokee is just coincidence.” -- Bob Sorokanich, Road & Track

“I don't mind the boxy look, and I like that the exterior looks pretty much production-ready except for those doors. I do mind Kia saying that it's a large, three-row SUV concept and then not putting a third row in it. The health monitoring via ‘Smart Sensors’ is a nifty touch, but it doesn't seem to have any other application than the therapeutic lighting.” -- Brian Wong, Cars.com

“The Telluride concept is a large, three-row SUV that brings Kia into uncharted territory. While still a pure concept at this time, the Telluride shows that the automaker is at the very least interested in offering a premium, technology-packed SUV above the current Sorento. Consider the waters tested.” -- Andrew Hard, Digital Trends

“Kia's inexorable march up the automotive food-chain continues with this big truck. Yes, it vaguely looks like 1998. But, the brand needs something compelling to compete with the GMC Yukons of the world.” -- Matt Vella, Time

“Totally funky, and thank God it's not another Soul derivative concept that never will be built. Big, boxy and bold, it hints at a potential SUV that Kia could do now that gasoline is cheap again. Anyone remember the Kia Borrego? It arrived at the exact wrong moment for Kia and disappeared quickly from these shores. Looks like it might be time to revisit this idea.” -- Aaron Bragman, Cars.com

“Big and classy, Kia’s Telluride concept SUV more than hints that Hyundai isn’t the only Korean brand with its eye on luxury sales. Designed in California, the Telluride’s styling whispers ‘Land Rover,’ and its cabin brims with new connectivity features.” -- Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press

“Arguably, Kia doesn't need to remake itself; it's doing quite well as it is. However, the Telluride concept moves the brand a bit further up the luxury scale. That's because the Telluride appears to go after the likes of the Infiniti QX80 and the Lexus LX570. And I'm not saying that just because of its tall, broad body; it's technically compelling on the seven-seater interior as well. … Moreover, the Telluride shows where Kia is headed. More than just the cool, hip Korean brand, it seems Kia wants to be an affordable but youthful luxury option for families as well. And based upon what I am seeing of the Telluride, it's a very believable aspiration.” -- Nick Jaynes, Mashable