Kia has matured into one of the most dominant car companies in the world. The 2023 Kia Telluride and 2023 Hyundai Palisade just made their debuts this week, and the best is only getting better. The hard part is knowing which is the best SUV for your family. 

How to find the best SUV for your family? 

Every family is different. It stands to reason that families need different things out of their SUVs. Despite these two SUVs coming from the same parent company and being fairly similar, they still offer varied features and styles. 

But with such a crowded segment, picking the best SUV family can get pretty overwhelming. Luckily for anyone trying to decide between the new 2023 Kia Telluride and the 2023 Hyundai Palisade, they are shooting a pretty big target. 

What’s new for the 2023 Kia Telluride? 

The Kia Telluride won Edmund’s Top-Rated SUV three years in a row, which is also the entirety of the model’s run. To say the Telluride is a dominant force in the crowded SUV segment is probably still a bit of an understatement. 

The 2023 Kia Telluride is going on the path of “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.” However, Kia is tweaking a few details that should make its stranglehold on the three-row SUV top spot even tighter. 

Kia started by updating the Telluride’s nose. The headlights got reworked with a new dual-bar design, and the air dam beneath the grille is slightly larger but better hidden than before. The rear end also got a little trim around the ears. The taillights didn’t get the same changes, but Kia tweaked them a touch from the previous model. 

The biggest difference is the addition of new off-road models called the X-Line and X-Pro. The X-Line slightly improves off-roading by adding a touch of height to the suspension and an updated traction-control system. It also comes with special 20-in wheels, a roof rack, and a model-specific grille. The X-Pro has all the same features as the X-Line, except the 20-in wheels shrink to 18 inches with more aggressive A/T rubber. The X-Pro models also get a 110-volt power inverter in the cargo area. These new models also raise the max towing capacity from 5,000 lbs to 5,500 lbs. 

What’s new for the 2023 Hyundai Palisade? 

Another new three-row SUV from Korea broke the scene in 2020, the Hyundai Palisade. While the Palisade is corporate cousins with the Kia Telluride, it didn’t see the same success as the Telluride. 

After three years, it seems the 2023 Hyundai Palisade is ready to mature into the competitive three-row it is meant to be. Even though it wasn’t as popular as the Kia, it still landed a phenomenal score of 88/100 on Consumer Reports. Still, this new version seems ready to compete with its cousin. 

Like the Telluride, Hyundai’s largest family SUV is getting a new front fascia giving the Hyundai Palisade a more upscale, premium look. Its new grille is loud and shining like a mouth full of silver teeth. If the grille is teeth, the newly integrated running lights act as a sort of animal-esque markings that make animals look imposing. The headlights were also tweaked to fit with the new bumper and running lights. The sides and rear end have remained unchanged. 

Another update for the 2023 Hyundai Palisade is a new model called the Palisade XRT. Hyundai hasn’t released any photos of the XRT yet but said it would mirror the styling cues from the Santa Fe and Tucson XRTs. 

As we saw with the Santa Fe and Tucson, the Palisade XRT will come with a darker grille, darkened lower door trims, darkened 20-inch wheels, a black roof rack, and black faux leather seats inside. 

Do the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade share an engine? 

There are plenty of updates for both of these models, but the powerplants stay the same. The 2023 Kia Telluride and the 2023 Hyundai Palisade have the same 3.6-liter V6 making 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. 

One of the biggest performance differences between the newly updated models is the Telluride’s towing capacity. Granted, it’s only 500 lbs more, but that 500 lbs can matter to families who plan to camp or boat with any frequency. 

Which three-row is the best SUV for your family? 

The Kia Telluride is likely going to remain the top dog. Like the previous Tellurides, the 2023 model only adds small changes to an already nearly-perfect SUV. It isn’t exciting or particularly loveable, but it is reliable, safe, comfortable, and just upscale enough to draw people in. 

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade will, without question, be the best one to date. However, it still seems like it is trailing the Telluride like a little brother. It is a great SUV with loads of great features, but it isn’t clearing the path; it’s following it. 

The Hyundai Motor Co. has matured into one of the most dominant carmakers in the world. The 2023 Kia Telluride and 2023 Hyundai Palisade just made their debuts this week, and the best is only getting better. The hard part is knowing which is the best SUV for your family.