2027 Kia Telluride Review

Why the Telluride matters

The Telluride matters because the first generation reset what a mainstream family hauler could feel like, and the redesign decides whether Kia keeps that lead against the new Hyundai Palisade, Toyota Grand Highlander, and Honda Pilot. The headline changes are structural: the 291-hp V6 is replaced by a 274-hp turbocharged four, a 329-hp hybrid joins the range with up to 35 mpg and a 637-mile range claim, and the body grows 2.3 inches longer on a 2.7-inch-longer wheelbase.

What to watch before you buy

Watch four things before signing: whether the hybrid's $2,700 like-for-like premium fits your budget, because it is the better powertrain; whether the trim you want actually exists in the configuration you want, since the hybrid skips the LX, S, and X-Pro; what the out-the-door quote looks like once the $1,545 destination and dealer add-ons land; and whether the third-row seat belt recall fix has been completed on the exact VIN you are buying.

SERP audit: what the current coverage owns, and what it skips

The 2027 Telluride search landscape is led by Car and Driver's instrumented test, which owns the hard numbers: a 7.4-second 0-60, a 15.6-second quarter mile, 170-foot braking from 70 mph, and the brand's carry-on-box cargo test. MotorTrend and Edmunds add polished first drives, and Edmunds layers on live pricing modules. If you want lab data, that coverage is genuinely good, and we cite it throughout instead of pretending it does not exist.

What the leaders skip is the actual buying decision. Car and Driver's test covers one $57,435 gas X-Line and says plainly that it has not yet driven the Telluride Hybrid or run a real-world highway fuel economy loop. None of the top pages walks the full 18-configuration price ladder, none of them prices the gas-versus-hybrid decision in like-for-like terms, and none of them answers the questions Google itself shows shoppers asking: which trim to avoid, whether the new one beats the 2025, and what the real monthly cost looks like.

That is the gap this page fills. Every price below is Kia's official number, every test figure is attributed to the outlet that measured it, and the trim advice is framed the way a buyer actually decides: how much, for what, and when to stop climbing the ladder.

What Kia officially announced, and when

Kia America priced the gas lineup on January 8, 2026 and the hybrid on February 26, 2026, with the gas model on sale in March and hybrids arriving in showrooms right behind it. Every Telluride is built in West Point, Georgia. The 12 gas configurations run from the $39,190 LX FWD through S, EX, X-Line, X-Pro, and SX-Prestige variants to $56,790, and the six hybrid configurations run from the $46,490 EX FWD to the $57,590 X-Line SX-Prestige AWD, all before the $1,545 destination charge.

The engineering story is bigger than a styling refresh. The new Telluride is 199.2 inches long on a 116.9-inch wheelbase, up 2.3 and 2.7 inches respectively, and aerodynamic drag drops from 0.33 to 0.30 on street trims. The old 3.8-liter V6 is retired. The base engine is now a 2.5-liter turbocharged four with 274 horsepower and 311 pound-feet, down 17 horsepower but up 49 pound-feet on the V6, through an 8-speed automatic. The hybrid pairs the turbo four with two electric motors and a 1.65-kWh battery for 329 horsepower and 339 pound-feet through a 6-speed automatic.

Kia also moved the Telluride upmarket in capability terms: a rack-mounted steering setup replaces the old column-mounted unit, the X-Pro gains 9.1 inches of ground clearance with an electronic limited-slip rear differential and all-terrain tires, and the cabin adopts the EV9-style twin 12.3-inch panoramic displays with Kia's connected-car software, over-the-air updates, and a generative-AI voice assistant.

The official equipment list is unusually deep for the class: 19 standard driver-assistance features, 10 airbags including a new front-center bag, heated outboard seats in all three rows on upper trims, dual standard wireless charging pads, a column shifter that frees up console storage, and a Digital Key that can be shared to three phones. This is the spec-sheet muscle that made the first Telluride famous, carried forward and extended.

