Kia and Hyundai have spent the last decade poaching BMW‘s staff. So what have they been able to achieve? A lot.
If you ask YouTube’s Throttle House, they’ve made a pair of full-size SUVs that are 75 percent of a BMW X7 for half the price. And because of the amounts we’re talking about, that makes them much better value.
Although the two are pretty much identical under the surface, they look quite different. Kia and Hyundai seem to have figured out what they each want to be, and that’s evident in the design.
While the Kia Telluride has the blocky, sensible looks of, say, a Sorento, the Hyundai Palisade has the styling excess of a new Sonata. And it’s the same story inside.
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The Palisade is all about aesthetics, with quilted leather, soft suede-like materials on the roof, and more screens, while the Telluride expresses itself through practicality.
While the Telluride lacks some of the Hyundai’s refinement, its practicality means real gauges and, more importantly, a real gear shifter. The Palisade’s dedication to aesthetics means buttons instead of a gear shifter, but also a much prettier interior.
More importantly, though, both over-deliver on refinement and quality. The sound deadening isn’t quite as thorough as it would be in a more expensive soft-roader, but then again, you can buy all the earplugs you’ll ever need with the 50 grand you’re saving.