2025 Kia Telluride Vs. Hyundai Palisade Differences

We can guess you’ve visited our 2025 Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade comparison for a specific reason. That would be a desire for the latest and greatest that the SUV world has to offer. You’ll get ample cargo room, eye-catching style, plenty of cutting-edge tech, and a remarkable amount of expectation-defying luxury from either of these two incredible offerings – with competitive pricing to boot. However, with higher available ground clearance, more cargo space, more trims to explore, desirable standard advantages, and recognition from experts in the automotive industry, the new Kia Telluride can bring more of what you want.

Read on to see the 2025 Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade differences and similarities provided by Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw, and learn how the Telluride offers the benefits and value you seek. Once you do, be sure to check out our inventory of Kia Telluride lease deals in Kennesaw, GA, to find even more value.

Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade: Exterior

The most obvious point of distinction in a 2025 Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade comparison is the exterior. For the Palisade, a focus on more elegant luxury is apparent. A prominent chrome grille, sleek body lines, and LED blade lights make it clear that you’re looking at a Palisade. On the Telluride side of things, a more rugged look means absolute business. Styling elements like the LED daytime running lights and an aggressive grille make it undeniably a Telluride.

If the focus of their design didn’t give it away, the Palisade aims for a premium aesthetic, while the Telluride embraces its SUV nature to craft an off-road-ready yet stylish exterior. Both will impress with their capabilities and upscale cabins, though. What is also worth noting is that the two SUVs are developed on the same platform. However, the two brands do separate tuning and adjustments, resulting in slightly different driving dynamics for each.

So, how do Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade driving dynamics and exterior design compare? If you seek a nature-loving and capable ride that’s built to turn heads on the road and dominate terrain off them, the Telluride is for you. The Palisade is a very similar vehicle drive, offering plenty of versatility in its own rights, but it lacks some of the Telluride SUV’s trail-conquering capabilities to go along with its otherwise versatile capabilities.

Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade: Interior

Firstly, practicality comes in with a 21 cubic-foot seats-up cargo capacity in the Telluride and an 18 cubic-foot seats-up cargo capacity in the Palisade. Here’s where things get really good, though – the interiors of both SUVs are so competitive that they’ll give established luxury vehicles a run for their money.

Starting with the 2025 Telluride interior, you’ll find premium materials, available leather upholstery, and an overall design that’s as modern as can be. What’s more, you get standard tech like a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, USB-C fast-charging ports in each row of seating, and a whole lot more.

Available features include dual power sunroofs, a 12.3-inch digital instrument display, a Harmon Kardon® 10-speaker sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, a 10-inch Head-Up Display, wireless device charging, and sumptuous captain’s chairs for the second row, among others. All this means you and your passengers will all be in the lap of luxury when you choose a 2025 Kia Telluride in Kennesaw, GA.

The Palisade interior is a similar story but with varying styles. The design differs in areas like the dashboard and center console, but overall, the two are quite similar. A familiar sheet of features furthers that. This includes standard bits like a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display, dual-zone climate control, navigation, and much more.

While base-trim Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade features are similar, upgrades favor the Telluride. For example, the Telluride S has a more affordable starting MSRP than the Palisade SEL. Selecting these trims or higher will be necessary to get standard wireless smartphone charging and second-row captain’s chairs. Find a Telluride S in our new inventory today to explore its many more desirable standard features.

Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade: Performance & Safety

In the battle of the 2025 Telluride vs. Palisade, both SUVs come in with similar performance. A 3.8-liter V-6 engine can be found in each, with an output of 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque powering them both.

Both of their all-terrain capabilities can be enhanced with available all-wheel drive, but the Kia Telluride can ride higher with an extra 0.4 inches of available ground clearance. Both the 2025 Palisade and 2025 Telluride towing capacity ratings come in at a maximum of 5,000 pounds,^{3, 4} too.

However, the 2025 Kia Telluride front-wheel-drive MPG ratings are stronger than the Palisade SUV’s MPG in the city. With FWD, the Telluride delivers an EPA-estimated 20/26/22 (City/Highway/Combined),¹ while the Palisade delivers an EPA-estimated 19/26/22 (City/Highway/Combined).²

2025 Kia Telluride safety features include standard driver assists like the following:

• Blind-Spot Collision Warning
• Forward Collision Warning
• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian, Cyclist, and Junction Turning Detection
• Lane Keeping Assist
• Navigation-Based Smart Cruise Control
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist
• Rear Park Distance Warning
• Lane Departure Warning
• Lane Following Assist
• Highway Driving Assist 1.5
• Intelligent Speed Limit Assist
• Driver Attention Warning
• Rear Occupant Alert with Ultrasonic Sensors
• Safe Exit Assist
• Rollover Sensor
• Rearview Monitor with Dynamic Parking Guidance
• Hill-Start Assist Control
• Downhill Brake Control

The Palisade gives you many of the same standard driver-support technologies – minus a few – as both SUVs are designed to keep you and your family safe on the road.

While both models are known for their safety, only the Kia Telluride earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+⁵ rating, the highest honor, for the 2024 model year. The Palisade received an IIHS Top Safety Pick⁶ rating, which is one level below the Telluride model’s achievement. The 2025 models have not been tested as of this writing.

