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Revisiting the KIA Telluride: Why KIA Deserves a Seat at the Big Table

2025 Telluride

In 2022, I spent a week with a KIA Telluride and came away stunned. This wasn’t the KIA that used to trade elbows with Yugos, Daewoos, or whatever other imports you only bought if you’d given up on life. No, this was KIA suddenly walking into the room like it owned the place.

By 2023, I had another one, and KIA had decided it wasn’t enough to simply be good—they had to flex. Out went the old dials, in came twin 12.3-inch screens capable of running your life, your playlists, and possibly NASA’s next launch. They added trims called X-Line and X-Pro, as if daring Jeep to come outside and settle this like men.

Fast-forward to 2025, and I’ve just spent a week in the range-topping SX-Prestige X-Pro. On paper, it’s the Telluride dressed for a bar fight. There’s standard all-wheel drive, off-road suspension tuning, lifted ground clearance, fat all-terrain tires, and even a household outlet in the cargo area so you can brew lattes in the woods. It tows more, too—5,500 pounds—enough for your boat, your camper, or the smug sense of superiority you’ll haul past the neighbors when they’re still trying to figure out why their Yukon’s infotainment froze again.

Then I saw the sticker. $56,240. Nearly sixty grand. For a KIA. Once upon a time that money bought you a loaded Suburban or a German badge with enough left over for a small motorcycle. Today it gets you… this.

And here’s the kicker: it’s worth it.

2025 Telluride

The interior feels like something swiped from a $75,000 Audi. The seats are superb, the finishes belong in a much pricier machine, and unlike BMW, KIA still believes in buttons and knobs, which means you don’t need to dig through four touchscreen menus just to change the air conditioning.

Then there’s the powertrain. While Ford and Chevy are stuffing turbocharged four-bangers into their big SUVs and calling them “advanced,” KIA quietly slipped in a naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6. It doesn’t wheeze, it doesn’t sound like a vacuum cleaner on its last legs, and it actually moves the Telluride with confidence. Try finding that kind of honesty in a $90,000 Mercedes GLS—you’ll get a mild-hybrid system and the privilege of explaining to your mechanic why your repair bill is more than a semester of college.

The Telluride isn’t pretending to be an AMG rocket sled or a BMW M machine. It doesn’t need to. It simply lines up against the Tahoes, the Highlanders, and the Explorers of the world and punches so far above its weight that you wonder how KIA got away with it.

So yes, sixty grand for a KIA looks absurd on the surface. But drive one, live with it, and you’ll realize something terrifying for the luxury brands: KIA has made an SUV that does 95% of what theirs do—for 30% less. And unlike them, you won’t need a software update every other Tuesday just to make the radio work.

The Telluride has gone from a pleasant surprise to a mic-drop moment. KIA isn’t just in the conversation anymore—they’ve hijacked it.

And honestly? I’m here for it.

2027 UPDATE

I’ve never played Minecraft. But I’ve seen plenty of pictures. And that’s exactly what I was reminded of when I stepped inside the 2027 Telluride SX-Prestige X-Pro I had for a recent week.

It had only been a few months since I spent time with the 2025 model, so the differences weren’t buried somewhere in the foggy corners of old-man memory. They were immediate.

The old Telluride was handsome. This new one looks like it was built with a ruler and a very determined architect. It’s bigger, squarer, more upright, and somehow manages to look both more modern and more rugged at the same time. The front end has a tougher stance, the lighting is sharper, and the flush door handles borrowed from the EV9 clean up the profile. Park the old and new versions side by side and the previous generation suddenly looks almost soft.

Inside is where the transformation really hits. The cabin feels more upscale than before, which is saying something because the outgoing Telluride already embarrassed plenty of luxury brands. The dashboard is cleaner, the technology is more integrated, and the entire interior has a premium feel that continues Kia’s habit of making buyers wonder why they should spend thousands more elsewhere.

The dual panoramic displays are now standard, the available head-up display is larger and easier to use, and the system supports over-the-air updates, digital key access through your smartphone, and even onboard streaming services. Somewhere along the way, family SUVs quietly became rolling living rooms.

There is one change that will undoubtedly start arguments around campfires and internet forums. The old naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6 is gone. In its place sits a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder, while buyers looking for better fuel economy can opt for an all-new hybrid version producing a healthy 329 horsepower.

Ordinarily, I’d be reaching for a pitchfork whenever a perfectly good V6 gets replaced by a smaller turbocharged engine. Yet the new powertrain performs far better than I expected. It delivers strong acceleration, plenty of torque, and never feels strained moving this larger Telluride around town or onto the highway. I still miss the straightforward honesty of the old V6, but the replacement is difficult to criticize once you’re actually behind the wheel.

The added size pays dividends as well. The wheelbase stretches nearly three inches longer than before, which improves passenger space, makes access to the third row easier, and provides more room for cargo. Families may never notice the measurement, but they’ll certainly notice the extra breathing room.

Most impressive is that Kia didn’t try to reinvent what made the Telluride successful in the first place. It remains comfortable, quiet, practical, and exceptionally easy to live with. The company simply took an already excellent SUV and gave it a tougher suit, better technology, more space, and a broader range of powertrain choices.

So yes, the new Telluride reminds me of Minecraft. It’s boxier, chunkier, and looks like someone designed it with an extra-large set of digital building blocks.

And I like it.

A lot.

I’m still not going to play Minecraft anytime soon, though.

The MSRP for the 2027 for the record is $59,580;

 

The 2025 KIA Telluride SX-Prestige X-Pro
MSRP: $53,685
MSRP (as tested): $56,240
Engine: 3.8-liter V-6 291 horsepower @6000 rpm, 262 ft-lbs. torque @5200 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed shiftable automatic
Base Curb Weight: 4522 lbs.
Fuel Mileage (EPA): 18 city, 23 highway, 20 combined
Fuel Mileage (as tested, mixed conditions): 22 mpg

Exterior Dimensions (inches)
Wheelbase: 114.2
Length: 196.9
Width, without mirrors: 78.3
Height: 70.5
Minimum Ground Clearance: 8.4
Maximum Towing Capacity: 5500 lbs.

Interior dimensions
Passenger / Seating Capacity: 7
Total Passenger Volume (cubic feet): 157.1
Front Head Room (inches): 39.5
Front Leg Room (inches): 41.4
Front Shoulder Room (inches): 61.6
Front Hip Room (inches): 58.9
Second Row Head Room (inches): 38.8
Second Row Leg Room (inches): 42.4
Second Row Shoulder Room (inches): 59.9
Second Row Hip Room (inches): 58
Third Row Head Room (inches): 37.8
Third Row Leg Room (inches): 31.4
Third Row Shoulder Room (inches): 55.3
Third Row Hip Room (inches): 43.7
Cargo Space/Area Behind Front Row (cubic feet): 87
Cargo Space/Area Behind Second Row (cubic feet): 46
Cargo Space/Area Behind Third Row (cubic feet): 21

Warranty
5 Basic Years / 60,000 Basic Miles
10 Drivetrain Years / 100,000 Drivetrain Miles
5 Corrosion Years / 100,000 Corrosion Miles
5 Roadside Assistance Years / 60,000 Roadside Assistance Miles

Greg Engle
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Greg Engle

Editor at Caraganza.com
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.