2020 Kia Telluride vs 2020 Hyundai Palisade

Usually, when I step out of an SUV and feel great, there's a luxury nameplate on the tailgate. Not this time. The Telluride grabbed me from the moment my white-over-grey test car arrived. And after 500 miles, the Telluride proved how impressive it is against every SUV in the $30,000 to $50,000 range.

Kia hasn't made a truly big SUV since the 2009 Borrego, which it quickly canceled after bad reviews while a nation reeled from record-high gas prices. The smaller Sorento took over as Kia's 3-row SUV, except it wasn't roomy enough for six or seven people (and still isn't). That's not to say we don't like the Sorento—it's one of our highest-rated cars—but for families who want the most space, technology, and amenities, the 2020 Telluride is Kia's new champ.

When your job is to test drive cars, you start to see trends happening before your eyes. You mention something once, then again, and before you know it, it's unavoidable. The downside is I end up sounding like a broken record to a lot of shoppers. Car reviewers started seeing huge improvements from Kia and its parent company, Hyundai, years ago. Now, these Korean automakers are so good, they're genuine contenders in nearly every segment.

We saw this earlier this year with the 2020 Kia Telluride, which Cliff Atiyeh reviewed. Now we’re seeing it again with the all-new 2020 Hyundai Palisade. This is a spacious, comfortable, and versatile 3-row SUV, and one you should seriously consider against cornerstones of the family SUV market, like the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot.

The Palisade has been a long time coming for Hyundai, which has been without a true contender in the segment. From 2008 to 2012, Hyundai offered the 3-row Veracruz, but that was more of a glorified 2-row SUV that had extra-small seats in the back for kids. More recently, Hyundai has offered the Santa Fe XL with three rows, but that was a stopgap car. This is a similar situation to Subaru, which offered the Tribeca for a number of years but didn't become a serious contender in the space until it debuted the Ascent. There are no half-measures in the family-hauler market.

This little history lesson serves to indicate the lengths to which automakers will go to stand out in the 3-row family SUV segment. The Palisade is already making headlines, but will it move the needle for Hyundai? Read on to find out, and to learn which trim of the Palisade CarGurus recommends.