Compare the2027 Kia Telluride VS 2026 Toyota Highlander

Both the Telluride and Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Telluride has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Highlander’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Telluride has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Highlander doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Kia Telluride achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Toyota Highlander has not been tested.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Telluride has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Highlander Limited/Platinum offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the Telluride and the Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all-wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Telluride is much safer than the Highlander:

	Telluride	Highlander
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	MARGINAL

The Kia Telluride (built after June 2026) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2026 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test, and a “Good” score in the revised vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention test. The Highlander is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2026.

The Telluride comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Telluride 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Highlander. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Highlander ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 19 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

The Telluride’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (274 vs. 265) and 1 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 310) than the Highlander’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder. The Telluride’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 64 more horsepower (329 vs. 265) and 29 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 310) than the Highlander’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride gets better mileage than the Highlander:

			MPG
Telluride
	FWD	EX 2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	34 city/36 hwy
		EX 2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	32 city/34 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	30 city/32 hwy
Highlander
	AWD	2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Telluride Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Highlander doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Telluride’s standard fuel tank has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Highlander (19 vs. 17.9 gallons).

For better stopping power the Telluride’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Highlander:

	Telluride	Highlander
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13.3 inches

The Telluride’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Highlander are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Telluride X-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Highlander (265/45R21 vs. 235/65R18).

The Telluride X-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Telluride X-Line has standard 21-inch wheels. The Highlander’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Telluride offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Highlander doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Telluride has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Highlander doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Telluride’s wheelbase is 4.7 inches longer than on the Highlander (116.9 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Telluride is 2.2 inches wider in the front and 2.6 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Highlander.

For greater off-road capability the Telluride X-Pro has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Highlander (9.1 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Telluride uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Highlander doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Telluride has .4 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 4.3 inches more rear legroom, 2.8 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.3 inches more third row headroom, 4.1 inches more third row legroom and .3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Highlander.

The Telluride’s cargo area provides more volume than the Highlander.

	Telluride	Highlander
Behind Third Seat	22.3 cubic feet	16 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	48.7 cubic feet	48.4 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	89.3 cubic feet	84.3 cubic feet

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Telluride’s second row seats and a control in the cargo area automatically lowers the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Telluride uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Highlander uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Telluride EX/SX/Prestige has standard front air conditioned seats and the Telluride Prestige also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Highlander doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Telluride Prestige has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Highlander.

The Kia Telluride stands out above the Toyota Highlander by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and two of them provide more flexibility.

The Telluride Prestige’s Remote Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Telluride is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Highlander doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Motor Trend selected the Telluride as their 2020 Sport Utility of the Year. The Highlander has never been chosen.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Telluride as the 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Highlander has never been chosen.

The Kia Telluride outsold the Toyota Highlander by over two to one during 2025.