It Can Always Be Bigger
The EV9 is by far the largest SUV that Kia has in its showrooms in the Netherlands. However, it can get even bigger, and the Kia Telluride will soon prove that.
The Kia Sorento is the largest SUV with combustion engines that you can find in Kia’s showrooms in the Netherlands. The 4.82-meter-long SUV is almost a ruler’s length longer than the Sportage. However, the very largest SUV here is the fully electric Kia EV9, which stretches over a distance of 5.01 meters. Far outside the Netherlands, however, there is a larger SUV with combustion engines. It’s called the Telluride and is preparing for a generation change.
The outgoing first generation Kia Telluride, a sister model of the Hyundai Palisade.
Kia is now releasing the first teaser images of the second generation Kia Telluride. The first generation of that SUV was presented in 2018 and underwent a facelift in 2022. It’s soon time for a full replacement, as the Korean brand announces. In doing so, it throws a handful of dark sketches of the new large SUV into the ether. The arrival of the new Telluride is no surprise. In the form of the Hyundai Palisade, the Kia has a sister model, and that one already received a new generation at the end of last year.
The Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride were – before the Palisade was renewed – exactly the same size, so we’ll just assume for convenience that the new Telluride experiences the same growth as the Hyundai. That would mean that the 5-meter-long old Telluride makes way for a second generation that’s about 5.05 meters long. Yes indeed: that makes the Kia Telluride larger than the Kia EV9. The wheelbase also increases, from 2.9 to 2.97 meters. In that area, the Telluride still has to concede to the EV9, which has no less than 3.1 meters between the front and rear axles. The Telluride will likely get the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter six-cylinder gasoline engines as its Hyundai cousin. The hybrid powertrain with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine will probably also find its way to the new car.
We’ll know more in November, when the second generation Kia Telluride makes its debut during the Los Angeles Auto Show. We don’t expect this new one in the Netherlands either. A shame?