2026 Kia Telluride.
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You would think that by now, after seeing the new 2026 Hyundai Pallisade for a while, the 2nd generation Kia Telluride would be out. And yet ,all we have are these 2 illustrations. And more recent spy shots.
If the images above are close to the real thing, the second generation design won’t be an improvement over the one we have now. A big part of the Telluride’s sucess is due to its very attractive design. This just looks quite clumbsy ant toyish.
Even though it is over 5 years old, last year was the Telluride’s best year ever, with over 115,500 of them sold. Sales have been increasing every single year since its introduction in 2019. That means Kia cannot mess this up with some crazy different design.
While its close cousin, the Hyundai Palisade, got a drastic design change for its second generation, I’m pretty sure Kia will make sure the new Telluride looks familiar.
From the recent spy shots we have seen of the Telluride, it seems it could share even more with the Hyundai Palisade.
The production version of the current Kia Telluride was unveiled just a couple of months after the current Palisade. That means we could see the real thing any day now. Since the second-generation Palisade was introduced early last December.
The new Palisade uses an updated version of the current platform. While a V6 is no longer offered in its home market, the US will be getting a standard 3.5 Liter V6 with 287HP as the standard powertrain. A new Hybrid poweretrain with a 2.5 Liter engine and 2 electric motors will produce 329HP in the US version. The Hybrid comes with a 6 speed automatic with FWD or AWD.
These will probably be the same powertrains offered in the US version of the upcoming Telluride as well.
These will probably be the same powertrains offered in the 2026 Kia Telluride as well.
I personally think keeping a super smooth V6 as standard is a great move from Hyundai/Kia.
Honda is also right for keeping their creamy smooth V6 on large models like the Pilot and Passport. In a sea of 4-cylinder Turbo engines, these will soon stand out as much more refined options.