The price ladder, destination math, and June 2026 deal reality

Start with the only number that matters at the dealer: destination is $1,545 on every trim, so the advertised $39,190 LX is really a $40,735 starting point, and the most expensive hybrid lands at $59,135 before options, taxes, and fees. That is a near-$20,000 spread across the lineup, which is exactly why trim discipline matters more on this Telluride than it did on the old one.

The June 2026 market data is unusually favorable for a hot redesign. Edmunds' current tracking shows Tellurides averaging about 27 days on dealer lots with transactions running roughly 1% under sticker, around $450 off a typical build. Kia is also running 4.49% APR for 60 months and a $500 military offer this month. None of that is a fire sale, but it means the days of paying over MSRP for a Telluride appear to be over, and a patient shopper can negotiate from sticker down rather than up.

Price-versus-history context matters too. Car and Driver notes the base price is up nearly $3,000 over the 2025 model, which sounds like a penalty until MotorTrend's inflation math reframes it: the new $40,735 starting point is actually cheaper in real terms than the original 2019 Telluride's launch price. You are paying more dollars for meaningfully more vehicle, not the same vehicle at a markup.

The discipline rule: decide your powertrain first, then your seat count, then stop. The hybrid does not exist below EX, so the cheapest electrified Telluride is $48,035 with destination. If your budget caps below that, the gas EX AWD at $47,335 with destination is the strongest configuration. If your budget caps below that, the LX and S still carry the full safety suite and the 12.3-inch screen, and there is no shame in the bottom rung of this ladder.

Gas 2.5T versus Hybrid: the $2,700 question

This is the single most consequential choice on the order sheet, and the math is unusually clean: on any trim where both exist, the hybrid costs exactly $2,700 more. For that you get 55 more horsepower, 28 more pound-feet, and a fuel economy jump from 20-22 mpg combined to 31-35 mpg depending on configuration, plus a 637-mile range claim on the EX FWD hybrid.

The performance argument actually favors the hybrid too. Car and Driver measured the gas AWD model at 7.4 seconds to 60, seven tenths slower than the old V6, while Edmunds clocked their gas test car at 8.1 seconds. Nobody has published an instrumented hybrid test yet, but MotorTrend estimates 6.5 to 7.0 seconds, and the mechanically related Hyundai Palisade Hybrid ran 6.6 seconds in Car and Driver testing. Edmunds' first drive calls the hybrid noticeably faster and smoother, and MotorTrend says it could not feel the gas engine starting or stopping.

Run the fuel math for a typical 13,500-mile year at June 2026 gas prices and the hybrid saves on the order of $600-800 annually against the gas AWD model, which means the $2,700 premium pays back inside four to five years before you count the stronger acceleration, the quieter operation, and the likely resale advantage. That is why our recommended trim is the Hybrid EX rather than any gas configuration.

The two honest reasons to stay gas: availability and capability. The hybrid skips the LX and S, so the gas car owns the under-$46,000 market entirely, and there is no hybrid X-Pro, so serious off-road or maximum-towing buyers are gas-only by definition. Gas also tows 5,000 pounds to the hybrid's 4,500, a real difference if your trailer sits near the limit.

Which Telluride trim should you actually buy?

The Hybrid EX is the MotorRank default recommendation. At $46,490 FWD or $48,490 AWD before destination, it is the cheapest way into the better powertrain, it carries the equipment families actually use, and both Car and Driver and Edmunds independently steer buyers the same direction: Edmunds names the EX its editors' pick and Car and Driver's buying advice says the hybrid is the version to buy. Snow-belt buyers should take the AWD step; everyone else can bank the $2,000.

The gas EX AWD at $45,790 is the right answer when the hybrid budget stretch fails or hybrid inventory is thin in your region. You give up the efficiency story but keep the size, the safety suite, and the screens. The S AWD at $44,090 is the quiet sleeper for buyers who want the mid-grade feel with the 8-seat bench still available, and the LX at $39,190 remains the honest fleet-grade entry.

