What the Telluride Hybrid’s Extra $2,700 Actually Buys

The 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid costs $2,700 more than the gas Telluride in every trim where the two overlap, starting at $46,490 for the EX with front-wheel drive. For that money it delivers 329 horsepower, an EPA-estimated 35 mpg combined and 637 miles of range, against 274 horsepower and 22 mpg for the gas EX.

The hybrid comes in EX, SX, X-Line SX, SX-Prestige and X-Line SX-Prestige trims, all before a $1,545 destination charge, and pairs the same 2.5-liter turbo four as the gas model with a 1.65-kWh lithium-ion battery and electric motors for 339 lb-ft of torque. It uses a six-speed automatic instead of the gas model’s eight-speed, offers all-wheel drive on every trim but the front-drive EX and SX, and is built alongside the gas version in West Point, Georgia.

Kia set the hybrid’s pricing in a February 26 release, six weeks after it priced the gas lineup in a January 8 release, and lining the two up shows the premium holds at exactly $2,700 from the EX to the X-Line SX-Prestige.

Trim	Gas Turbo	Turbo Hybrid
EX FWD	$43,790	$46,490
EX AWD	$45,790	$48,490
SX FWD	$48,790	$51,490
X-Line SX AWD	$51,790	$54,490
SX-Prestige AWD	$53,890	$56,590
X-Line SX-Prestige AWD	$54,890	$57,590

What the table hides is that the hybrid has no cheap entry. The gas Telluride starts at $39,190 for a front-drive LX and $42,090 for an S, neither of which is offered as a hybrid, so the cheapest electrified Telluride is $7,300 above the cheapest Telluride. The hybrid also skips the off-road X-Pro trim, which stays gas-only at $53,690 and $56,790.

The fuel economy gap is where the premium gets paid back. Kia’s March 10 drive release rates the hybrid EX FWD at 34/36/35 mpg, the SX FWD at 32/34/33 and every all-wheel-drive hybrid at 30/32/31. CarBuzz, which made the case for the hybrid on October 28, lists the gas model at 20/26/22 with front-wheel drive, 18/24/20 with all-wheel drive and 17/22/19 for the X-Pro. Using EPA annual fuel cost estimates, CarBuzz put the gas Telluride at about $2,900 a year and the all-wheel-drive version at $3,200, against roughly $1,950 and $2,050 for the hybrid, and concluded the $2,700 difference comes back in about two and a half years of driving.

The hybrid gives up a few things to get there. Its towing rating is 4,500 pounds against 5,000 for the gas turbo, its fuel tank shrinks to 18.2 gallons from 19, and cargo space behind the third row drops to 21.3 cubic feet from 22.3. CarBuzz also noted the hybrid is sold only as a seven-seater with second-row captain’s chairs, while the gas Telluride offers an eight-seat bench, and that the hybrid’s second-row legroom trails the gas model. On the other side of the ledger, the hybrid’s base EX comes with eight-way power front seats and a sunroof that the gas LX and S do without.

Against its two closest hybrid rivals, the Telluride is the expensive one at the entry. Cars.com compared the three on pricing day and found the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid, which shares the Kia’s 329-horsepower powertrain, starts at $45,760 in SEL trim, below the Telluride Hybrid EX’s $48,035 with destination. The Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid LE comes in about $1,500 under the Telluride Hybrid EX with a 245-horsepower system rated at 36 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 34 with all-wheel drive, while Toyota’s 362-horsepower Hybrid Max returns 27 mpg.

Buyers seem to have decided the premium is worth it. Kia’s September sales release credited the Telluride HEV with leading its hybrid growth, with Telluride sales up 42 percent in September to 11,927 units, and on September 29 the Northwest Automotive Press Association named the Telluride HEV its Best Hybrid Vehicle.

The HyundaiHQ Take

Kia priced this hybrid like a trim upgrade rather than a technology upgrade, and $2,700 for 55 more horsepower, 13 more mpg and roughly $1,000 a year in fuel is the easiest decision on the Telluride order sheet. The only buyers who should hesitate are the ones who tow near the limit or need the eight-seat bench. What Kia still lacks is a hybrid under $45,000 to answer the Palisade SEL and the Grand Highlander LE, and until that LX or S hybrid shows up, the Telluride Hybrid will keep looking pricey to anyone shopping on the entry number alone.