For most cars, hitting middle age means one thing: the slow, inevitable slide into obscurity. The paint fades, the shine dulls, and the sales charts begin to sag like a cheap suspension under too much luggage.
But not the Kia Telluride.
This big, square-jawed family bus from Korea has been defying the laws of showroom physics. It’s been around since 2019, which, in SUV years, is roughly two monarchs and three iPhones ago — yet it’s selling better than ever. Last year, Kia shifted an eyebrow-raising 115,504 Tellurides in the U.S., and 2025 is shaping up to be another record-breaker. Through September, it’s already up 13 percent. In other words: while other SUVs are losing steam, the Telluride is out here doing CrossFit.
Still, even immortals need a replacement eventually. And come November 20th, at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia will pull the covers off the second-generation Telluride. Don’t rush to your dealer just yet, though — the new one won’t actually arrive until the 2027 model year, likely in the back half of next year. The current model soldiers on for one more lap as the 2025MY, proving you can be both old and desirable if you’ve got the right proportions.
Now, Kia’s teasing us — literally — with a pair of moody teaser shots. The SUV lurks in the shadows like a heavyweight boxer waiting for the bell. What we can see looks… promising. Still boxy, still bold, but now wearing Kia’s sharper, more futuristic design language. There are vertical lights at both ends, and the face has a whiff of EV9 about it — though, unlike its electric cousin, the Telluride keeps a proper grille because, well, this one still burns dinosaur juice.
Speaking of which, under the bonnet things are expected to mirror its corporate cousin, the new Hyundai Palisade. Translation: you’ll have two main options. A good old-fashioned 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 with 287 horsepower for the traditionalists, or a hybrid setup pairing a 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder with twin electric motors, good for 329 horses and 339 lb-ft. Both setups will come in two- or four-wheel drive — and neither sounds like it’ll have any trouble dragging a family, a trailer, or an ego uphill.
Size-wise, brace yourself for more of everything. Hyundai has stretched the Palisade by around 2.5 inches overall, with a 2.7-inch longer wheelbase, meaning your third-row passengers might actually feel like humans rather than luggage. Expect the Telluride to follow suit — bigger, broader, taller — a subtle evolution from “handsome” to “don’t-mess-with-me” territory.
Price? The outgoing Telluride starts at $37,885, while the latest Palisade kicks off at $41,035. Expect Kia’s new flagship SUV to move a little upmarket — not by much, but enough to let you know it’s serious about the premium family hauler game.
So there you have it. The Telluride story isn’t ending — it’s just leveling up. The old one still sells like hotcakes, and the new one looks ready to keep the momentum rolling. In an age of electric revolution and crossover clones, Kia’s big gas-burning bruiser is proof that sometimes, old-school still sells — especially when it looks this good doing it.
Source: KIA
