Kia Shows Off 2027 Telluride’s Bold New Look Ahead of Los Angeles Auto Show Debut

Key Point

• Evolutionary styling updates keep the new 2027 Kia Telluride fresh, but full details of the redesigned full-size SUV will have to wait for the full reveal at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Kia’s flagship gas-powered SUV, the Telluride, is getting a big update for the 2027 model year, and the South Korean brand has lifted the cover on what we’ll see when it makes its in-person debut at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show later this month. The new Telluride embodies what Kia calls its “Opposites United” design ethos that’s both rugged and sophisticated with curves and angles. We’re not sure where we stand on that idea, but the new Telluride’s look certainly does appear evolutionary instead of revolutionary, in a break from what Kia has done for a lot of its latest designs.

Related: 2025 Kia Telluride Gets New Standard Features, Priced From $37,585

Outside, a Telluride

The styling of the ‘27 Telluride showcases the latest aesthetic for Kia. It’s still big and boxy, but now bigger and boxier — 2.3 inches longer overall, an inch taller and with a wheelbase that’s been stretched nearly 3 inches over the prior model year.

The biggest styling changes are up front and in back, starting with a new grille that hides the Telluride’s headlights but keeps the distinctive vertical light bars on either side, a styling element that the three-row SUV has come to be known for. The hood is flat and broad, while the body side profile emphasizes flush door handles and triangular accents for the fenders. Out back, flush taillights flank the liftgate and bear more than a passing resemblance to the latest Land Rover Range Rover designs, a feature that can’t be accidental given the Telluride’s flagship status in the Kia showroom.

The X-Pro trim in particular gets some more styling tweaks, with a unique mesh grille and extensive blacked-out trim, including the wheel arches, roof rails and lower bumper. But the chunky bulk of the Telluride’s profile makes the X-Pro’s wheels and all-terrain tires (which contribute to its 9.1-inch ground clearance) look small in the openings. There are also front and rear recovery hooks in case you decide to test the limits of your Kia SUV’s off-road abilities. The overall exterior look is clean and distinctive.

Sleeker, More Modern Inside

The interior also gets a thorough refresh, and unlike the prior Telluride’s more rugged, chunky looks when compared to its sister vehicle the Hyundai Palisade, the new Telluride sports a more modern, sleek look that matches the smooth lines of the exterior. A wraparound dashboard in contrasting colors features “wood-like textures,” real metal accents, embedded ambient lighting and a switch to the Hyundai/Kia corporate column-mounted gear selector instead of the console-mounted shifter. Similarities to the electric Kia EV9’s interior abound, such as the aforementioned shifter and the switch to significantly more screen-based controls, with the limitation of dedicated buttons versus the outgoing model.

Kia says that the increased size of the ‘27 Telluride means that there’s easier entry into the second and third rows of seats. More headroom is also on tap, with up to half an inch more in vehicles with moonroofs. The interior’s color schemes are also taking a step toward the luxury end of the spectrum, with options like Deep Navy and Tuscan Umber (blue and deep orange) and Blackberry and Sand Beige (purple and tan), as well as the inclusion of a lot more texturing and stitching patterns.

Powertrain Specs Still Unknown

In terms of specs such as powertrain options or towing numbers, or numbers of any kind, those will be coming shortly before the new Telluride debuts in the metal at the L.A. Auto Show next week.

Our Expert Take

Kia and sister brand Hyundai often go in completely different styling directions from model generation to generation, reinventing their showroom looks every few years. This makes it generally easy to identify the latest versions but does add in a significant planned obsolescence factor to consider when purchasing a new model.

However, that hasn’t happened with the new Telluride, which is less of a dramatic departure from the popular prior model but has instead benefitted from significant refinements inside and out. Similarities to a Range Rover are not exaggerated — from the styling to the materials quality, it’s clear that Kia is making an upmarket play with the new Telluride, much as Hyundai has done with the new Palisade.

Read More About the Kia Telluride:

• What’s the Best 3-Row SUV for 2024?
• How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2024 Kia Telluride?
• 2023 Kia Telluride Review: More of a Very Good Thing
• Which SUVs Can Tow at Least 5,000 Pounds?
• Research the Kia Telluride

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