2024 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2024 Kia Telluride: The two have been among the most popular midsize SUVs on the market for a while now, and there are many good reasons for that. If you’re considering buying one of these, you may find it a bit difficult to decide which one is the best for you, and that’s because the 2024 Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride midsize SUVs are built on the same platform.
The debate over the 2024 Hyundai Palisade vs. the 2024 Kia Telluride is a fun one to have, as the vehicles are so closely related. In fact, under the sheet metal, they’re virtually the same vehicle, using the same drivetrain. Both models offer a compelling combination of decent power, comfort, and everyday usability.
The level of luxury on offer is practically unmatched at this price point – it may even be the best in the entire midsize SUV segment.
As similar as they are, there are a handful of minor differences between these two Korean cousins, and choosing one over the other will purely come down to personal preference. With that in mind, let’s compare two of the best midsize SUVs available in the States, the 2024 Kia Telluride and the 2024 Hyundai Palisade, to help you determine the best for your needs.
2024 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2024 Kia Telluride: Price
The 2024 Hyundai Palisade’s MSRP starts at $36,400, which is slightly more than the $35,990 you’ll have to part with to get your hands on a Kia Telluride. A mere fistful of dollars, $410 to be exact, usually isn’t enough to deter someone from buying a car. In this case, however, the vehicles in question are basically identical, so it may just tip the scale in favor of the Kia Telluride.
This trend continues throughout their lineup. – they’re very evenly matched, but the Hyundai does cost a little more than equivalent Kia trim levels. Prices of the two stay within a few hundred dollars of each other, and they are similarly equipped.
For the top-of-the-line Palisade Calligraphy Night Edition, Hyundai has listed a suggested retail price of $53,600, whereas the Kia Telluride’s top-trim SXP X-PRO comes in at $53,185. Dealer mark-ups are also not factored in here, so make sure you shop around before pulling the trigger.
Interior dimensions
Seeing as the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride are built on the same platform, and their external dimensions are practically identical, you’d think that they also offer the same interior cargo capacity.
As it turns out, that’s actually not the case. Due to slight differences in layout and packaging, the Telluride does have a tiny bit more interior cargo space. When we say it offers a tiny bit more space, we mean that in the most literal sense. Both these Korean SUVs have more cargo space than the average vehicle in their class. Truth be told, they are practically roomy enough to compete with full-size SUVs.
The 2024 Telluride has 21 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row and a very decent 87 cubic feet overall when all three seat rows are folded. Hyundai’s Palisade offers 18 cubic feet of cargo space when all three rows are up and 86.4 cubic feet with all of its seats lying flat.
In addition, both midsize SUVs offer extra stowage in underfloor cargo compartments, and there are also lots of nooks and crannies where you can put smaller items. The Kia Telluride also takes the win regarding passenger space, with 157 cubic feet of passenger volume, while the Palisade has 155.3 cubic feet. As we said, these aren’t massive differences, but if you do need every available cubic foot of space, the Kia is the one to go for.
Other than that, both models seat eight passengers as standard, but this drops to seven if you want the optional 2nd-row captain’s chairs. There’s enough head- and legroom for adults to fit in the third rows without feeling claustrophobic, and both interiors also have synthetic leather upholstery as standard, with genuine leather as an option.
Both SUVs have the highest-quality interiors at this price point, regardless of trim level. These aren’t luxury SUVs, but looking at the interiors, you can easily be fooled into thinking that’s precisely what they are. That’s certainly not a bad thing, and it just proves that you can’t really go wrong with either model as far as the interior is concerned.
Fuel economy
With identical dimensions, engines, and transmissions, it’s hardly surprising that the 2024 Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride offer similar fuel economy. EPA estimates that fuel economy for the front-wheel drive 2024 Kia Telluride FWD comes in at 22 MPG combined, 20 MPG for city driving, and 26 MPG for the highway.
For the FWD Hyundai Palisade, the numbers are 22 MPG combined, 19 MPG city, and 26 MPG highway. Moving on to the AWD versions, the EPA estimates 20 MPG combined for the Kia Telluride, with 18 MPG in the city and 24 MPG on the highway. For the AWD Hyundai Palisade, the EPA estimates are 21 MPG combined, 19 MPG city, and 24 MPG on the highway.
For whatever reason, their fuel economy numbers aren’t identical. However, that’s probably due to the fact that these are just estimates, not to mention that there will be variations in a real-world scenario as well.
As expected, both SUVs see a slight dip in their expected efficiency when equipped with AWD. This is because of the added weight of an AWD system and the extra friction when it’s engaged.
Seeing as the fuel economy is so similar, it wouldn’t make sense to base a purchase on that. However, if you’re struggling to decide between the two, the Hyundai Palisade does offer slightly better fuel economy.
Performance
Again, with identical powertrains, the 2024 model years of the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride boast practically identical performance. Under the hood of either model, we find a 3.8-liter V6 engine that produces 291 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 262 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm.
The power is sent to the wheels via a smooth-shifting, 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is available on all trims. These aren’t performance SUVs, but they’re no slouches, either. The pair manages to accelerate from a standstill to 60 mph in roughly seven seconds, and that’s not bad at all.
To put it in perspective, that’s less than a second slower than the Toyota GR86 with the automatic transmission, and that’s a proper sports coupe. For everyday driving duties, we believe either of these Korean SUVs has enough power to satisfy the needs of most owners.
They’re easily able to merge on the highway and even do a quick dash across the yellow line to pass slower traffic. Power is nothing without control, though, and luckily, they both perform well in that regard, too.
A few years back, Hyundai and Kia managed to tempt some of BMW and Audi’s top talent to come to work for them. Since then, they’ve built vehicles that are a lot more fun and engaging to drive, and reviews claim some of that has been transferred to their SUVs as well.
Based on the same platform, both SUVs offer agile steering and decent feedback. The suspension is somewhat firm yet remains comfortable, and the brakes have plenty of stopping power.
If you occasionally need to tow something, it may be good to know that the Telluride and Palisade can tow 5,000 lbs. That should be enough for most people, as we suspect those who buy one of these won’t use it to haul things between construction sites – there are certainly vehicles that are better suited for that.
Features
There’s no doubt that both the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade are good enough to dominate their segment, and that’s before we start talking about tech and features. Just to be clear, they come packed to the rafters with standard safety tech, which includes lane centering and automatic emergency braking, which can help detect potential hazards. There’s also rear cross-traffic alert, driver-attention monitoring, forward collision warning, pedestrian/cyclist detection, and a lot more.
Moving on to the in-car entertainment, both SUVs feature a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto capabilities are included as standard features. There’s also a Wi-Fi hotspot and remote start. While the standard tech packages are identical, the Hyundai Palisade does have one trick up its sleeve that will help attract true audiophiles.
It can be specced with a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, whereas the Telluride only comes with a 10-speaker audio system. This may not sound like much of a difference to regular people, but those who know will tell you otherwise.
Both models feature highly praised, intuitive capacitive button controls on their dashboards, and there are 12.3-inch digital instrument clusters, digital keycards, and dual-zone climate control systems in both models. They also come with identical 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain and five-year/60,000-mile limited warranties.
