Kia teases new Telluride that appears to be much boxier than before – Jalopnik

The Kia Telluride is one of the most important vehicles the Korean automaker sells in America, so it should really stay at the forefront when it launches the second-generation crossover at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show. However, that will still take about a month and the car world is impatient. So we get a few teaser images to hold us over until then.

What we have here are two shaded images of a front three-quarter view and a top view of the 2027 Telluride (yes, 2027). A lot is left to the imagination, but we can still get the idea that the new ‘Ride’ is a little boxier than before, and that it will fit neatly with the rest of Kia’s design language. It certainly has something to do with the excellent Hyundai Plaisade, that’s for sure. Kia says the Telluride is the latest incarnation of its “Opposites United” design language that “embraces the contrast between nature and humanity.” I don’t know what that means, but I like marketing language, don’t you?

What we can see are vertical orange LED lights – a trademark of today’s Telluride. Like the Palisade, the Telluride also has a very wide hood and an upright grille. It gives the car a rather imposing look, especially when it’s in your rear view mirror. Viewed from above, we can’t see much other than the dual sunroofs and the slight taper towards the rear of the crossover. It’s a bit reminiscent of the L460 Range Rover, and I’m sure that’s no coincidence.

While we don’t get a look at the rear of the car, Kia says the beltline subtly rises and intersects a D-pillar that sweeps forward. The car will also feature black inserts at the top of the pillar to make the flat roofline look like it’s floating on top of the windows… a bit like a Range Rover.

Of course, there are no official specs for the 2027 Telluride yet, but it doesn’t take much brain genius to make some educated guesses. In August, I drove the second-generation Hyundai Palisade, which will undoubtedly be this car’s mechanical twin. That means we can expect the Tellluide to have two powertrain options: a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 that makes 287 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque and a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid that makes a combined 329 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque. I’ll be driving that car soon. Both are available with front- or four-wheel drive.

I wouldn’t be shocked if the second-generation Telluride ended up being a little bigger than the old car. The new Palisade is about 2.5 inches taller than the old one and the wheelbase has grown by about 3 inches. It would be quite a surprise if the Telluride didn’t follow that trend. Oh, and when it comes to price, the new Palisade starts at $41,035, including destination, so you can expect the Telluride to start somewhere in that neighborhood.

Through September of this year, Kia has sold 92,498 Tellurides, and since the car went on sale in 2019, the automaker has moved a total of 646,096 Tellurides, upping sales each year. It can’t ruin this, and if these teaser images are anything to go by, it won’t.