Rent Kia Telluride 2024 in Dubai

Kia's own range is the fastest way to size a Kia Telluride 2024 rental in Dubai, because the real question here is usually about its smaller sibling, the Sorento. The Telluride is Kia's biggest SUV, noticeably longer and wider with a third row that actually seats adults, and we get it to your door within one to two hours of booking rather than making you queue at a counter. Here's the honest version: if the Sorento's back row already felt tight for your group, or you need real cargo room behind a full set of seats, the Telluride's extra size earns its keep. If it's four of you and a couple of bags for the week, it doesn't, and you'd be paying to carry space you never use.

The V6, and how it drives

The 2024 Telluride runs a 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6, the only engine Kia offers on this car in the GCC, making 291 hp and 355 Nm through an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. There's no smaller engine option and no front-wheel-drive version here, unlike the Sorento, which gives most renters a four-cylinder front-driver as the default. That means every Telluride you rent from us comes with the bigger drivetrain and the traction that goes with it.

On the road it drives like what it is: a large, naturally aspirated V6 doing duty in a heavy body-on-unibody SUV rather than a turbo engine punching above its size. Around town the eight-speed keeps it smooth through Dubai's roundabouts and stop-start traffic, and there's enough torque low down that it never feels strained pulling away with a full cabin. On Sheikh Zayed Road it settles into a comfortable cruise, but the engine wants revs to really move, so a loaded overtake at speed takes more commitment than it would in a car with a turbocharged six. Worth saying plainly: this is a crossover-based AWD system for traction on wet roads and light sand, not a 4x4 with a low-range transfer case. If your week includes real dune driving, look at something built for that job instead.

Seats, boot and the honest cargo trade-off

Here's where the Telluride actually separates itself from the Sorento, and it isn't just the extra seat. Depending on the second-row layout you get either two captain's chairs and seven seats total, or a bench and eight, and both rows behind the front are genuinely usable by adults, not just kids on a short hop. That third row is the reason to rent this car over the smaller one when your group is regularly six or more.

The boot backs that up. With every seat up there's 594 litres behind the third row, which is real luggage space, closer to double what the Sorento offers in the same configuration and enough for a proper airport run without folding anything down. Drop the third row and it opens up to roughly double that again for a full week's shopping or a house move's worth of bags. The trade-off other three-row SUVs force on you, seven or eight people or a full boot but rarely both, is much less of an issue here. That's the whole case for sizing up: if you need people and luggage on the same day, the Telluride handles it in a way a mid-size SUV can't.

Running cost, heat and the cabin

That capability costs you at the pump. The V6's combined fuel economy sits around 12 litres per 100 km, and a week of Dubai traffic with the AC working hard through the afternoon will push that figure up rather than down. With a 71-litre tank you're still looking at a solid stretch between fill-ups, but it drinks more than the Sorento's four-cylinder and you should budget for it. This car's policy allows 250 km a day, with extra kilometres billed at AED 0.5 each, and you'll need to be at least 25 to take the keys, older than the age limit on some smaller cars in the fleet. Salik tolls and any RTA fines during the rental are the renter's responsibility, as with every car we hand over.

A cabin this size takes a little longer to pull down from a parked afternoon in July heat, simply because there's more air to move, but the AC doesn't struggle once you're moving. Front vents pull hard, and the vehicle feeds the second and third rows properly, so kids in the back seats aren't left waiting on leftover cold air while the front cools first. Climb back in after a few hours in the sun and give it a minute with the windows cracked before you expect it comfortable, same as any large SUV in summer. On size, at five metres long and close to two metres wide, Marina tower ramps and tight multi-storey bays ask for the reversing camera and a bit of patience, and speed bumps are a non-event with 203 mm of clearance underneath.

Who should rent it, and who should size down

Rent the Telluride if your group is regularly six to eight people, if you're doing airport runs with real luggage alongside a full cabin, or if you simply want a bigger, more comfortable SUV for a family gathering where everyone needs a proper seat, not a fold-down one. It's also the better pick over the Sorento for anyone who's used a smaller three-row car before and found the last row too cramped for actual adults.

Size down to a Sorento or similar mid-size SUV if it's rarely more than five of you, since you'll get a smaller footprint to park and a noticeably lighter fuel bill for the same everyday errands. And if the plan involves real off-road driving rather than the odd graded track, look at a proper 4x4 instead. The Telluride's AWD system is there for grip and confidence, not for low range and dunes, and it's worth being honest about that before you book it for a job it isn't built to do.