2025 Kia Telluride

The top model with Kia’s extensive product lineup — also its largest — the mid-sized, three-row Kia Telluride crossover has been marketed in North America for the past six years, garnering numerous awards along the way. For the Canadian market the all-wheel-drive 7/8-seater is available in five trims — EX, SX, SX Limited, X-Line and X-Pro. The Telluride and Hyundai’s Palisade are closely related corporate siblings.

Kia Teluride competition

The three-row crossover rivals include Hyundai Palisade, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Volkswagen Atlas and Ford Explorer.

What’s new with the Kia Telluride for 2025?

In short, nothing. The Telluride carries over from the 2024 model year unchanged except for colour choices. There were styling tweaks to the vehicle for the 2023 model year. The rumour mill suggests there will be a new model for 2026.

2024 Kia Telluride Performance

All versions of the Telluride are powered by a 3.8L V6 making 291 hp and 262 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is hooked up to an 8-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is standard in Canada.

2025 Kia Telluride Efficiency

NRCan rates the 2024 Telluride at 13.1 L/100 km city, 10.0 L/100 km highway and 11.7 L/100 km combined, for an annual fuel cost of $3,627. The 2025 model, which has yet to be added to NRCan’s website, should post identical economy.

2024 Kia Telluride Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) gives the Telluride its top “five-star” rating for overall crashworthiness. This big crossover garners Top Safety Pick+ honours from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), scoring “good” results in crash tests.

2024 Kia Telluride Reliability

Consumer Reports ranks the Telluride second out of 16 mid-sized 3-row crossovers with an overall score of 84, one point lower than the top-ranked Toyota Highlander. As such, it earns a “recommended” rating. It is rated “average” for reliability and “well above average” for owner satisfaction. “It rides comfortably, and the cabin is quiet,” says CR. “The interior is roomy and comes with several well-thought-out details, such as second-row seats that can slide or fold with the single touch of a button.”

That said, there have been two notable recalls in 2024 for the Telluride. The first has Kia issuing a warning to owners of 2020 through 2024 models to park their vehicles outside due to the potential risk of a fire when the vehicle is driven or parked. The problem is that the slide knob for the front power seat can stick. That in turn can cause the power seat motor to overheat, which can potentially start a fire. Drivers may find that the power seat may not adjust or notice smoke or a burning smell. Kia’s instructions were to park the Telluride “outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair has been completed.” Under recall, dealers will install a bracket for the power-seat-switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs.

The second recall also concerns model years 2020 through 2024. The problem, according to a report by NHTSA, is that the intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft weren’t assembled properly by a supplier, and they don’t fully engage. With use, this could cause damage to the splines on the intermediate shaft. This, in turn, could cause the vehicle to move while in Park if the parking brake hasn’t been engaged. In Canada, Kia has notified owners to take the vehicle to a dealer, where the electronic parking brake software will be updated, and the parts examined for any damage and replaced if necessary. While some 2024 Tellurides were included in the recall, it didn’t apply to all of them. Starting in October of 2023, the supplier started using “an additional computer vision process” to ensure the driveshaft assembly was fully engaged.

2025 Kia Telluride Interior

The Telluride's interior “is undeniably upscale and comfortable — especially in the top trims, notes Car and Driver. “The build quality is excellent, the materials are attractive, and features are plentiful.”

“One point worth noting on the Telluride is that while it does have the twin screens that are becoming a Kia signature, there’s a lower screen on other newer Kias such as the EV6 and Sportage that toggles between climate and infotainment controls,” says Driving.ca contributor Stephanie Wallcraft. “In those vehicles, it can be a bit confusing to figure out which mode it’s in, even though you can configure it to default to one set of controls or the other after a few seconds, and it can be distracting when you think you’re adjusting the temperature and instead crank the volume on your music by mistake. Since the Telluride has undergone a refresh (in 2023) and not a full redesign, that panel hasn’t yet made it onto this dashboard. Instead, old-school buttons and dials still rule here. If that’s a bonus to you, grab it while you still can.”

2025 Kia Telluride Dimensions

The three-row crossover is exactly 5,000 mm (196.9 inches) bumper to bumper. Width is 1,990 mm (78.3 in.). With rood rails, the EX, SX and SX Limited stand 1,759 mm (69.3 in.) tall, the X-Line and X-Pro are 31 mm taller. Ground clearance is 203 mm (8.0 in.), except for the X-Line and X-Pro trims, which are fitted with all-terrain tires that add another 10 mm (0.4 in.) of clearance.

2024 Kia Telluride Canadian Pricing

The Telluride’s 2025 pricing has gone up 600 bucks from the previous year. The base EX starts at $50,395, the SX is $55,995, and the SX Limited is $59,995. Moving further upward, the X-Line goes for $62,095, with the X-Pro topping out at $63,695.