The Kia Telluride and the Hyundai Palisade have been the same argument for seven years: two sister brands, one platform, two showrooms. The new round makes the argument stranger. The redesigned 2027 Telluride (Kia skipped the 2026 model year entirely) and the redesigned 2026 Palisade now offer the identical hybrid powertrain, a 2.5-liter turbo hybrid making 329 horsepower in both. Same power, same warranty, nearly the same size. So the decision moves to the places where they actually differ: what the hybrid costs, how many it seats, what it tows, and what sits under the hood if you skip the hybrid altogether.
Every price below includes destination, because that is what a buyer actually pays before tax and fees:
$40,735 to start, with destination
2.5L turbo four, 274 hp and 311 lb-ft. 20 mpg combined with AWD. Tows 5,000 lb. Cargo: 22.3 cu ft behind the third row, 89.3 max. Seats 8.
$48,035 to start, with destination
2.5L turbo hybrid, 329 hp and 339 lb-ft. 31 mpg combined with AWD, 35 in the front-drive EX. Tows 4,500 lb. Cargo: 21.3 behind the third row. Seats 7 only.
$41,035 to start, with destination
3.5L V6, 287 hp and 260 lb-ft. 20 mpg combined with AWD. Tows 5,000 lb. Cargo: 19.1 cu ft behind the third row, 86.7 max. Seats 8.
$45,760 to start, with destination
The same 2.5L turbo hybrid, 329 hp and 339 lb-ft. 29 mpg combined with AWD, 34 in the front-drive Blue. Tows 4,000 lb. Seats 8, unlike the Telluride Hybrid.
Three numbers in those cards do most of the deciding. The Palisade Hybrid starts $2,275 below the Telluride Hybrid. The Telluride Hybrid tows 500 lb more and carries about 2 cu ft more behind its third row. And the Telluride Hybrid seats seven, period, while the Palisade Hybrid keeps an eight-seat layout. A family that needs the eighth seat in a hybrid does not have a decision to make; Hyundai is the only one selling it.
| 2027 Telluride | 2026 Palisade | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (with destination) | $40,735 | $41,035 |
| Gas engine | 2.5L turbo four, 274 hp | 3.5L V6, 287 hp |
| Gas mpg, AWD combined | 20 | 20 |
| Hybrid starting price (with destination) | $48,035 | $45,760 |
| Hybrid power | 329 hp (shared system) | 329 hp (shared system) |
| Hybrid mpg, AWD combined | 31 | 29 |
| Cargo behind 3rd row | 22.3 cu ft (gas), 21.3 (hybrid) | 19.1 cu ft |
| Maximum cargo | 89.3 cu ft | 86.7 cu ft |
| Max towing, gas / hybrid | 5,000 / 4,500 lb | 5,000 / 4,000 lb |
| Seats | 8 (gas), 7 (hybrid) | 8 (both) |
| Powertrain warranty | 10 years / 100,000 miles | 10 years / 100,000 miles |
Skip the hybrid and the two stop being twins. Hyundai kept a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, 287 horsepower, the kind of engine that asks little and lasts. Kia replaced the old V6 with a 2.5-liter turbo four making less horsepower (274) but substantially more torque (311 lb-ft against 260), which is the number you feel pulling away from a stop or merging with a full load. Fuel economy is a wash at 20 mpg combined with all-wheel drive, towing ties at 5,000 lb, and the Telluride starts $300 less. This one is taste: the V6's simplicity and sound against the turbo's low-end pull. Neither answer is wrong, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling one of them.
The hybrid system is shared hardware, so performance is the same conversation in both showrooms. The differences are packaging and price. The Telluride Hybrid is the efficiency and towing pick: 31 mpg combined with AWD against 29, and 4,500 lb of towing against 4,000, a real margin if a camper or a boat is part of the plan. It is also the cargo pick, with 21.3 cu ft behind the third row against 19.1. The Palisade Hybrid is the value and flexibility pick: $2,275 less to start, and the only one of the two that seats eight.
Run the fuel math and the Telluride's mpg edge turns out to be small money. At 15,000 miles a year and $3.50 a gallon, 31 mpg costs about $1,694 a year and 29 mpg about $1,810, a difference of roughly $116 annually. That does not repay a $2,275 price gap on any reasonable timeline. The honest case for the Telluride Hybrid is not the fuel bill; it is the towing rating, the cargo floor, and an interior that most reviewers, and most buyers who sit in both, score a notch higher. The honest case for the Palisade Hybrid is $2,275 and a bench seat.
The Palisade fights back on people space. It offers more front legroom and more total passenger volume, and its cabin is the quieter, softer-riding of the two by most accounts. The Telluride is the boxier, airier-feeling box, with the bigger cargo numbers above and a third row adults tolerate for longer. Both are built on the same underlying platform architecture, so the differences are in how each brand spends the inches: Hyundai on the first two rows, Kia on the back and the hold.
Shopping both? CarThrive grades every dealer's doc fee and price transparency, and the pattern matters here: Kia and Hyundai stores vary by hundreds of dollars in fees on identical hardware. Check the dealer grades before you visit, and see how each model ranks against the whole class in our Best 3-Row SUVs of 2026, Ranked.
Pricing and specifications from Kia America and Hyundai Motor America published pricing and specification releases for the 2027 Telluride and 2026 Palisade, cross-checked against Edmunds, MotorTrend, and CarsDirect listings in October 2026. Prices are MSRP including destination ($1,545 Kia, $1,600 Hyundai) before tax, title, and dealer fees. Fuel economy figures are EPA combined ratings for all-wheel-drive models unless noted; front-drive hybrid figures are the EX (Telluride) and Blue (Palisade) trims. Towing figures are maximum ratings for properly equipped models. Fuel-cost math is a CarThrive calculation at 15,000 miles per year and $3.50 per gallon.