The 2023 Kia Telluride Has a Smart Solution for a Dumb Seat Belt Problem
Do you, like me, get annoyed when seat belts clack around when your car is empty? The Kia Telluride offers us a solution.
There are many things to like about the 2023 Kia Telluride. It looks nice and it drives great, but during the long weekend I spent with it, I noticed one other thing about it that deserves a shoutout. There's a very clever seat belt management system for second- and third-row passengers that I haven't really seen in other cars. Good job Kia.
A very minor pet peeve of mine is when I'm driving a car without passengers, the seat belts can clack around in the cabin. I absolutely hate interior clacking or rattling of any kind, and it's extra obnoxious when it comes from something I can't remove that ought to be buckled in, like a seat belt. Yes, this is a very minor thing and bordering on petty. But I know at least a few of you will share the feeling.
That was not the case with the Telluride! For the five rear passenger belts, designers placed little plastic holders to clip the belts into when not in use. Here's the second row:
And here's the third row:
The middle belt for the third-row bench seat descends from the ceiling, and even then, Kia was smarter than to let it just dangle when there's no passenger. There's a little slot in the ceiling you can tuck it into. It's genius.
The Cadillac Lyriq EV has something similar—a "piggy bank" slot for its seat belts. However, I think the Telluride's version looks a little more elegant.
But I'm a realist, and I know it's unreasonable to expect passengers to remember to tuck away their belts when they exit the vehicle. It's also unreasonable to expect the driver to manually tuck away the belts after every passenger exits. So, I forecast that these holders probably won't be used terribly often, especially if your passenger seats see a lot of regular use. But what Kia has created here is an option to remove the hated belt clack once and for all. Petty problems require minor solutions, and this is the perfect example.
I take seat belts seriously, m'kay? Email me: kristen@thedrive.com
