All-new Telluride to be revealed in under a month
After giving us a first look at the 2027 Telluride earlier this month, Kia has now released new images and an adrenaline-filled video of the upcoming crossover as we get closer to its official unveiling next month.
The latest images and video depict the new Telluride in a newly designed camouflage wrap that not only looks cool, but does a good job of concealing many of the design details. We can glean a few new details from the new teaser, though, which suggest this will be the most off-road-capable Telluride yet.
Striking Wrap Inspired by Design Sketches
Kia
Kia covered the 2027 Telluride in a wrap inspired by design sketches of the SUV, with the work completed by Kia Design Center America. Using many intersecting lines, it successfully obscures the profile, angles, and curves of the new design.
“Designing a wrap for Telluride is far different than designing the vehicle beneath the vinyl,” said Tom Kearns, Vice President and Senior Chief Designer, KDCA. “We looked at the many different patterns used by carmakers to obscure the shape of vehicles in development and decided to approach the project from a different angle. We determined that hiding the all-new Telluride in plain sight could be done in a way that is both eye-catching and thought-provoking.”
The wrap can only hide so much, though. It can’t conceal the boxier proportions of the new model, nor the fact that it looks larger than the old model. From the front, there are hints of the butch Kia Tasman pickup sold elsewhere in terms of the Telluride’s tall and broad hood, although we don’t expect the Telluride to be quite as quirky in its detailing as that truck.
X-Pro Trim Returning
In the teaser video, Kia showed the Telluride undergoing torture testing in Alabama Hills, California. The video was titled with the X-Pro name, which is currently used for the most off-road-capable versions of the Telluride. This essentially confirms the return of the X-Pro trim lines, which will battle similar SUVs like the Honda Pilot TrailSport.
On the current Telluride, X-Pro specification adds features like AWD Lock and Snow driving modes, a dedicated Tow mode, and superior ground clearance. We can expect similar updates for the new X-Pro variants, and the way it tackled sand dunes and blasted through water crossings suggests it will be the toughest Telluride yet. Hyundai’s new Palisade XRT Pro also has an electronic limited-slip differential, a new Mud driving mode, and downhill brake control. Given that the Palisade and Telluride typically share components, the new Telluride could come with the same toys.
“We wanted to do something special with this pre-production Telluride. Placing it in an environment that really pushed the boundaries gave us the opportunity to show just how capable the all-new Telluride is,” said Russell Wager, Vice President, Marketing, Kia America.
The new Kia Telluride will debut on November 20 at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
