The New Kia Telluride Is An Absolute Unit That’s Not For Europe

This is the new Kia Telluride. It’s built in the USA, it’s named after a town in the USA, and it’s roughly the same size as Nevada. No prizes for guessing which market it’s mostly aimed at, then.

It’s the second generation of the Telluride, the biggest combustion-powered car Kia makes, and arrives six years after the original, boasting an unrelentingly boxy vibe. Up front, there’s the most enormous interpretation we’ve seen yet of Kia’s signature ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, and round the back, there are a pair of vertical tail lights rather reminiscent of a certain British SUV that rhymes with Strange Dover.

While the previous car wasn’t exactly diminutive, the second-gen Telluride gets 58mm longer overall, with nearly 76mm of extra wheelbase, and is taller by 25mm.

Inside, the Telluride’s overall look is familiar from plenty of Kia’s other current models, with twin instrument and infotainment screens sitting in a single housing and the curiously shaped steering wheel the brand is fond of at the moment. There’s space for seven in there, naturally, and Kia says the cabin’s colours and materials are united under the concept of ‘Grandioso’. Whatever that means.

Because every SUV on sale in the States these days must have a version that seeks the affections of the overlanding crowd, the Telluride range is topped off with the X-Pro trim you see here. That brings various bits of blacked-out trim, plus roof rails, a squared-off front bumper, tow hooks, all-terrain tyres and greater ground clearance than other versions – 231mm in total.

Other info like powertrains, are still under wraps. For what it’s worth, the outgoing car came solely with an old-fashioned nat-asp 3.8-litre V8, but we’d imagine that ancient lump might be replaced with something a bit more modern for the new one. 

Expect to find out more at the Los Angeles Auto Show, kicking off on 21 November, ahead of the new Telluride arriving in North American showrooms in the first quarter of next year. If you want one of these in Europe, though, you’re out of luck – those seeking a simply gigantic Kia on these shores will have to go for the all-electric EV9 instead.