2027 Kia Telluride X-Pro Review: The Looks Get Your Attention, The Cabin Wins You Over

If there's anything that the Kia Telluride has always been good at, it's making a first impression. This latest version keeps that theme alive with styling that features a great stance, solid proportions, and crisp details that turn heads. In fact, that's especially true compared to most of the rest of the competition in the segment. Kia even mixes in a little Range Rover flair, which is a weird thing to say if you knew this brand well about 20 years ago.

Spend a week with it, like we just did, and the details inside the cabin are equally impressive. It's spacious, the controls make sense, and the equipment list includes a massaging front driver's seat. Kia has unquestionably put together a compelling package here on the spec sheet. Our 2027 Kia Telluride X-Pro SX Prestige (boy, is that a handful of a name) sits at the top of the lineup, starting at $58,335 including the $1,545 destination charge. That's serious money for a family SUV, but after living with this one for a week, it's also a price we can understand.

Kia did an excellent job with the exterior. The Telluride has presence from pretty much every angle, and the side profile is particularly strong. It retains enough of its established character to feel familiar while moving the design forward considerably. Let's start with the area over the tires. Look closely at the creases over the fenders. Those lines are unusually tight, giving the sheet metal definition that softer surfacing would have lost. Now, check out the hood. It gets similarly crisp detailing, and together those elements make the whole SUV look substantial and deliberate.

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There's a temptation in vehicle design to round off the edges until it becomes broadly agreeable. Kia has committed to the shape, and the result with the Telluride is significant. It will unquestionably stand out in a sea of other three-row family haulers. We can't say that for many of the others in the game, especially at this price point.

The Range Rover resemblance comes through in the proportions and overall presence. It still has its own identity, particularly when you start following the individual body lines. To our eyes, it's an excellent evolution, and one that has a good chance of aging well. It's also worth noting that the X-Pro's 18-inch wheels and all-terrain tires suit the design. They give it an appropriately purposeful stance without needing enormous wheels to fill out the look.

The cabin is ultimately where this SUV begins to really impress. Sure, it looks good on the outside but the reality is that plenty of vehicles that look great from outside the cabin wither inside. What's good about it you ask? Mostly the cohesive, consistent, and logical design choices. Let's start out with the switchgear.

Climate adjustments get physical controls. Temperature, fan speed, and airflow changes are readily accessible, and Kia provides physical shortcuts for frequently used infotainment functions too. The center stack gives you plenty to operate directly, which makes everyday adjustments straightforward. The volume control sits in the middle of the stack, where either front occupant can reach it.

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The same goes for the drive and terrain controls. They're accessible, and the downhill-speed control sits centrally. In the Hyundai Palisade, which we just drove, that button's position toward the passenger side of the console struck us as an odd choice. The Telluride's placement feels more natural from the driver's seat.

These are small details, but they influence how a cabin feels every time you use it. Add the dual wireless charging pad and useful storage spaces, and the Kia makes a strong case for itself. That said, it would be nice to see a UX change since the infotainment and driver display are nearly identical to what one gets in a $25,000 K4.

None of this is to diminish the fact that the general design language across the dash, steering wheel, and control surfaces looks good and works together well. Having just driven the Hyundai, I think the Kia's layout makes a lot more sense and doesn't get let down by the touch controls in the Palisade.

Seat comfort is excellent, with enough adjustment to make getting settled easy. At six-foot-six, I fit comfortably. I would love a seat that would go even lower, but I bet I'm in a tiny group there. The second row is equally spacious with plenty of legroom and headroom for even the tallest folks. The third row isn't what I'd call luxurious, but it's plenty for kids, and getting in and out feels like it's a touch easier than in the Palisade.

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Cargo volume starts at 22.3 cubic feet (631 liters) behind the third row, expanding to 48.7 (1,379 liters) with it folded and 89.3 (2,529 liters) with both rear rows down. Heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and the driver's massage function round out the experience. Yes, this is a Telluride that will massage your back. That remains a surprising sentence.

