The mid-cycle facelift will bring a rugged X-Pro trim.
Hyundai and Kia usually debut new models in their native country of South Korea before introducing them to the rest of the world. That isn’t always the case, as models like the Palisade and the Telluride are frequently updated first in North America before being released elsewhere. The two manufacturers’ largest SUVs sold in the United States have been around for three years and will receive facelifts at the New York Auto Show next week.
Less than 24 hours after Hyundai previewed the 2023 Palisade, Kia is now doing the same with its 2023 Telluride. As spy shots have already revealed, the three-row SUV will gain redesigned headlights with a different LED signature for the daytime running lights consisting of two vertical lines that run parallel. The shadowy exterior image doesn’t depict an existing trim level as we’re looking at the rugged X-Pro arriving with the mid-cycle refresh.
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Kia patented the Telluride X-Pro suffix for the huge SUV (and the Sorento) towards the end of last year, implying potential X-Pro portfolio expansion beyond the Sportage. In the case of the compact crossover, the X-Pro comes standard with all-wheel drive and all-terrain tyres. In addition, the smaller model offers multi-terrain drive modes with snow settings that can be selected.
More substantial changes will come within the interior, as shown in another Kia teaser, which shows the 2023 Telluride moving to the Sorento and Sportage’s side-by-side screens. It was destined to happen, given that the flagship SUV’s cabin, with its tacked-on entertainment system, was starting to seem a little antiquated. The dashboard still has three central air vents, but some of the physical controls beneath might have been “swallowed” by the touchscreen.
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Both the updated Telluride and Palisade will premiere on April 13 at the NY Auto Show before going on sale in the coming months for the 2023 model year. Meanwhile, Kia is still selling the body-on-frame Borrego in its domestic market where the tough SUV is called Mohave. It’s the same 2008 vehicle underneath the skin, but massively facelifted.
