Everyone has an opinion about the Telluride. Your neighbor bought one and hasn’t stopped talking about it since. Your coworker says it’s overrated. That one guy at every barbecue who knows cars told you to just get a Tahoe instead. And somewhere on the internet, somebody wrote a comment saying the Telluride is just a Hyundai Palisade with a different badge.
Everyone has something to say.
Most of it is wrong.I leased the 2025 Kia Telluride for three weeks. Drove it through school runs, a long weekend road trip, city parking, highway stretches, and one rainy Tuesday that tested every driver assist feature it had. Here are the five biggest myths I kept hearing before I picked up the keys and what I actually found when I was living with the thing.
Key Takeaways
- The 2025 Telluride starts at $36,390 and the sweet spot EX X-Line trim lands around $46,485. Source: Edmunds, 2025.
- The 3.8-liter V6 makes 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. Smooth, quiet, and never feels underpowered with a full family load.
- Third row fits adults better than almost any crossover at this price. Not luxury seating. But real seating.
- Interior quality punches well above what you’d expect at this price point.
- Wired CarPlay only on most trims. No wireless. In 2025 that’s a real annoyance worth knowing before you sign.
- Resale value is exceptional. One of the best in the three-row SUV class.
- This is still the three-row SUV Danny recommends first when someone asks. After three weeks it’s easy to see why.
Myth One: The Telluride Is Just a Fancy Hyundai Palisade
Heard this one a hundred times.
Yes. They share a platform. Yes, Kia and Hyundai are the same parent company. And yes, on paper they look similar in a lot of ways.
But living with the Telluride for three weeks tells a different story.
The exterior design is more rugged. More distinct. The Palisade looks polished and premium. The Telluride looks like it could drive you to a trailhead and not feel out of place. These are different personalities wearing the same skeleton underneath.
Inside, the materials are comparable. Both feel upscale for the price. But the Telluride’s layout feels slightly more intuitive. Physical knobs for climate. A logical center console. Buttons where you expect buttons to be.
My wife sat in a Palisade at a dealership two weeks before I picked up the Telluride. When she got into the Telluride she said the two felt similar but the Telluride felt more like something she’d want to drive herself. Not just be driven around in.
That’s the real difference. The Palisade feels like a premium family shuttle. The Telluride feels like it belongs to you.
Same bones. Different souls.
Myth Two: The Third Row Is Useless for Adults
Nope.
Mostly nope, anyway.
The 2025 Telluride has 33.2 inches of third-row legroom. Source: Kia, 2025. That number sounds tight. In reality it sits better than most three-row crossovers because the seat itself is shaped well and the floor is mostly flat back there.
My brother-in-law. 5’10”. Rode in the third row on a 35-minute drive to a family dinner. When he got out I asked him how it was back there.
He shrugged. Said “not bad actually.”
From him. That’s practically a standing ovation.Adults over 6 feet will feel it on longer trips. That’s honest. The headroom gets tight for tall passengers and the legroom runs out faster. But for adults under 5’11” on trips under an hour? The Telluride third row works. Really works. That’s rarer than people think in this price class.
Getting back there is easy too. The second-row seat tips and slides forward with one smooth motion. My 6-year-old can do it himself. He discovered this on day two and immediately appointed himself official third-row access manager for every trip after that.
Myth Three: You’re Paying the Telluride Tax Just for the Name
People say the Telluride is overpriced because it’s popular.
Let’s look at actual numbers.
| Trim | Kia Telluride EX AWD | Ford Explorer Limited | Chevy Tahoe LT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | ~$44,090 | ~$50,000 | ~$62,000 |
| Third Row Space | 33.2 inches | 31.0 inches | 33.7 inches |
| Fuel Economy | 20/26 mpg | 21/28 mpg | 16/20 mpg |
| Interior Quality | Excellent | Good | Good |
| Towing Capacity | 5,000 lbs | 5,600 lbs | 8,400 lbs |
| Reliability Score | Excellent | Good | Good |
Source: EPA, manufacturer specs, Consumer Reports, 2025.
The Telluride undercuts the Explorer by $6,000 on comparable trims. It’s $18,000 cheaper than the Tahoe LT. And it matches or beats both on interior quality and reliability.
Overpriced? Not even a little.