Driving any vehicle for a day gives you some insight into how it behaves. Getting to pilot one in your local neighborhood for a week is a different ballgame. Across that longer timeframe, the Telluride proved to be very pleasant. The steering, braking, and accelerator responses are all as one would expect.

There's enough responsiveness to keep this SUV from feeling completely detached. It settles into everyday driving easily, and the controls have a consistency that makes it comfortable to pilot through neighborhoods or out on the highway. There's some personality here, even if enthusiastic driving sits well down the list of priorities.

Ride quality earns about a seven out of ten. It's above average and comfortable enough to appreciate over a week, while leaving room for improvement in outright smoothness. The styling might bring a Range Rover to mind, but the suspension never quite delivers that level of isolation.

It's worth pointing out that the X-Pro adds legitimate off-road hardware that doesn't really compromise the ride. It gets an electronic limited-slip differential, 9.1-inches of ground clearance, additional suspension travel, all-terrain tires, a skid plate, and recovery points at both ends. Having recently driven the Palisade XRT Pro off-road, we can see the appeal of this combination of family practicality and trail-oriented equipment.

After dropping V6 in favor of four-cylinder engines, the Telluride now gets its power from a turbocharged and direct-injected 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 274 hp (204 kW) and 311 lb-ft (422 Nm), working through an eight-speed automatic. Acceleration feels swift enough, and we encountered no meaningful hesitation or persistent gear hunting during the week. Personally, though, I'd welcome another 50 or 60 hp (37–45 kW).

That would give the Telluride an extra layer of appeal when you wanted to enjoy the drive. As delivered, though, its powertrain handles ordinary duties well. Importantly, Kia already offers almost exactly that increase through the 329-hp (245-kW) Telluride hybrid. The catch is that the hybrid lineup doesn't include an X-Pro, so buyers must choose between that extra output and this particular off-road package. That's a real bummer and something we home Kia changes in the future.

Fuel economy was 18.6 mpg (12.6 L/100 km) over 175.5 miles (282 km) of general driving, close to its 19-mpg combined EPA rating. In a separate 70-mile (113-km) highway test where we intentionally tried to achieve decent mileage, it returned 24.1 mpg (9.8 L/100 km). That bettered the 22-mpg highway rating.

The Hyundai Palisade XRT Pro is the obvious comparison, particularly after driving both so close together. In many ways, it's a different wrapping around the same chassis and drivetrain. Choosing between them comes down in part to which design and layout suit you. For me, the Telluride wins that decision. It looks better, its control panel makes more sense, and it retains the features I most appreciated in the Hyundai. The Palisade remains an excellent option. The Kia's individual details simply add up to a stronger personal preference.

The Honda Pilot TrailSport also belongs on the shopping list, with its torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system and protective steel skid plates. Buyers prioritizing extra power should consider the Ford Explorer Tremor, which offers an optional turbocharged V6 producing up to 400 hp (298 kW). Of course, for those who aren't committed to going off-road at all, a street-focused version of any of these should be all they consider.

Any vehicle selling for $55,000 can't be called inexpensive. What it can be is a good value, and that's what we have here in the Telluride X-Pro SX Prestige. It blends good on-road manners with legitimately solid off-road capability and, most importantly offers excellent comfort, good technology, and some genuinely clever/attractive design.

There are areas Kia could improve. A more polished infotainment interface would help, some switches could feel better, and we'd happily accept more power. Its ride is comfortable, with a clear gap between this and the luxury SUVs its styling might suggest.

That said, it's probably the best mid-sized three-row SUV in this price bracket. It's such a well-balanced machine and where competitors might beat it out, they don't do so enough to overcome it as a whole. Plenty will question how well this car and its drivetrain ages, especially out of warranty. While it's under warranty though, I can't think of another vehicle in the segment I'd rather live with every day.