Hyundai Palisade vs Kia Telluride

What’s better about the Kia Telluride?

Refined driving. Though these two crossovers share nearly all of their oily bits, there’s actually a bit of a difference in how each brand tuned their respective driving and handling characteristics. The Kia’s ride quality and powertrain feel more refined and luxurious than the Hyundai’s, which still felt great. But with a blindfold on during a test drive, you’d guess that the Kia was the more premium of the two.

Interior materials. The Telluride that we tested had gorgeous Nappa leather seats, rich matte-wood finishes and brushed metal accents. They were good enough to be found in a Range Rover. On the Hyundai, the materials were nice but not on the same level.

What’s better about the Hyundai Palisade?

Better styling This one is subjective but we found the styling on the Hyundai -- both inside and out -- to be more refined and upscale than the Kia. The front of the Hyundai comes across as more sophisticated while the interior layout of the dashboard and instrument panel was similarly a cut above the Kia. This was aided by the fact that the Hyundai uses a push-button gear selector for its transmission while the Kia uses the more traditional shift lever. Also: wheels. The top-trim Kia Telluride comes only with black wheels, a turn-off for many buyers. This isn’t the case on the Hyundai.

Power-folding third-row This is a minor advantage but the Hyundai Palisade offers a power-folding third-row seat while the Kia Telluride does not -- you’re stuck folding the seats down manually like a rube. Not a factor to choose one model over the other but something to consider nevertheless.

Autolist’s take:

We tested these three-row crossovers back-to-back and would gladly recommend either of them. They’re refined, spacious, comfortable, promise an excellent value, and have bold styling inside and out. We liked the subtle improvements in ride quality and powertrain that the Kia made over the Hyundai. But we prefered the Hyundai’s styling and design more. Because the Hyundai’s driving and handling was still great, we say Buy the Palisade.