2027 Telluride S

The everyday-comfort upgrade

Kia aimed the S at the small annoyances of family logistics. The liftgate opens itself while your arms are full of groceries or beach gear. The driver's seat remembers being adjusted by motors instead of levers, with two-way lumbar. The front seats heat for those raw, damp January mornings when the wind comes straight off Barnegat Bay. Overhead, the sunroof brings light into a cabin that base trims leave closed, and the low-profile roof rails mean the summer cargo box no longer needs aftermarket clamps.

The captain's chairs deserve a real conversation. Two individual second-row seats with a walk-through gap make third-row access genuinely easy — car-seat households tend to love them — but the seat count drops to seven. If your crew regularly runs eight deep, note that the EX above this trim returns to the bench.

All-wheel drive joins the menu

The $2,000 AWD option is the S trim's headline for a lot of shore families. It bundles the terrain-mode dial — Snow for the two or three real storms a winter delivers, Sand for anyone who's ever helped push a crossover out of a soft beach-lot corner. The turbo's 311 lb-ft doesn't change, but where it goes does. Front-drive S models rate 20 city / 26 highway; AWD trims 18 / 24, a real but modest tax for the traction.

One Telluride loyalist's take on the store, from Erica T.'s running review history: "another great experience at Manahawkin Kia, just purchased a new Telluride, love the color, Panthera Metal! My salesman Bobby Thomas is so knowledgeable about the line of Kia cars, stop by and see him!" Bobby's on the team page; repeat buyers naming their salesperson three purchases in a row is the pattern in this store's reviews.

Frequently asked questions

What does the 2027 Telluride S cost?

$42,090 MSRP with front-wheel drive or $44,090 with AWD, plus $1,545 destination and New Jersey taxes and fees. Both versions stay under the state's $45,000 luxury-surcharge threshold — a detail the pricing guide unpacks.

How many people does the S seat?

Seven. The S carries second-row captain's chairs standard — there's no bench option on this trim. For eight seats, look at the LX below it or the EX above it.

Is the S available as a hybrid?

No — the Telluride Hybrid starts one trim up, on the EX. The S is gas-turbo only, in FWD or AWD.

What's the real difference between LX and S?

Sunroof, power driver's seat, heated front seats, power liftgate, 20-inch wheels, roof rails, captain's chairs, and the ability to add AWD. Nothing mechanical or safety-related separates them — it's a comfort-and-traction step, priced at $2,900.

Where can I compare an S against an EX?

Side by side at Manahawkin Kia on Route 72 East — five minutes apart on the lot, and the sales team will walk the exact feature deltas without the brochure-speak.

The bottom line

The S is where the Telluride starts feeling like the upgrade you promised the family — light overhead, warm seats, a liftgate that works for you, and winter traction on the options sheet. If the eight-seat bench or the hybrid engine matter more than the sunroof, keep reading into the EX.