When Kia revealed the Telluride concept at the 2016 Detroit Motor Show, most people (including me) thought it was great, but this was after the generation of Kia's first couple of interesting designs and really good cars, but the Hyundai Motor Group still seems to dominate the current world. Everyone was justifiably skeptical because they had not reached heights, and to break into the three-row crossover space and actually succeed is notoriously tough.Well, three years later the production Telluride debuted and not only did it look almost as great as the concept, it was a really excellent vehicle. Telluride became an immediate blockbuster for Kia both critically and commercially, with customers lining up at dealers like that Yodel woman banging on the bus door. Sales have increased by 108% since Telluride's first year, Kia moved 123,281 cases last year, and its market share has soared from 2019 to 3.5% in 2025 to 8%.
After 7 years and more than 670,000 sales, the second generation Telluride is here, and it's hard to think of a recent mainstream automotive follow-up that had only this to live up to. The more outrageous styling of the new Telluride is likely to turn off some traditionalists, but I think it's less important and Kia doesn't think so either - the automaker says its Georgia plant has increased production capacity by 50% for the new model. It is necessary because the 2027 Kia Telluride is basically excellent at every level and maintains its place at the top of the 3-row SUV mountain.The second generation Telluride is bigger, more spacious, has a whole new power train pair, offers more luxurious features, more off-road more than them, which is reason enough to talk effusively about Telluride, but what I come back with is its styling. When it was first revealed on May 11, I went pretty long into the design of the new telluride, but I haven't seen it first hand yet. Now that I have, I love it even more.
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The blocky grille and chunky bumpers of these off-road models do look good, but I prefer the standard Telluride front-end styling versus the more blacked-out X-line and x-Pro.But it's better for me to be a stranger, so I like the usual front vertical motif, especially on hybrid models, where the panels between the grille inserts and the running lights are matched in color. Amber Drl looks even clearer than outgoing Telluride's and has 4 different unlock animations to choose from. The actual headlight is a small rectangular unit of running light that gives it a fascinating light signature at night just on the inboard grill. The evolution of the older model sits in the flash at the rear end, while the dual-line taillights are molded into DRLs as well, and the gray-colored tail lights are used when the car is turned off.
The new Telluride is 2.3 inches longer and about 0.5 inches taller than the old one, but despite its larger size and thicker stance, Kia says it is almost 10% more aerodynamic. The pop outdoor handle and the carved deep surface will certainly help with it. I love the triangular shape of the fender flares, the odd notches and concentric lines of the wheel arches, and the subtle chamfering and surfacing of all the body panels. The side windows are less interesting than before, but the D-pillar is more interesting and the more blocky tail end is a nice evolution of the old telluride. While walking around the SUV, I was even reminded of how much I enjoyed the license plate surround handling and side mirror design.Sadly, all the Telluride Kia brought to Santa Barbara had the same specifications and was painted in ivory silver.
But while many of Telluride's color palettes are boring, there are some real bangers on offer. Depending on the trim level, you can get a sweet denim blue, emerald green and a great sand beige, and the finishing touch can be either a glossy or matte finish. Matte gray is also available. Kia also continues to kill the wheel design game, and all trim levels have 21-spoke wheels that are up to 4 inches in size. Unfortunately, they are all mostly black.Even if you don't like how the telluride looks on the outside, you'll love how it drives. Where the old Telluride had a naturally aspirated 3.8-litre V6 attractive to classic SUV fans, under the 2027 Telluride's bonnet is a turbocharged 2.5-litre inline-4, with 274 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque, with front wheels or, if desired, an 8-speed auto. It is sent to all 4 wheels through the Matic. It's 18 horsepower, but it's up 49lb-ft than the v6, and the new Telluride is about half a second slower than the old one to 60mph in car and driver testing, but fast enough to record 7.4 hours of 0-60 seconds.
It's faster than Telluride's twin, Hyundai Palisade, which is still using a naturally aspirated V6.Weighing in at 4,381 pounds in the base FWD form and 4,744 pounds in the most feature-filled AWD trim, the new Telluride will undoubtedly contribute to the accelerating deficit, and it will be a great addition.I off-loaded in x-Pro-trim is a non-hybrid model drove only my driving impression of most hybrid Telluride, but it is definitely what you want power train can. Kia adds two electric motors to the Turbo Four, bringing total output to 329 hp and 339 lb-ft, and the 0-60 hours of the hybrid should be in the range of low-6 seconds. Hybrid system operation is very smooth, gas and power switching is seamless, from the engine of the drone and drive train of the roughness is almost no power delivery is linear, brake ring is good. There are 2 gears less in the hybrid automatic transmission, and its operation is not very noticeable, so it is not a problem at all.
Eco, sport, my drive customizable mode with 3 drive mode, but will not, eco and sport switch powertrain responsiveness except not. The power steering motor to the column from the rack to move to, the accuracy improved. The suspension is very well damped, and the 20-inch or 21-inch wheels equipped with high-end trim to go on the ride of a penalty to worry about, not to tight corners in sloppy me enough to configuration. Perhaps the best dynamic attribute of Telluride is how quiet the interior is. It is legally Mercedes-Benz S-Class as quietly look, Telluride's overall solidity to the increasing further. Old Telluride is its price tag suggests a more premium driving experience you have had, the new one is it a notch up.
Also, I think that fuel economy is good. A regular Telluride combines 22mpg, 20mpg city and 26mpg highway in front-wheel drive form (same as the old V6), or 20/18/24awd (better on the highway than the v6 1mpg). But going for the hybrid, the FWD Telluride combines 35mpg and gets 34mpg city and 36mpg highway. This makes it slightly more efficient than the Palisade hybrid, which shares the same powertrain, and the Telluride has only 2 mpg or more behind the Toyota Grand Highlander. During my day at Telluride, I saw about 28mpg, and that includes a lot of spirited back-road driving. The hybrid boasts a driving range of 637 miles, more than 200 miles beyond the standard engine.
Our stop was a 7,000-acre ranch, the same family since the 1890s, where we were able to experience the Telluride X-Pro with a bunch of off-road courses surrounded by 600 cows and beautiful views. The automaker introduced the Telluride X-Pro with a previous generation face lift, but with the exception of all-terrain tires, more ground clearance and some styling tweaks, it wasn't actually an attractive choice for people who do natural things. The new X-Pro is a different story. In addition to the Continental Cross Contact all-terrain and 18-inch wheels, it has 9.1 inches of ground clearance (0.7 inches more than the last one) and a specially tuned suspension, and that's above what you get at the SX Prestige, an otherwise top trim level.
Kia is offering the X-Pro with a nonhybrid engine, apparently, because engineers could not get the ability and traction ability they wanted from the hybrid. It seems like a load of crap to me. Extra vigor, instant electric torque and overall quietness are all beneficial when offloading and I can't imagine a 500 pound would really make a difference to all X-Pro buyers. I expect the X-Pro hybrid to be introduced in a year or two. But the Turbo Four did a great job of powering the X-Pro along a mixture of paved roads, dirty roads, rocky creeks and muddy hills.
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