Big Time Rivals! 2026 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2027 Kia Telluride

In their first iterations, both the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride led their brands and the 3-row segment to new levels, finding their ways into the driveways of many families across the country. And now, it’s time for their second generations to continue the legacy! We’ve been behind the wheel of both models now, and it’s time to officially put the all-new Palisade and Telluride head-to-head. So, which is the best pick for you in a 2026 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2027 Kia Telluride comparison? Let’s dive in and find out!

Exterior Design

Starting with the exteriors, Hyundai and Kia continue to put out bold and eye-catching designs, in segments that tend to be kind of bland! Honestly, it’s impossible to tell these two are related by looking at the front fascias, where the Palisade and Telluride have two different identities. The Palisade we have uses lots of silver accents around its barred grille, looking more luxurious than the X-Line Telluride, which is almost fully blacked out and emphasizes ruggedness.

These two models are both priced right at $50,000, but the Palisade prioritizes the interior over outside design, as shown by it’s 18-inch wheels vs. the much larger 21-inch alloys on the Telluride.

Continuing to the features, we start with the headlights, both models feature projector full-LED arrangements, each with new lighting signatures for this year. While the Palisade also has an integrated light bar, only the Telluride has the more useful feature of LED fog lamps.

The platform similarities show themselves the most at the sides, where they are the same length, with a small growth spurt for the newest generations. Same length doesn’t guarantee the same space though, so we will approach any differences later in this comparison.

Lengths: Telluride: 199.2 inches | Palisade: 199.2 inches

Out back… no, we did not swap these two for Range Rovers! Despite their design similarities with the luxury marque, there are also similarities between the features. Each has a hidden rear wiper, spoiler, and full LED rear lighting with slim and luxurious designs. Neither have exposed exhaust outlets anymore, and the Palisade uses a large black accent across the back of the tailgate. 

For towing, these models can haul an equivalent 5,000 lbs.

Towing (Both, Gas Powertrain): 5,000 lbs

Headed to the mirrors, both have heating, Blind Spot Monitoring, and Power folding, but the Palisade one-ups the Telluride with auto-dimming abilities at this price.

Safety is a foremost priority for these SUVs, and sure enough they both have all the standard Active Safety Features, and more. Additionally, they both have the advanced Highway Drive Assist systems, to make a long road trip a breeze.

That concludes the outside, so let’s keep moving to the impressive interiors.

Interior Design

Approaching both, they have smart entry and remote start on the fob, but only the Palisade has digital key as equipped.

One more stop before getting inside, as the Telluride now has flush door handles that pop out on approach for the new generation. 

Opening the doors, it’s once again difficult to link these two as family members in any way, but there are some small shared elements, as you’ll see throughout this tour. When it comes to the seats, these models both feature full Leatherette seats as equipped, and we must point out that both feel very realistic and should be durable. The highest-end Palisades can also get Nappa leather, while all Telluride’s will come with this faux leather now.

Functionality-wise, they share 8-ways of adjustment plus 4-way lumbar, heating, and ventilation, but only the Hyundai has memory settings.

Hopping inside, we can talk about the broad item of cabin quality, which we will divide into solidity and material selection. Both models exhibit excellent build quality and fit-and-finish, as expected from both brands’ top SUVs. And, while not the highest trims, materials are quite impressive as well, where both use lots of leatherette, soft-touch materials, and unique trims to create a luxurious environment. However, it’s the Hyundai that even includes ambient lighting at this price.

After start-up, you will be greeted by 12.3-inch screens, but only the Palisade’s is fully reconfigurable, with the blind spot camera system for 50 grand.

The steering wheels are equivalent, as they’re leather-wrapped, heated, and manually adjustable, though the Kia’s wheel suffers from asymmetry, if that bothers you. Rain-sensing wipers are reserved for the very top trims of each.

Storage and Technology

But, the next major subject to evaluate is interior storage, broken into the subcategories of console and extra cubbies throughout. First, checking out the center consoles, the Palisade fits a full dozen donuts, while the Telluride packs in an impressive 19 donuts. 

Moving forward, though, the Palidade has the advantage, as it has even more pass-through storage space, thanks to the console’s design. Palisade has a passenger storage shelf as well and at least one wireless phone charging pad, but all 2027 Telluride’s throw in an extra charger for the passenger as well.

To attain the additional space, both use electronic shifters mounted on the steering column. In reverse, the Palisade is once again advantaged with the 360 camera with 3D spin ability, while both have parking sensors. 

For the three-zone climate systems, both offer physical controls for the main temperature adjustments, but other settings are in small touch screens.

They also have physical volume controls, so let’s test their audio systems. The audio quality is identical with the same 8 speakers. Branded sound systems are on top trims.

Both: 8-speaker audio

Now to the screens, where they share a 12.3-inch display running the same infotainment system, which has Wireless Apple CarPlay, Wireless Android Auto, and integrated navigation. Performance on both is smooth and simple, and phone pairing is some of the quickest and most reliable in the auto industry.

Up top, both include auto-dimming rearview mirrors, though the Palisade adds HomeLink garage door openers.

They also have standard-sized sunroofs.

Rear Seats and Cargo

Now, let’s see if there are any packaging differences in the back seats and cargo areas! Starting with the second-row seat space, they are nearly identical on paper, which also plays out with when we measure our real-world knee room as well.

Palisade: 43.0-inches of legroom | 40.0-inches of headroom

Telluride: Legroom: 43.0-inches | Headroom: 40.4-inches

Features are plentiful, but the Palisade continues with a luxury advantage. While both have climate vents, USB ports, sunshades, and captain’s chairs, it’s the Hyundai that also includes seat heating and ventilation plus a rear console drawer for extra space as well.

