Compare the2027 Kia TellurideVS 2025 Hyundai Palisade

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia Telluride have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Palisade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The Telluride has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Palisade doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Kia Telluride’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Hyundai Palisade does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Telluride and the Palisade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Hyundai is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2026 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 2 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Telluride’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6. The Telluride’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 38 more horsepower (329 vs. 291) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Telluride 4 cyl. hybrid gas is faster than the Hyundai Palisade:

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Palisade FWD (20 city/26 hwy vs. 19 city/26 hwy).

Regenerative brakes improve the Telluride Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Palisade doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Telluride higher (6 out of 10) than the Hyundai Palisade (5). This means the Telluride produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Palisade every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Telluride’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Palisade:

The Telluride’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Palisade are solid, not vented.

The Telluride stops shorter than the Palisade:

For better traction, the Telluride X-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Palisade (265/45R21 vs. 245/60R18).

The Telluride X-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Palisade’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Telluride X-Line has standard 21-inch wheels. The Palisade’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Telluride has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Palisade doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Telluride’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Palisade (116.9 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Telluride SX Prestige handles at .77 G’s, while the Palisade Limited HTRAC pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Telluride SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Palisade Limited HTRAC (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Telluride X-Pro has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Palisade (9.1 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Telluride uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Palisade doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Telluride has .4 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, .4 inches more rear shoulder room, .7 inches more third row legroom and .1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

The Telluride’s cargo area provides more volume than the Palisade.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Telluride. The Palisade doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Telluride’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Palisade’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

On a hot day the Telluride’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Palisade can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Both the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Telluride offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Palisade’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Telluride has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Only the Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Night offers wireless charging, and only charges one device.

Motor Trend selected the Telluride as their 2020 Sport Utility of the Year. The Palisade has never been chosen.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Telluride as the 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Palisade has never been chosen.