By Daniel Golson March 17, 2026 9:00 am EST
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The second-generation Telluride is larger and more spacious, has a pair of totally new powertrains, offers more luxurious features, is more capable off-road and better to drive on-road, and is still a damn good deal. Those and more are reason enough to speak effusively about the Telluride, but what I keep coming back to is its styling. I went pretty long on the new Telluride's design when it was first revealed back in November, but I had yet to see it in person. Now that I have, I love it even more. This thing just looks so f**king cool. Judging from the reaction in my DMs, it's a total love it or hate it design, which I would always rather have than something normal and boring.
I prefer the front-end styling of the standard Tellurides versus the more blacked-out X-Line and X-Pro (below is an X-Line on the left and an X-Pro on the right), though the blocky grille and chunky bumper of those off-roady models do look good. But it's the stranger the better for me, so I like the vertical motif of the normal front, especially on hybrid models where the grille inserts and the panel between the running lights are color-matched. The amber DRLs look even more distinct than the outgoing Telluride's, and there's four different unlock animations to choose from. (Annoyingly, it was almost impossible to correctly capture the DRLs with my iPhone.) The actual headlights are tiny rectangle units in the grille just inboard of the running lights, giving it a fascinating light signature at night. The dual-line taillights, similarly shaped to the DRLs while also an evolution of the old model's, sit flush on the rear end and are greyed out when the car is off.
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The new Telluride is 2.3 inches longer and about half an inch taller than the old one, but despite the increased size and blockier stance, Kia says it's almost 10% more aerodynamic. Pop-out door handles and chiseled surfaces certainly help with that. I love the triangular shape of the fender flares, the strange notches and concentric lines on the wheel arches, the subtle chamfering and surfacing of all the body panels. The side windows are less interesting than before but the D-pillar is more so, and the blockier tail end is a nice evolution of the old Telluride. While walking around the SUV I was even remarking how much I enjoy the treatment of the license plate surround and the design of the side mirrors.
Sadly all the Tellurides that Kia brought to Santa Barbara were the same spec, painted in Ivory Silver, a color that does at least have some nice champagne sparkle to it. But while much of the Telluride's color palette is boring, there are some real bangers on offer. Depending on trim level, you can get a sweet denim blue, emerald green, and a great sand beige, the last of which comes in either gloss or matte finishes. There's a matte grey on offer, too. Kia also continues to kill the wheel design game, with every trim level having four-spoke wheels that are up to 21 inches in size. Too bad they're all mostly just black.
Get the hybrid
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Our lunch stop was a 7,000-acre ranch that's been in the same family since the 1890s, where we got to experience the Telluride X-Pro in its natural habitat: on a bunch of off-road trails, surrounded by 600 cows and beautiful scenery. The automaker introduced a Telluride X-Pro with the previous-gen's facelift, but aside from all-terrain tires, more ground clearance and some styling tweaks, it wasn't a compelling choice for people who actually do nature-y things. The new X-Pro is a different story. In addition to 18-inch wheels with Continental CrossContact all-terrains, it has 9.1 inches of ground clearance (0.7 inch more than the last one) and specially tuned suspension, an electronic limited-slip differential, three Terrain drive modes (Mud, Sand and Snow), off-road camera views, and even more distinct styling cues that include functional recovery hooks. And that's on top of what you get in the SX Prestige, the otherwise-top trim level.
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Kia only offers the X-Pro with the nonhybrid engine, apparently because engineers couldn't get the capability and towing capacity they wanted from the hybrid; the electrified Tellurides tow 500 pounds fewer, so only 4,500 pounds. That seems like a load of BS to me. The extra oomph, instant electric torque and overall quietness would all be beneficial when off-roading, and I can't imagine that 500 pounds will really make a difference to all X-Pro buyers. I'd expect an X-Pro hybrid to be introduced in a year or two. But the turbo four did a fine job powering the X-Pros along the mixture of paved roads, dirt trails, rocky creeks and muddy hills we drove them on, and it sounded kinda good too.
You can bring up a data screen that shows a three-dimensional model of the Telluride surrounded by information about tire pressure, the amount of load being put on each wheel, pitch and roll angles, and a bunch more powertrain stuff. It's really well done, but I wish the gauge cluster was able to show graphics like it as well. What's not as well done is the surround-view camera system. The cameras themselves are already fairly low-res for 2026, and while the off-road views are helpful, like the underhood view, the camera feeds turn off if you exceed 6 mph, which I did many, many times in the hour I was off-roading.