Entering the third row, both sets of seats slide forward easily without tilting the seatback, which means many child seats would not have to be removed. 

Once back there, space figures in all configurations continue to be within a 5% margin, meaning both third rows are comfy. Additionally, they will both have reclining seats, vents, cupholders, and USBs. While the top trims can get some extra luxury goodies, these mainstream models will still be comfy and spacious.

Palisade: Legroom: 32.1-inches (normal configuration) | Headroom: 37.7-inches

Telluride: Legroom: 32.1-inches | Headroom: 37.4-inches

Now, to the cargo spaces! Both have hands-free power tailgates as equipped. When it comes to space, it’s the Telluride that has an advantage, albeit not a huge one. It has about 3 additional cubic feet of space at each of the 3 seating configurations, which is greater than a 5% difference behind the third row and 2nd row.

Palisade: Behind 3^rd Row: 19.1-cu.ft | 2^nd Row: 46.3-cu.ft | MAX: 86.7 cu. ft.

Telluride: Behind 3^rd Row: 22.3-cu.ft | 2^nd Row: 48.7-cu.ft | MAX: 89.3-cu.ft

As equipped, both models have a manual-folding third row, outlets, and spare tires under the load floors. 

But that’s it for the interiors, so now let’s take them out on the road, where there are even more changes to discuss!

Powertrains

Both the Telluride and Palisade have had some powertrain tweaks for their newest generations, but more so for the Telly. While the Hyundai has a different V6 and new hybrid powertrain, the Kia trades in its V6 for a new Turbocharged 4-cylinder. We’ll talk more about the shared hybrid system in a later comparison, but in these gas models, the Palisade has more horsepower, while the Telluride has more torque. Once the rubber hits the road, though, it’ll be the Telluride that is quicker in 0-60 testing, thanks to the extra low-end torque.

Palisade: 3.5L V6: 287 hp | 260 lb.ft | 0-60 MPH: 8.6s (Redline)

Telluride: 2.5L Turbo I-4: 274 hp | 311 lb.ft | 0-60 MPH: 7.8s (Garage Talk)

However, the accelerations will also reveal the Palisade’s more refined sound and smoothness from its V6 engine.

Test Drive and Fuel Economy

As far as the transmissions are concerned, both have 8-speed automatics and AWD systems as equipped. Performance is smooth in each, and off-road trims are available if you need even more capability.

Now, for ride quality and handling, which will be the one to excel? Well, they both excel but in slightly different ways. I’ll get this out of the way first: both are very comfortable. But the Palisade is outrageously comfortable, especially on this SEL Premium with those small 18-inch alloys you saw earlier. In comparison, the Telluride with 21’s still rides nicely but you will feel more impacts enter the cabin when you hit a larger pothole or something.

One of the surprising elements we found about the new Telly is that the handling is quite good. They firmed the suspension a bit more than the Palisade, meaning that body roll is nicely controlled when going around corners.

Here at Car Confections, something we like to do is take sound level readings for all the models we test so that we can compare them. Our Kentucky measurements reveal the two models have almost identical dB readings, and more expensive models will be even quieter.

Palisade: 57.9 dB @ 55 MPH

Telluride: 57.5 dB @ 55 MPH

Finally, when it comes to fuel economy, you might be surprised to see the V6 and Turbo-4 models get the exact same fuel economy. Spend the extra for the hybrid system they share for the most power and efficiency.

Palisade ICE AWD: 18/24/20 MPG

Telluride ICE AWD: 18/24/20 MPG

Resale & Reliability

In our reviews and comparisons, we are also adding in reliability and resale information to give you a better picture of the overall value beyond just the original MSRP. 

Beginning with reliability, we developed the Combined Reliability Index, which takes into account several studies from trustworthy sources and combines them in a way that gives a more realistic picture. For the past few years, Kia has consistently outperformed its corporate sibling here, ranking 6 slots above the overall industry average. Meanwhile, Hyundai is 2 slots below the industry average.

However, they share the same industry-leading long warranty coverage, with neither including complimentary maintenance for 2026.

We also put Mason’s economics degree to work to develop a detailed Predicted Resale Value tool. After 5 years and 60,000 miles, the opposite is true here, with Hyundai outperforming Kia. Its expected resale value is 55.4% of MSRP after 5 years, while Kia comes in at 49.0%.

And if you’d like to check out all our data about reliability and resale values, as well as learn about our methodology, make sure to head to carconfections.com/resale and /reliability. Buying a car is a big decision, and this is a great place to compare all the makes you might be cross-shopping.

Price Assessment

Now, let’s break down the cost of these two and evaluate how much value each model is delivering. 

Hyundai and Kia have consistently offered value-packed models for years, and that continues for the newest generations of Palisade and Telluride. The trims we have today are the middle-of-the-pack trims that are also some of the best sellers, Telluride EX X-Line and Palisade SEL Premium. They are only $65 dollars apart, both coming in under $50,000 including destination. 

Palisade (SEL Premium AWD): $47,300 | Options: +$0 | Destination: $1,600 | Total: $48,900

Telluride (EX X-Line AWD): $47,290 | Options: +$0 | Destination: $1,545 | Total: $48,835

2026 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2027 Kia Telluride Winner!

So, there you have it: the objective winner! Do you agree? Here are a couple of things to consider when picking each one:

Palisade: 

• V6 Refinement with same fuel economy as I-4
• Features advantages for the money
• Interior Storage Solutions

Telluride: 

• More tech forward cabin (third screen)
• Lighting advantages (fogs)
• Better rated reliability

Now we want to know your opinions, so make sure to head to the comment section and let us know which one you would pick!

Thanks for joining us for another Car Confections Comparison! We’ll catch you next time as we sample the latest automotive delicacies!