Kia Aims for the Stars With 2027 Telluride, But Can It Hang With Them?

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• Kia’s new 2027 Telluride three-row SUV resembles a Land Rover for half the price, but its top trims ask luxury prices for a mainstream brand.
• Improvements to the interior appointments, quiet and refined powertrains, and a hefty feel to its ride and handling bring the top Telluride up to luxury-vehicle standards.
• The Telluride may offer luxury appointments without luxury-brand cachet, but that really only appeals to very specific buyers.

The new 2027 Kia Telluride is here, and we think the SUV took the 2026 model year off (the Telluride skips from ‘25 to ‘27) so Kia could give it a bigger glow-up than the world expected. Hot off the national press introduction in California, the 2027 Telluride is hitting dealers now, and if Kia is to be believed, people are trading in luxury vehicles for it — and were doing that with the last version, too. After driving the top-spec Telluride Hybrid SX Prestige through the Central Coast, we have reason to believe that story — it’s truly an upscale experience. But is it worthy of mention alongside models like the Lexus TX, Infiniti QX60, Lincoln Aviator, Acura MDX or even the Audi Q7?

Yes, and no.

Related: 2027 Kia Telluride Review: Fancier and More Frugal

Luxurious, Well-Made Interior — Check!

• Takeaway: The Telluride’s opulent top-trim interior, featuring dramatic colors and real wood trim, easily qualifies it for luxury-vehicle status.

We were first impressed with the new ‘27 Telluride when it debuted at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show, where we named it our Best in Show largely because of its incredibly impressive interior design and color choices. The test vehicle I recently drove only proved out our opinion that it’s now swinging at the top of its field; the SX Prestige trim with the hybrid powertrain came loaded with everything except the X-Line version’s blacked-out trim and stickered at $60,455 (all prices include destination fee). The Blackberry-and-Sand interior color package is striking (as are all of the available Telluride interiors), but the addition of actual color back into the mix of any automotive interior is such a welcome change from the usual charcoal or beige.

Materials and assembly quality are top notch, easily as good as anything in the field, and the cabin sports things like real wood trim. It’s also spacious and comfortable, with the new Telluride’s boosted dimensions paying dividends in terms of occupant comfort. The backseats in particular are impressive, with the view out the side windows making it feel like you’re in a limousine due to the windows’ unusual length. And it has amenities in all rows that help justify its price, such as massaging front seats with a powered leg rest, power-operated heated and ventilated second-row captain’s chairs, and a heated third row, as well.

So, it has the plush, high-quality interior necessary to be considered a luxury vehicle — at least the top trim does. But how does it stack up for power?

Competitive Power — Check!

• Takeaway: Compared to luxury and premium three-row SUVs, the Telluride competes well on power and refinement.

Besides having proper cabin trimmings, luxury vehicles must have adequate power, and the Telluride delivers here, too. Two powertrains are available: a standard turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine or a hybridized version of the engine that gains a lithium-ion battery and a dual electric-motor hybrid system for more power and greatly improved fuel economy. Having a turbo four as a standard engine doesn’t disqualify the Telluride from luxury-vehicle status at all — the majority of competitors in this category do, too. You can see how the Telluride’s 2.5-liter turbo and optional hybrid system stack up below.

As the table shows, Kia has the powertrains to make a bid for luxury status. The standard turbo 2.5-liter four-cylinder makes 274 hp, besting the output of the standard engines in the Audi Q7 and Infiniti QX60. It outguns the Acura MDX for torque, and is bested only by the Lexus TX (barely) and Lincoln Aviator (significantly). But opt for the Telluride’s turbo hybrid powertrain and you get a much more robust 329 hp and 339 pounds-feet of torque for less money than luxury competitors that have lesser powertrains. Lexus offers a hybrid powertrain in the TX, but it costs thousands of dollars more than the Telluride. On paper, Kia matches up, and it does so at a value price.

Out on the street, the Telluride backs up its claims. The standard turbo 2.5-liter engine is peppy and quick, with smooth shifts from the eight-speed automatic. The optional hybrid system is outstanding, with mostly electric operation, exceptional observed fuel economy (I saw 42 mpg from the trip computer on a recent test drive) and plenty of grunt when called upon. Either one is a smoother, torquier powertrain than what Infiniti offers in the QX60 or Audi does in the Q7, and the Kia’s turbo 2.5-liter engine feels more responsive than the base motor in the Lexus TX despite coming up just a tad short of that vehicle’s output. The Lincoln, however, blows everyone away with its twin-turbo V-6; nothing catches the Aviator at that price.

It Has Everything but the Luxury Badge

Take the badges off the new ‘27 Kia Telluride, and it has the chops to hang with similarly priced luxury vehicles — but keep the badges on, and that’s where things get iffy. People buy luxury vehicles as much for the brand cachet and badge as for the experience. The Telluride is something of the Kirkland Signature luxury SUV: just as good as a name-brand model but with the Costco generic moniker instead. There are people who enjoy that generic luxury idea, but they are a small portion of the market.

But you can’t change minds about a product until you change the product, and that’s what Kia has done, quietly moving its customers upmarket by eliminating low-cost, entry-level models like the Soul and Rio, and bumping up prices, content and refinement on popular models. When asked about this strategy and how it might impair buyers from entering the Kia brand at the low end of the market, company executives told us their strategy was to funnel those buyers into used-car showrooms for less expensive models. It’s an unusual strategy to be sure, but focusing on upscale vehicle buyers to try and boost your brand cachet requires proper product in the showroom. Kia has it.

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