2025 Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade: Price & Trims

Like many of the other aspects in this comparison, pricing for both the Telluride and Palisade comes in at a nearly identical but slightly different range. For the 2025 Telluride, the base-trim starting MSRP is slightly lower than the 2025 Hyundai Palisade base-trim starting MSRP. You’ll find an affordable price in either model, but a great price for the Kia Telluride for sale offers the advantages we covered throughout this page. For the Palisade, the top-end trim is now the Palisade Calligraphy Night trim, which has a higher MSRP than the range-topping Telluride SX Prestige X-Pro.

The 2025 Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade trim levels include another advantage for the Telluride: more to choose from. The new 2025 Kia Telluride in Kennesaw, GA, has 10 trims, including the top-end SX Prestige X-Pro for enhanced luxury and off-road capabilities. The Palisade limits you to seven trims, which prevents you from combining top-trim luxury with rugged-trim off-road strength.

Automotive Expert Reviews

There’s no denying that both two-row sport-utes receive well-deserved praise from auto experts, but the Kia Telluride tends to come out on top in many third-party reviews. As an example of this, we can look to Car and Driver, an industry-leading publication.

For 2025, the Kia Telluride earned some of the organization’s highest praises, including a perfect 10/10 score⁷ and the top slot on their “Best Midsize SUVs” list.⁸ The Hyundai Palisade earned exceptional acclaim, as well, with a score 9.5/10⁹ and the seventh position in the same best-of rankings.⁸

Both models have prestigious backing, to say the least. It just so happens that the Telluride earns next-level honors in comparison.

Kia Telluride vs. Hyundai Palisade Warranty Comparison

Whether you’re leaning toward the stellar new Kia Telluride SUV or a similarly-spec’d Hyundai Palisade, you’ll be happy to hear that both models and brands deliver an incredibly generous new car warranty package. When you secure a Telluride SUV or its Hyundai rival, you’ll gain the peace of mind that comes with a:

• 10-year or 100,000-mile Powertrain Limited Warranty^{10, 11}
• Five-year or 60,000-mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty^{10, 11}
• Up to five years of Roadside Assistance¹²
• Extensive Anti-Perforation Warranty coverage

Find Your Kia Telluride at Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw

If you’re in the Kennesaw, GA, area, we invite you to visit our dealership – Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw – to see the segment-leading Kia Telluride in person. You can take the wheel for a test drive and experience how it blends a take-charge attitude with smooth daily driving design firsthand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Telluride bigger than the Palisade?

Exterior dimensions on the Telluride are slightly larger than the Palisade. On the inside of the Telluride, you get 21 cubic feet of storage behind the third-row seats, with 46 cubic feet when those seats are folded. Fold the second-row seats, and that number grows to 87 cubic feet. For the Palisade, those figures are 18 cubic feet, 45.8 cubic feet, and 86.4 cubic feet, respectively.

Why is the Telluride rated higher than the Palisade?

For 2025, the Telluride has a one-point higher J.D. Power reliability rating than the Palisade,^{13, 14} but both have impressively high scores that put them into the “Great” rating level. Additionally, Car and Driver gives the Telluride a 0.5-higher score than the Palisade.^{7, 9} Part of this is likely due to few extra standard driver-assistance systems that the Kia Telluride gives motorists.

Is the Palisade more expensive than the Telluride?

The Palisade and Telluride have near-identical pricing across equivalent trims, but the Telluride does come in slightly lower. Additionally, the Telluride has three more trims than the Palisade does, giving you more options when looking for the perfect mix of price and features. With the introduction of the new Palisade Calligraphy Night model, the Hyundai vehicle has a higher starting price for its top trim than the Telluride.

¹Based on EPA estimates. Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and your vehicle’s condition. See www.fueleconomy.gov.

²All figures are EPA estimates and for comparison purposes only. Actual mileage may vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle’s condition.

³Towing requires additional equipment. See Owner’s Manual for towing capacity, additional instructions and warnings. Always use caution while towing.

⁴Towing capability varies by configuration. See the towing guide in the Owner’s Manual for proper use and additional information.

⁵Reference to this third-party claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For details regarding this award, visit: https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/kia/telluride-4-door-suv/2024

⁶Reference to this third-party claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For details regarding this award, visit: https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/hyundai/palisade-4-door-suv/2024

⁷Reference to this third-party review/claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For more details, please visit https://www.caranddriver.com/kia/telluride

⁸Reference to this third-party review/claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For more details, please visit https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-suvs/mid-size

⁹Reference to this third-party review/claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For more details, please visit https://www.caranddriver.com/hyundai/palisade

¹⁰Warranties include 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain and 5-year/60,000-mile basic. All warranties and roadside assistance are limited. See retailer for warranty details.

¹¹Warranties listed on this web page shall not be solely relied upon. Warranties may be subject to specific terms, restrictions, exclusions, and fees. Additional warranty information may be obtained by visiting the official website of the warranty provider. Contact our dealership for complete details.

¹²Roadside Assistance services provided by third-party providers for vehicles with an eligible service plan, subject to limitations and restrictions. Roadside Assistance is not a warranty; refer to the vehicle’s Owner’s Handbook for warranty details. Excludes costs for repairs, parts, labor, property loss, and expenses from accidents, abuse, racing, vandalism, and certain other conditions. Contact our dealership for details.

¹³Reference to this third-party claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For details regarding this rating, visit: https://www.jdpower.com/cars/2025/kia/telluride

¹⁴Reference to this third-party claim is solely for informational purposes and not to be relied upon. For details regarding this award, visit: https://www.jdpower.com/cars/2025/hyundai/palisade