5 Minutes
Telluride to Truck? A CGI Vision for Kia in North America
Kia's strong 2025 run in the United States — highlighted by record November sales and year-to-date deliveries up about 7% — has collectors and designers alike imagining where the brand could go next. Among the best-performing models was the mid-size three-row Telluride, which climbed roughly 8% through November even as Kia introduced a bold new generation at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Rather than following the usual product-line roadmap, one digital artist asked a provocative question: what if Kia turned the all-new 2027 Telluride into a mid-size pickup for North America? The result is a photoreal CGI study that mashes Telluride design language with classic pickup proportions, resurrects the Mohave name, and paints a picture of a potential body-on-frame contender for the U.S. market.
From Palisade Sibling to Pickup Inspiration
The modern Telluride shares architecture with Hyundai's second-generation Palisade, but the two SUVs have distinct personalities. Where the Palisade aims for a polished, almost luxury-market vibe, the Telluride projects rugged adventure — a quality that, in the renderer's view, could translate well into a truck.
The artist behind the render, known online as 'Theottle,' critiqued Kia's Tasman pickup for being polarizing and perhaps too adventurous in its styling. That prompted an alternative: a truck that borrows heavily from Telluride cues — bold grille treatments, strong horizontal lighting signatures and muscular haunches — while adopting a pickup's functional silhouette.
Why the Mohave Name?
Reintroducing the Mohave (previously badged as Borrego in some markets) ties the concept to Kia's history. The name also evokes the 2004 KCV-4 Mojave concept, shown at the Chicago Auto Show, giving the CGI project a cultural and historical anchor that makes it feel less like fantasy and more like a plausible future product for North America.
Design Choices and Market Thinking
To make the Telluride-to-Mohave conversion believable as an American pickup, the render blends cues from successful global pickups. The author borrowed the robust, go-anywhere spirit of trucks like the Ranger-based Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana, then overlaid the Telluride's face and cabin cues. The resulting vehicle reads like a mid-size, body-on-frame pickup designed for weekends and workweeks alike.
Highlights from the concept render:
- Telluride-inspired front fascia with signature Kia lighting
- Proportional mid-size bed with integrated utility features
- A squared-off, muscular stance suggesting body-on-frame construction
"Some observers attribute slow pickup uptake to Kia's lack of experience in the segment," the render artist noted, "while others blame the Tasman's polarizing looks. I wanted to see what a Telluride-shaped pickup would feel like on North American roads." The image resonates because it feels both familiar and fresh.
Speculation: Powertrain and Platform
The render doesn't specify mechanicals, but market realities suggest a few likely directions if Kia ever pursued such a truck: a ladder-frame platform to match rivals in towing and payload; gasoline V6 and turbocharged four-cylinder options; and available all-wheel-drive systems tuned for light off-roading. Electrified variants could follow, especially as Kia expands EV and hybrid offerings across its lineup.
How It Would Fit the Market
Kia already covers much of the crossover and SUV space with models like Seltos, Sportage, Sorento, and the flagship Telluride. Adding a mid-size Mohave pickup could broaden the brand's reach into fleet buyers, outdoor enthusiasts, and customers who prefer traditional truck utility without moving to full-size rigs.
But this remains a hypothetical: the CGI project is part design exercise, part brand thought experiment. It illustrates how established SUV design cues could be adapted into pickup architecture and how nameplate revival — Mohave — can lend credibility to a concept aimed at U.S. buyers.
Whether Kia will actually build a Telluride-based pickup is unknown. For now, the render invites debate among enthusiasts about styling, market fit, and whether a Telluride-turned-truck could become Kia's next chapter in North America.
• Would you buy a mid-size Mohave pickup with Telluride styling?
• Could this concept outperform the Tasman by being less polarizing and more familiar?
Share your thoughts — the idea that an SUV platform can birth a credible pickup is more plausible today than it was a decade ago, and digital renderings like this keep the conversation lively among designers, fans, and industry watchers.
Source: autoevolution
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