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Most dudes who love driving on trails will say, "Pssh, you don't need wimpy camera views anyway, just look out the windows like a real man." I reject toxic off-roader masculinity, and want lots of good cameras on any car I drive, but I will admit that visibility is pretty good in the Telluride, and it didn't feel too big or unwieldy, even when driving around a rocky curve at a 27-degree angle. Its shockingly tight turning radius definitely helps. The X-Pro felt totally sure-footed on every sort of obstacle we tackled, with capabilities clearly beyond anything we were doing. Other than one X-Pro with a banged-up skidplate, the Tellurides survived the day unscathed.
Necessary space
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The magic of the Telluride's interior is in the details and materials. You get what Kia calls "engineered wood" (it doesn't really explain what that means) that looks and feels very nice, and you'd never guess that the SynTex synthetic leather isn't real cow hide. It's paired nicely with suede on the upper sections of the seats and the headliner on the SX Prestige and X-Pro models. Major touchpoints and surfaces, as well as some minor ones, are well-padded, but even the hard plastic pieces look and feel higher-end. All of the buttons, switches and knobs feel wonderful to press and use, as do the air vents that have a cool action to adjusting airflow. The door handles are a vertically oriented pull tab with a metal-like end cap that have a great action, like a lever in a Star Wars ship.
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What really pushes the Telluride's cabin into show-stopping territory is the use of color inside. Now, this is something that Hyundai Motor Group excels at in general, ever since cars like the Hyundai Venue Denim and earliest Genesis GV80s came out. Some trim levels are available with Butter Brown or Saddle Brown upholstery that look nice if fairly plain, or green-ish Millstone used sparingly along with black. For full drama, go for one of the SX Prestige trims, which can be had with the excellent combination of Deep Navy and Tuscan Umber — or, only in the hybrid SX Prestige with a couple of the paint options, the Blackberry and Sand Beige you see here.
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When you go for one of those two schemes, every single thing you see inside the car is color-matched. The door sill guards and plastic surround in the cargo area, all the tiny plastic pieces on the dashboard and door cards, the shrouds for the seat bases, all the hooks and clips and fasteners, the seatbelt outlets and seatbelts themselves, the headliner, the rubber door pocket liners... It's all color-matched to beige and purple. The only bits of black inside are the carpets and the steering wheel stalks. It's hard to even describe the feeling I get when gazing upon this level of color-matching, which is something not even Rolls-Royce and Bentley do. Have you ever been to a Beyoncé concert and felt the air vibrate and the stadium floor shake from the crowd's energy as her silhouette appears on stage? That's what it's like to notice another purple component in the Telluride.
This fantastic color scheme requires the $1,200 SX Prestige Executive package, which gets you 6-way powered second-row seats with a relaxation mode, heated outboard third-row seats, and 10-way power front seats with adjustable lumbar, a 2-way power leg extension and "premium relaxation comfort settings." They really are comfortable seats, though it sucks that the massage function is only for the driver.
It's more expensive but still a good value
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There are a lot of good three-row crossovers on sale, and even a few really great ones. It's one of the most popular and important segments in the U.S., so automakers (usually) put a lot of effort in, and the field is a lot more competitive than it was when the Telluride first came out in 2019. But I think the second-gen Kia Telluride is coming out swinging, poised to knock out everyone else.
The only other SUV that comes close is, of course, its similarly priced Hyundai Palisade stablemate. The Palisade's exterior design is equally out there, but its lounge-like interior is more interesting to look at and more luxurious and plush. For now, the Telluride's turbo four has a leg up over the Palisade's V6, but the Hyundai is probably getting the four-cylinder next year, and the two cars' hybrid powertrains are identical.
Like so much in this world — and in the specific world of large mainstream crossovers — it'll all come down to personal preference. Not everyone will vibe with the Telluride, but I really do, and I think throngs of customers will too, probably more than ever before. Sure, I want people to buy great cars that suit their needs, but mainly I hope the 2027 Kia Telluride is a big success so I can keep seeing tons of these wonderfully weird-looking SUVs on the roads for years to come.