MBRP has built an axle-back exhaust for the Kia Telluride. The timing is odd, because the engine it amplifies is already gone from the current lineup.
The system fits 2020 through 2025 Tellurides with the 3.8-liter V6. For 2027, after skipping the 2026 model year entirely, Kia swapped that engine for turbocharged four-cylinder and hybrid powertrains.
So the aftermarket has finally found the three-row family crossover. It just showed up as the factory was walking out the door.
That gap is nothing new. Buyers abandoned sedans for crossovers years ago, and the parts industry mostly answered with roof racks, light bars, and overlanding gear.
Exhaust work on a midsize hauler is still rare enough that MBRP’s YouTube demo feels like a novelty. The hardware itself is simple, with 2.5-inch mandrel-bent tubing and a single 6-inch muffler that replaces one of the two stock units.
Out back, dual round tips take the place of the factory square outlets. Kia shaped those originals to disappear into the rear bumper, but the new ones are meant to be seen.
Everything forward of the rear axle stays stock. That includes the second factory muffler, the catalytic converter, and the emissions sensors around it.
That choice matters. It keeps the install easy and keeps owners clear of legal trouble, a line most mainstream buyers won’t cross no matter how good something sounds.
The same kit bolts onto the Hyundai Palisade from the same years. The two SUVs share a platform and the V6, so one product serves both crowds.
The Drive’s Stephen Edelstein came away impressed after hearing the demo. He described a sound turned up without becoming obnoxious, with an edge that sharpens as the revs climb.
Nobody will mistake it for a big American V8 or a screaming Italian V12, and it doesn’t try to be either. It’s a naturally aspirated six with its manners loosened a notch, in a vehicle bought for school runs and highway miles.
That modest ambition is the appeal. The Honda Civic became an aftermarket staple for exactly this reason: it was cheap, plentiful, and ordinary, and owners wanted to make it their own.
The Telluride has the plentiful part covered. It was a critical favorite and a strong seller from day one, and early V6 trucks now fill driveways and used lots nationwide.
That installed base is where MBRP’s opportunity lives. Someone keeping a 2022 Telluride for another five years doesn’t care what Kia sells in 2027.
Those owners also have something new buyers don’t. The redesigned Telluride’s turbo-four and hybrid chase fuel economy, and the V6’s honest, linear character leaves with them.
Customers don’t seem to mind. Demand for the new Telluride has stayed strong, styling gripes and all, and the market has picked efficiency.
Still, a parts maker just spent real engineering money on a family crossover’s exhaust note. Whether a turbo four or a hybrid ever gets the same treatment is anyone’s guess.
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