2027 Kia Telluride Is Bigger, Bolder And Comes Turbocharged Out Of The Box

The Telluride is an enormously important vehicle for Kia, so when it came time to design the family crossover’s second generation, there was really no room for error. A lot of companies would play it safe, choke up on the bat and play for contact, but not Kia. It swung for the fences with the redesigned 2027 Telluride, and the results look incredibly promising.

What we’ve got here is two new powertrains under the hood, new sheetmetal on the outside and a completely revamped interior that gives a rugged yet comfy look. While its twin, the Hyundai Palisade, is definitely more geared toward luxury, this thing has far more of an outdoorsy feel to it, and that’s aided by the X-Pro trim that gains all-terrain tires and an E-LSD with 9.1 inches of ground clearance. Of course, it’s also bigger than before, meaning there’s more room inside for you, your stuff, and your children. There’s a lot to talk about with the 2027 Telluride, so why don’t we jump right in?

The Telluride and Palisade are mechanical twins, yet oddly, Hyundai Motor Group has decided the two need different base engines for 2027. Unlike the Pali’, which comes standard with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 that puts out 287 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, Kia threw a turbocharged four-cylinder motor under the hood of the base Telluride. Though it doesn’t quite have a displacement number, Kia says it’ll put out 274 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque — that’s a massive win over the Palisade if you ask me. In any case, that power is routed through an eight-speed automatic transmission to either the front wheels or an optional all-wheel-drive system. It’ll also be able to tow up to 5,000 pounds.

If you’re more of an electric enthusiast, you can swing for the Telluride hybrid, which mates a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four with a couple of electric motors and a 1.65-kWh battery to pump out a stout 329 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. We first saw this motor on the Palisade Hybrid, and — if you ask me — it’s going to be the one to get. That power is sent through a six-speed automatic transmission to either the front wheels or all four, and Kia says it’ll be able to travel about 600 miles on a single tank of gas. Not too shabby.

The X-Pro has been around for a few years now, but Kia is turning it up a notch for the second-generation Telluride. It comes standard with all-terrain tires, a bespoke suspension setup with additional travel, an electronic limited-slip differential and a rather impressive 9.1 inches of ground clearance. To help you on your way, there are a slew of drive modes to choose from, including Terrain Mode, and if you get stuck, there are front and rear recovery points.

Kia

To keep that from happening, Kia gives drivers what it calls a “Ground View Monitor” system that displays a composite view of the ground when you’re driving below 6 mph by using the on-board cameras. You also get a little screen that shows your pitch, roll and steering angle, and there’s some extra lighting around the vehicle to make it look a bit tougher.

I’m fairly certain that none of this stuff is really necessary for your average Telluride buyer, but in a world where everybody wants to look the part of an outdoor enthusiast, it certainly helps.

We got our first detailed look at the second-generation Telluride a couple of weeks ago, and it looks fabulous to me in a very Kia sort of way. You can certainly see some design elements of the past car, mixed in with a bit of Range Rover out back. Up front, there’s a broader hood and flatter grille than there was before, meant to give it a more upright, in-your-face look. Where the Palisade emphasized horizontal lines, the Telluride highlighted vertical ones. The car looks tall and imposing. To say the very least, it’s boxy. Listen, I know the Telluride’s looks aren’t for everybody, and design is subjective, but I like it, and this is my story, so I get to say what’s what around these parts.

In any case, the Telluride’s boxy nature doesn’t mean it’s not aerodynamic. Thanks to flush-mounted door handles and a few other aero tricks, Kia was able to drop the Telluride’s drag coefficient from 0.33 to 0.30. That’s not too shabby for something the size of a small house.

I’m not really speaking in hyperbole either. Telluride is pretty damn big. Its 116.9-inch wheelbase and 199.2-inch overall length both represent increases of 2.7 and 2.3 inches, respectively, and it’s not like the only Telluride was a small car. That translates to a roomier interior.

The inside of the new Telluride might be just about the best interior Kia has ever done. There’s a hell of a lot of wood, leather and interesting geometric shapes and designs that are meant to make you feel refreshed and relaxed. I feel it just looked at the hi-res images on my screen.

It’s a complete redesign of the old car’s interior, but there are still some cues that let you know this is a Telluride. Namely, it keeps the grip handles around the front center console, which I’m sure will be very useful when you go off-roading.

Throughout the interior, you’re going to find SynTex upholstery and available SynTex suede that are supposed to give the car an even more upscale look than it already has. Adding to that is the LED ambient lighting and an emphasis on getting rid of as much NVH as possible. It’s something that worked on the Palisade, so I expect that to also come through here. You get HMG’s trick Ergo Motion driver’s seat that’ll give a light massage to the driver as well as wireless charging pads up front.

The second row can be optioned with power-operated captain’s chairs, which can be heated and ventilated, and even the third row can be heated. Oh, and your kids won’t need to scream about who is charging what, because there are enough USB-C ports to keep everybody happy.

Kia says the extra length in the Palisade all went into more legroom for second- and third-row passengers, and there’s a maximum cargo capacity of 86.9 cubic feet. With the second row in place, that drops to 46.3, and if you need to use all three rows, you’ll have to make do with a still-impressive 22.3 cubic feet (the hybrid loses 1 cubic foot).

The 2027 Telluride is available with matching 12.3-inch displays that’ll serve as your gauge cluster and infotainment screen as well as a 12-inch head-up display. I’ve got a feeling they’re identical to what is found in the Palisade, so I’m sure they’ll be quite good. If you don’t like the native UI, hook up wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and your problems will go away.

You’ll be able to play your music through a 14-speaker Meridian sound system with a 10-inch subwoofer, and, if you’re strange, you can stream Disney+, Netflix and YouTube right on your infotainment screen. Of course, it won’t work while you’re driving, but it’s sort of neat nonetheless.

The Telluride also comes with HMG’s excellent suite of driver assistance and safety technology. It’s got one of the best hands-on Level 2 driver assistance systems in the business that keeps you in your lane and away from the car in front of you. I cannot sing its praises enough.

If all of this sounds like your cup of tea, Kia says the 2027 Telluride is expected to go on sale in the U.S. sometime in the first quarter of 2026, and it’s going to be built at Kia’s factory in West Point, Georgia.

Obviously, I haven’t driven this car yet, but given the fact I’ve tested both the old Telluride and both iterations of the new Palisade, I’ve got some seriously high hopes for this car, and I’ve got very little doubt that it’ll deliver.