The only real premium you pay is the popularity tax at the dealership. Dealers know this thing sells and they negotiate less aggressively on it. That’s a real thing. Go in knowing the EX X-Line is the most popular trim and dealers know it too. Source: TrueCar transaction data, 2025.
Myth Four: The V6 Is Old Technology and That’s a Problem
The 3.8-liter V6 has been in the Telluride since it launched in 2020. Five years later people are calling it dated.
Here’s the thing about that.
Old doesn’t mean bad.
That V6 makes 291 horsepower and pulls smoothly and quietly from basically any speed. Zero to 60 comes in around 7.2 seconds. Source: Car and Driver, 2025. Around town it’s completely effortless. On the highway it cruises at 75 without working hard. And with four people, full cargo, and a stroller in the boot it still pulls onto a highway on-ramp without making you nervous.
Day four. Full family. Long highway stretch. All seven seats in use for the first time. I expected the V6 to feel strained.
It didn’t. Not even a little.
The engine just pulled. Quietly. Smoothly. The way a big family vehicle should when it’s doing exactly what it was built to do.
Fuel economy in real mixed driving over three weeks averaged about 21 to 22 mpg. The EPA combined rating is 20 mpg for the AWD version. Source: EPA FuelEconomy.gov, 2025. I beat the EPA estimate which doesn’t happen often. Highway driving helps and I did a lot of it.
Yes. The new 2027 Telluride will get a turbocharged four-cylinder. More torque. Better efficiency. But the outgoing V6 is not a liability in the 2025. It’s a proven, quiet, reliable engine that does its job without drama. And in a family vehicle that’s not a small thing.
Myth Five: The Interior Tech Is Behind the Times
Partially true. But not the way people say it.
The 12.3-inch infotainment screen is large and easy to read. The native Kia system is responsive and laid out logically. Physical climate controls sit below the screen. Real buttons. Real knobs. The kind of setup you can operate without looking away from the road.
CarPlay works well. Android Auto works well. Navigation is clean. The screen responds to taps quickly without lag.
Here’s the actual truth about the tech though.
It’s wired CarPlay only on most trims. Source: Cars.com, 2025. No wireless. In 2025 that’s a real frustration. Every morning you plug in your phone. A small thing that becomes a daily annoyance over three weeks.
My wife noticed it on day three. “Why do I have to plug in every time?” she asked.
Good question. No great answer.
The EV9, Kia’s electric SUV, has wireless CarPlay. The Telluride doesn’t yet. That’s the genuine tech gap and it’s worth knowing before you decide.
Everything else about the tech works. The 12-speaker Bose audio system on upper trims is genuinely great. The heads-up display on the SX and above is clean and easy to read. The blind spot cameras that show a live feed in the instrument cluster when you signal are one of those features you use once and immediately can’t imagine driving without.
What Three Weeks Actually Felt Like
Day one. School run. Both kids in the back.
The step height is comfortable. My 4-year-old got in without asking for help. First time that had happened in three weeks of testing different vehicles. She climbed in, found her seatbelt, and buckled herself. I just stood there for a second because that never happens.
Day two. Grocery run. A full week of food for four people plus a case of water plus two backpacks.
Cargo behind the third row is 21 cubic feet with the third row up. Source: Kia, 2025. I loaded everything in one trip. Flat floor. Good depth. The cargo cover reached without stretching. The trunk lip is low enough that lifting heavy bags over it doesn’t strain your back. Little things. Real things.
Day five I took it on an 80-mile highway run alone. Just me and the road.
Quiet. That’s the word that kept coming up. The cabin insulation is noticeably better than most crossovers at this price. Wind noise at 70 mph was present but soft. Nothing that made me turn up the music. The seat was comfortable two hours in and still comfortable when I arrived. No lower back questions. No shifting around.
The door. Closes with a solid, clean sound. Not hollow. Not cheap. The kind of door close that makes you feel like the vehicle is well built before you’ve even looked at the interior. My wife mentioned it on day one without me saying anything first.
Day eight. Tight city parking lot. The Telluride is 196 inches long. Not small. But the backup camera is clear and the blind spot sensors covered everything I couldn’t see directly. Parked it in a spot that made me think twice and got it in first try.
My son watched from the back seat. He said “that was pretty good dad.”
High praise from a 6-year-old who has strong opinions about parking.
