What won the MotorTrend SUV of the Year award for 2020?

The Kia Telluride won MotorTrend’s 2020 SUV of the Year award. MotorTrend announced the award in 2019 for the 2020 model year, recognizing Kia’s large three-row SUV after evaluating it against important competitors.

The Telluride was Kia’s largest vehicle at the time and was designed primarily for the North American market. It offered seating for up to eight people, a comfortable cabin, strong safety equipment, and a polished interior that helped challenge established family SUVs from brands such as Honda, Toyota, and Ford.

The award was not the same as MotorTrend’s overall Car of the Year honor or its Truck of the Year award. It specifically recognized the best new or significantly redesigned SUV for the 2020 model year. A common mix-up is confusing the Telluride with the Hyundai Palisade, its closely related corporate cousin; both share engineering, but only the Kia received this particular MotorTrend title.