The Kia Telluride: Still the Segment Benchmark, and Still a V6 — Rated 7.9/10

One point of clarification before the specifications, because it affects anyone shopping. There is no 2026 Telluride. Kia skipped the model year outright: kia.ca still lists the 2025 car, and the redesigned second generation arrives as a 2027 model with a 2.5-litre turbocharged four and the nameplate's first hybrid. Canadian pricing and trim structure for that car had not been announced by Kia Canada at the time of writing. This review therefore covers the Telluride a Canadian buyer can order today.

Five trims are offered here, and the ladder is a long one. The EX opens at $50,995, followed by the SX at $55,995, the SX Limited at $59,995, the X-Line at $62,095 and the off-road-themed X-Pro at $63,695, with freight and delivery adding $2,100. Canada gets neither the LX nor the S trims sold elsewhere, and what the American market calls SX-Prestige is badged SX Limited here.

There is exactly one powertrain, and it is the old-fashioned kind. A 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 produces 291 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 262 pound-feet at 5,200, driving through an eight-speed automatic, with all-wheel drive standard on every Canadian trim. There is no hybrid and no turbocharged four. Fuel consumption is 13.1 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 10.0 on the highway and 11.7 combined, from a 71-litre tank of regular unleaded. Towing is rated at 5,000 pounds, rising to 5,500 on the X-Pro.

The packaging is the Telluride's enduring argument. It measures 5,000 millimetres long on a 2,900-millimetre wheelbase, and cargo volume runs 601 litres behind the third row, 1,304 behind the second and 2,455 behind the first. Ground clearance is 203 millimetres, or 213 on the X-Line and X-Pro.

Equipment climbs steeply with price. The EX pairs a 12.3-inch multimedia screen with navigation and live traffic to a modest 4.2-inch instrument display, adding a wireless charger, tri-zone climate control, nine airbags and a deep roster of driver aids including Highway Driving Assist, Lane Following Assist, forward collision avoidance with junction turning, blind-spot avoidance and Safe Exit Assist. The SX brings Digital Key 2 Touch, a 360-degree camera, a dual sunroof and Harman Kardon audio. The SX Limited adds a 10-inch head-up display, a full-display digital rearview mirror, Nappa leather and self-levelling rear suspension. The X-Line adds tow mode and the extra ground clearance; the X-Pro tops it with all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels and the higher tow rating.

Context matters for a car in its final year. The Telluride arrived for 2019 and promptly won both the 2020 World Car of the Year and North American Utility Vehicle of the Year awards — the results that made it the benchmark every rival in this class, including the newly redesigned Hyundai Palisade, is now measured against.

A 7.9/10 from the Torbrook Rating Agency reflects a vehicle whose packaging and equipment still hold up in its run-out year, even as the powertrain stands still. The specifications above are Kia's; the score is ours.