The X-Line SX AWD at $51,790 is the most popular configuration per Edmunds data, and it is easy to see why: the rugged look, the bigger wheels, and the deep equipment list without flagship pricing. Just be honest about what it is, a styling-and-equipment play, not added capability. The X-Pro SX AWD at $53,690 is the one that actually changes what the truck can do: 9.1 inches of clearance, all-terrain tires, terrain modes, recovery points, a standard hitch, and the worst fuel economy in the lineup at 19 mpg combined.

The trims to think hardest about are the two SX-Prestige flagships at $53,890 to $57,590. They are lovely, with massaging driver's seats, relaxation front seats, the Meridian audio upgrade, and the full luxury equipment dump, but Car and Driver's own reviewers note the new cabin is less plush than the segment's best even at this money. Once a Telluride quote crosses $58,000 out the door, you have entered territory where used luxury three-rows and the loaded Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy deserve a look before you sign.

Performance reality check: the honest numbers

The instrumented data tells a more nuanced story than the brochure. Car and Driver's gas X-Line AWD test car ran 0-60 in 7.4 seconds and the quarter mile in 15.6 seconds at 89 mph, while Edmunds measured a slower 8.1-second 0-60 on its own track with its own car. Both numbers are real, both are slower than the 6.7 seconds Car and Driver recorded from the old V6, and the difference matters less in daily driving than the torque delivery: 311 pound-feet at 1,700 rpm means the new engine pulls harder from low speed even though it gives up top-end sprint pace.

Edmunds' first drive flags the one behavior worth test-driving for yourself: a noticeable delay between throttle input and forward motion when accelerating from a stop. MotorTrend counters that the new Telluride out-hustles the related Palisade, and Car and Driver's data agrees, with the Kia beating the V6 Palisade Calligraphy by six tenths to 60. If launch response bothers you in the test drive, that is one more argument for the stronger, smoother hybrid.

The chassis numbers are quiet wins. Braking from 70 mph takes 170 feet, six feet shorter than the old truck. Interior noise at 70 mph drops to 66 decibels. The new rack-mounted steering reads as more precise in every first drive, though MotorTrend notes the new truck feels its size where the old one shrank around you. Curb weight is the tax: Car and Driver's test car weighed 4,798 pounds, 308 more than the comparable previous-generation car it tested.

What nobody has measured yet, as of this writing: an instrumented hybrid acceleration run, a skidpad grip figure, and a standardized real-world highway fuel economy loop. We flag those as open questions rather than guessing, and we will update this review when the numbers publish.

Size, seats, and the family-math section

The packaging numbers are where the redesign pays off for actual families. Cargo volume is now 22.3 cubic feet behind the third row, 48.7 behind the second, and 89.3 behind the first on gas models, with hybrids giving up exactly one cubic foot at each measurement to the battery. Car and Driver's carry-on-box test makes it tangible: 39 boxes with everything folded versus 36 in the old truck, and 19 behind the second row versus 18.

Passenger packaging improves where it counts. The 2.7-inch wheelbase stretch goes mostly to people: second-row legroom grows 0.6 inches to what Kia claims is best in class, the third row gains easier access through a one-touch tilt-and-slide second row that works even with a child seat installed, and heated seats now reach all three rows on upper trims. Total passenger volume is 153 cubic feet.

Seat-count strategy matters more this generation. The 8-passenger bench configuration lives only on the LX and the gas EX; every other trim runs 7-passenger captain's chairs, and the hybrid is captain's-chairs-only in most configurations. If you genuinely need eight belts, your trim list just shrank to two, and that decision needs making before any other.

Towing is unchanged in headline terms but split by powertrain: 5,000 pounds for gas models with the hitch standard on X-Pro and optional elsewhere, 4,500 pounds for hybrids. Note that some third-party trim pages list 5,500 pounds for the X-Pro; Kia's official figure is 5,000, and that is the number to plan around.

