Will the next Kia Sorento look like a smaller Telluride?

That’s what this new illustration above seems to show us. A next-generation Kia Sorento that basically looks like a smaller 2027 Telluride.

Which, in my unprofessional yet humble opinion, would be a mistake. The new Telluride is really not for everyone. Adopting the same design for other models could end up being quite a costly mistake.

The current Kia Sorento was unveiled almost 6 years ago and got a mid-cycle refresh with a new face that looks more like the Kia EV9 back in 2023. Now it seems Kia might try and make all their new models look like smaller versions of the rather ghastly new 2027 Telluride. That means one giant plasticky grille for everyone, no matter what size the vehicle is.

Since that grille already looks disproportionate on the big Telluride, I cannot imagine what it will be like on smaller models like the Sorento.

Like the Hyundai Santa Fe, the current generation Sorento has not been as popular as the previous one. Its best year was 2024 with a bit over 95,000 units sold. Shy of the previous generation’s best number of almost 115,000. It seems buyers miss Hyundai/Kia’s more subtle designs from a few years ago. The super blocky look of the new Santa Fe has not been a hit, and turning the Sorento into a smaller 2027 Telluride might not be the best idea.

However, the illustration above is just a guess. One that looks almost exactly like the new Telluride. And let’s hope Kia has a better idea for the next Sorento SUV