Kia Telluride Review: How The Current Model Holds Its Ground Before A Major Redesign

In an automotive landscape flooded with SUV choices, design flash and feature lists have grow absurdly long, the Kia Telluride emerged in 2019 as an unexpected reset of what the family SUV should be. Since its debut, this three-row SUV balanced practicality and presence in a way that felt familiar in all the right ways, and in many ways it disrupted the old guard, all of a sudden there was an affordable family SUV with a lot of luxury features usually reserved for upmarket marques. It was a recipe that worked and Kia is gear up for its first full refresh of the SUV that helped put the brand on the map in the USA.

Kia Telluride: Still Turns Heads

By 2025, Kia’s formula remains true. Climb into the Telluride and you immediately sense purposeful design. The cabin is generous, with seating for seven or eight that doesn’t feel cramped at any row. Materials, especially in upper trims like the X-Pro, impress beyond typical segment expectations. Rich upholstery, well-laid out controls, and a sense of durability work together to create an environment that’s comfortable for short hops and week-long road trips alike.

What remains particularly striking is how well this SUV wears its size. It carries three rows without the bulking awkwardness many rivals suffer, and it feels composed whether crawling through crowded city streets or eating up highway miles. The V6 under the hood isn’t a headline grabber, but it’s smooth, torquey, and fitting for a vehicle with real cargo and real people aboard. Ride quality leans toward comfortable without sacrificing confidence, and driver-aid systems help rather than distract.

X-Pro Offers a Lot of Value

With the X-Pro package, the Telluride tips its hat to rugged versatility. Blacked-out exterior accents, all-terrain ready wheels, a slightly lifted stance, and a touch of aggressive design cueing give it personality without crossing into overstatement. This isn’t an extreme off-roader, but neither does it pretend to hide from backroads or gravel approaches to trailheads. It fits neatly into how many buyers actually live: a bit of pavement everyday, a bit of adventure on weekends.

Kia has clearly read the room. Instead of piling on gimmicks, it doubled down on honesty. The third row is usable, the cargo area is thoughtful, and the infotainment interface delivers smart features in a way that feels familiar rather than frenetic.

But the story doesn’t stop with the 2025 model. Kia has a new design language for 2027, one that promises a fresh aesthetic and evolved character for the Telluride. Early teasers hint at bolder lines, perhaps a more rugged visual identity, and an interior that leans harder into technology without losing the Telluride’s core strengths. This next generation looks poised to make a broader stylistic statement, to compete with a new wave of SUVs that pursue either luxury trappings or striking futurism.

That’s a smart move. The industry around it has grown louder and more complex. Rivals are chasing bigger screens, flashy lighting signatures, and hyper-modern cabins that sometimes feel like concept cars you can’t quite live with every day. Kia’s challenge will be to absorb that energy without losing the grounded, sensible heart of the Telluride.

If the success of the first generation has taught us anything, it’s that buyers appreciate integrity over ornamentation. They want comfort, space, capability, and reliability. The current Telluride delivers that with a quiet confidence few competitors match. The 2027 redesign’s job will be to capture eyes while preserving that substance. This also means you should be able to get a decent deal on any remaining 2025 Tellurides, and there are hundreds still out on dealer lots. With the 2027 model comes out Q1 of 2026, so there are no 2026 Kia Tellurides, so if you like the current body style 2025 is your last chance to pick up a new one.

In a segment full of overpromises and feature checklists, the Telluride feels like a trusted year-round partner. Its next chapter is shaping up to be more expressive—perhaps even bolder—while hopefully maintaining the very traits that made it a favorite in the first place. For now, the 2025 Kia Telluride stands as a compelling blend of thoughtful design and everyday capability, a SUV that knows what it is and does it very well.

Check out images of the redesigned 2027 Kia Telluride Below:

Photos courtesy of Kia