X-Pro, towing, and the off-road question

The X-Pro is no longer just a badge-and-tires package. For 2027 it gets 9.1 inches of ground clearance, up to 1.7 inches more than street trims, suspension with more travel, an electronic limited-slip rear differential with a 50/50 center lock function, wider Continental all-terrain tires, Terrain modes for mud, sand, and snow, front and rear recovery points, and a Ground View camera that shows the trail under the nose below 6 mph.

MotorTrend's first drive took it off-road and came back convinced the hardware is real, which puts the X-Pro in genuinely thin company: mainstream three-row SUVs with credible trail capability are basically this, the Honda Pilot TrailSport, and not much else. If your family hauling includes forest-service roads, trailheads, or deep-snow driveways, this is the configuration that justifies itself.

The costs are equally real: $53,690 before destination for the X-Pro SX, 17/22/19 mpg fuel economy that is the worst in the lineup, and no hybrid option at all. The buyer math is simple and honest: if you will actually use the clearance and the tires, nothing else in the lineup substitutes; if the X-Pro appeal is aesthetic, the X-Line gives you the look for $1,900 less with better economy, and the hybrid gives you a better daily truck entirely.

Cabin and tech: where it leads, and where it honestly trails

The tech argument for this generation is strong. Twin 12.3-inch displays with navigation are standard from the base LX, the connected-car platform takes over-the-air updates, the voice assistant is generative-AI-based, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and the Digital Key 2.0 setup shares to three phones with Apple Watch support. Streaming apps, garage-door integration, and a 12-inch head-up display fill out a list that out-specs every direct rival at equivalent money.

The criticism worth taking seriously comes from the people who lived with it. Edmunds calls the split climate controls, a 5.5-inch display plus physical toggles partially blocked by the steering wheel rim, distracting to use. Car and Driver's long-term first-generation owner on staff says the new cabin is missing the luxury feel the old Telluride traded on, and the magazine scores the related Palisade's interior as plusher. These are livability complaints, not deal-breakers, but they are exactly what a 20-minute test drive will reveal.

Two practical wins deserve mention: the column shifter frees the console for a deep storage tray with dual standard wireless charging pads, and the second row gets its own ceiling-mounted climate controls with USB-C at every outboard seat. Family-grade thoughtfulness is still the Telluride's core competency.

Safety, the recall, and ownership coverage

The standard safety case is excellent on paper: 19 driver-assistance features on every trim including automated emergency braking, adaptive cruise, blind-spot collision avoidance, and a radar-based rear-occupant alert, plus 10 airbags with a new front-center bag. Kia says the structure targets a Top Safety Pick+ award, but be precise about the present tense: as of June 9, 2026, neither IIHS nor NHTSA has published crash-test ratings for the 2027 Telluride. We will update when they do.

Buyers should also know about the one recall on record: NHTSA campaign 26V135000 covers 14,870 early-production vehicles built between October 31, 2025 and February 23, 2026, for a third-row center seat belt anchor that may not latch. The fix is a free dealer inspection and replacement. Ask for written confirmation that the remedy is complete on the specific VIN you are buying, especially on early inventory.

Warranty is the classic Kia argument: 5 years or 60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper and 10 years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain, which beats Toyota, Honda, and Subaru coverage by years. The honest counterweight is that Kia includes no complimentary scheduled maintenance, where Toyota gives two years. On a five-plus-year hold, the warranty edge is worth real money; on a three-year lease, it is mostly psychological.

One more hands-on-the-wheel note: unlike the new Palisade, the Telluride offers no hands-free highway driving system. Highway Driving Assist 2 is excellent adaptive cruise with lane-change assistance, but your hands stay on the wheel. If hands-free is a must-have, that is currently a reason to cross the showroom to Hyundai.

2027 versus 2025: should you buy the new one or hunt a deal on the old one?

