You Won't See A Kia Telluride In 2026 - Here's Why

Since its arrival with the 2020 model year, the Kia Telluride has become one of the most successful vehicles to ever bear the brand's three-letter badge. In fact, this family-sized SUV has been so successful over the years that the manufacturer has hardly seen the need to update the vehicle in any major way since its release. It is, of course, hardly rare that the first generation of a car, truck, or SUV should span a stretch of several years or so. That's especially true of vehicles as popular as the Kia Telluride, which boasts a unique mix of luxury, power, performance, and price point that has, historically, also pleased reviewers from reviewers from our own SlashGear team. Despite the Telluride love, a change is indeed coming, and for that very reason you will not be seeing a Kia Telluride on the road next year.

Well — that's not exactly true. A more accurate statement would be to say that you will not be seeing a 2026 Kia Telluride on the road. That's because the Korean automaker is not actually making one. It would seem that Kia instead decided to forgo the 2026 model year with its best-selling SUV altogether for one simple reason: The time has finally come to upgrade the vehicle. That means that the new Kia Tellurides you'll find in showrooms in 2026 will largely be of the 2027 variety. Here's what you need to know about the new model.

Part of Kia's logic in skipping the 2026 model for the Kia Telluride is that the upgraded 2027 make is arriving earlier in the year than is normal. Per reports, the new and improved Kia Telluride is slated to hit sales floors sometime in the first quarter of 2026. Given the production to delivery timeline for the upgraded models, it's worth wondering whether Kia bosses didn't simply skip the '26 model year to limit the amount of back stock that might've been left on the lot ahead of the '27 model's early arrival.

Whatever the case, the '27 Kia Telluride purports to showcase no particular shortage of noticeable upgrades, not the least of which will be to the SUV's overall body design. Per Kia, the Telluride is getting the boxy exterior makeover performed on several other SUVs in recent years and will boast more interior space to boot. The vehicle is also getting a major under-the-hood upgrade, as Kia will offer the Telluride for the first time with a hybrid engine option. That engine will push a reported 329 horsepower, by the way, with its standard turbocharger increasing torque by some 50 pound-feet.

According to Kia, the vehicle will touch 35 MPG and offer a combined driving range of some 600 miles. The new Telluride boasts interior upgrades and safety additions that should make lengthy drives more luxurious than ever. And just in case you're interested, the new Telluride is one of the several Kia models being manufactured in the USA at the company's West Point, Georgia production facility.