The Stuff Kia Needs to Fix
Two things. No dressing them up.
Wired CarPlay only is a real problem in 2025. Every competitor at this price offers wireless. The Telluride doesn’t on most trims. You plug in every morning. Every time. After three weeks the cable becomes a small daily irritation that adds up. If this matters to you, check your specific trim before buying. Some higher configurations may vary.
The base LX trim undersells the whole vehicle. Sitting in an LX at a dealership gives you the wrong impression of what the Telluride actually is. Smaller screen. Less content. More basic feel. If you’re test driving the Telluride for the first time ask specifically for the EX or EX X-Line. That’s where the vehicle shows what it actually is.
How Reliable Is the 2025 Kia Telluride?
Very.
Consumer Reports gives it top marks consistently. Source: Consumer Reports, 2025. IIHS awarded the 2025 Telluride Top Safety Pick Plus, its highest honor. Source: IIHS, 2025. NHTSA gave it an overall 5-star safety rating. Source: NHTSA, 2025. Owner forums are quiet on major mechanical issues. The V6 powertrain is proven across five years of real-world ownership data now.
Common small complaints from real owners include road noise on certain coarse highway surfaces being louder than expected, the wired-only CarPlay frustration mentioned above, and occasional hesitation from the transmission at very low parking lot speeds.
No significant recalls active on 2025 models as of publication. Source: NHTSA recall database, 2025.
Routine maintenance runs $450 to $650 per year. Resale is exceptional. Expect around 60 to 65 percent of purchase price after three years. Source: Kelley Blue Book, 2025. That’s among the best in the entire three-row SUV segment and changes the real total cost of ownership significantly.
My Personal Opinion
Okay. Here it is.
I went into this lease already knowing the Telluride had a strong reputation. What I didn’t expect was how quickly it just became the car in my driveway. Not the test vehicle I was evaluating. Just the car.
After three days I stopped thinking about it analytically and started just using it. That doesn’t happen with every vehicle I test. When it does, it means the vehicle does its job quietly and completely.
The third row myth is real. Adults fit. The value myth is real. Nothing at this price gives you this much. The tech frustration is real too. Wired CarPlay in 2025 is behind where it should be.
Would I buy one? If I needed a three-row SUV right now, yes. The EX X-Line with AWD. That’s the trim where everything clicks. Good features, real capability, reasonable price for what you get.
Skip the dealer add-ons. Negotiate harder than you think you can because dealers know how popular this thing is and they count on buyers being too excited to push back.
Drive it once and you’ll understand why everyone has an opinion about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 2025 Kia Telluride worth buying over the Hyundai Palisade? Both are excellent. The Palisade feels more premium and polished inside. The Telluride feels more rugged and driver-focused. Pricing is similar. The choice often comes down to styling preference and which dealership experience you prefer. Neither is the wrong answer.
How many people does the 2025 Telluride seat? Seven with captain’s chairs in the second row or eight with the bench seat option. The third row genuinely fits adults under 5’11” on shorter trips, which separates it from most crossover competitors.
Does the 2025 Kia Telluride have wireless Apple CarPlay? No. Most 2025 Telluride trims use wired CarPlay only. This is a real drawback compared to competitors and worth knowing before purchasing. Source: Cars.com, 2025.
What is the towing capacity of the 2025 Telluride? 5,000 pounds on most trims. The X-Pro version goes up to 5,500 pounds with the off-road package. Good for boats up to around 18 feet and small utility trailers. Source: Kia, 2025.
How long does the Kia Telluride last? The Telluride launched in 2020 and early high-mileage examples are tracking very well. Based on Kia’s overall reliability record and owner data, most Tellurides with regular maintenance should reach 200,000 miles without major mechanical issues. Source: iSeeCars longevity data, 2025.
Is the 2025 Telluride good in snow? AWD versions handle winter driving well. The available all-wheel drive system with a locking center differential on X-Line and X-Pro trims adds real winter confidence. For areas with serious snowfall, AWD plus all-season or winter tires is the right setup.
Should I wait for the 2027 Kia Telluride instead? The 2027 is a full redesign with a new engine and updated tech. If you can wait until late 2026 when it arrives at dealerships, the new model brings real improvements. If you need a vehicle now, the 2025 is still one of the best three-row SUVs on sale and dealers are currently offering strong incentives on it.