The new truck wins the spec war comprehensively: 2.3 inches longer, 2.7 inches more wheelbase, three more carry-on boxes of cargo, quieter at speed, shorter braking, vastly more standard tech, and the hybrid option the old truck never had. If the budget covers it, the 2027 is simply more vehicle.

The case for a leftover 2025 or a lightly used first-generation car is also real, and the top-ranking reviews mostly ignore it. The old V6 is quicker than the new gas turbo, 6.7 versus 7.4 seconds to 60 in Car and Driver testing, its naturally aspirated character is simpler, and outgoing-generation discounts stack on top of a roughly $3,000 lower base price. A clean 2024-2025 EX or SX at a five-figure discount to a new 2027 is a legitimately smart family buy.

The decision rule: buy the 2027 if the hybrid, the extra cargo, or the new tech stack genuinely changes your ownership; buy the outgoing car if your priorities are V6 simplicity and maximum value per dollar. Either way you end up in the segment's reigning champion, which is the quiet luxury of this particular shopping problem.

How it stacks up against rivals in June 2026

The Hyundai Palisade is the unavoidable comparison because it shares the platform and the hybrid hardware. The Hyundai counters with a plusher interior and an available hands-free highway system, and Edmunds currently ranks it first in the segment with the Telluride second. The Kia counters with sharper pricing trim-for-trim, the quicker measured acceleration, and the only credible off-road configuration of the pair. Pick on cabin feel and driver-assist philosophy; the mechanicals are siblings.

The Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid is the efficiency rival, with hybrid availability across more of its lineup, Toyota's resale reputation, and two years of free maintenance. It cannot match the Telluride's value-per-feature or its 10-year powertrain warranty, and its Hybrid Max pricing climbs fast. The Honda Pilot is the dynamics pick with the TrailSport as the X-Pro's only real off-road rival, but it has no hybrid at all in 2026, which increasingly reads as a missing answer.

Inside the MotorRank review set, the honest cross-shops are different: a Honda Passport for buyers who realize they never use a third row, a Subaru Outback for the same realization at a lower price point, and a Kia Sportage Hybrid for households that want the Kia warranty math in a smaller, far cheaper package. The right-sizing question saves more money than any negotiation tactic.

What could move this score up or down

The 8.8 climbs if the pending instrumented hybrid tests confirm the mid-six-second estimates, if IIHS delivers the targeted Top Safety Pick+, and if early-build quality stays clean beyond the single seat belt recall. It also climbs if real-world highway economy lands near the EPA numbers when the standardized tests publish.

The score slides if hybrid supply stays tight enough to push transaction prices over sticker, if the infotainment-heavy climate controls generate sustained owner complaints, or if more early-production recalls surface. The first Telluride's reputation was built on years of clean ownership; the second one has to re-earn that, and no honest review can pre-certify it.

For now, 8.8 reflects what the evidence supports: the most complete mainstream three-row package on sale, scored with the humility that a first-year redesign with an unproven hybrid deserves.

The verdict: where the 2027 Telluride fits

The 2027 Kia Telluride is the rare redesign that grows without losing the plot. The space got bigger, the tech got deeper, the brakes got shorter, and the hybrid finally gives the nameplate the efficient powertrain the first generation always lacked. Car and Driver ranks it first in the segment at 9.5 out of 10; Edmunds ranks it second at 7.5; the Northwest Automotive Press Association just named it the best three-row family SUV of 2026. The consensus is real.

Buy the Hybrid EX if you want the single smartest configuration: the better powertrain at the lowest price it exists, with the equipment that matters. Buy the gas EX or S if budget rules, the X-Pro if your driveway or your trailhead demands it, and think twice at the Prestige flagships where the value story thins. Skip the whole exercise only if you do not actually need three rows, in which case smaller and cheaper is the smarter kind of upgrade.

The first Telluride succeeded by making families feel like they got away with something at the price. The second one charges more honestly for more vehicle, and the June 2026 market, 27 days on lots, transactions a hair under sticker, says buyers have already decided that trade is worth it. On the evidence, they are right.