Compare the2027 Kia Telluride VS 2027 Hyundai Santa Fe

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 Santa Fe doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Kia Telluride’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Hyundai Santa Fe does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Telluride and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4189-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Kia Telluride is safer than the Santa Fe:

	Telluride	Santa Fe
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	44	89
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.79 in	.87 in
Torso Max Deflection	1.1 in	1.34 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	7 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	759 lbs.	1227 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	44	64
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Force	89 lbs.	268 lbs.
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	357 lbs.	580 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Hyundai is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2026 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 2 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Telluride’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 52 more horsepower (329 vs. 277) and 28 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 311) than the Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Telluride 4 cyl. hybrid gas is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

	Telluride	Santa Fe
Zero to 30 MPH	2.5 sec	3 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	7.4 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	10.7 sec	12 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	3.3 sec	3.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.9 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	96 MPH	92.5 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

			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
Santa Fe
	FWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/28 hwy
		XRT 2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/25 hwy

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

The Telluride’s standard fuel tank has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe (19 vs. 17.7 gallons).

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

	Telluride	Santa Fe
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12.8 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 Santa Fe are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Telluride X-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (265/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Telluride’s wheelbase is 6.1 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (116.9 inches vs. 110.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Telluride is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe.

The Telluride’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (53% to 47%) than the Santa Fe’s (55% to 45%). This gives the Telluride more stable handling and braking.

The Telluride SX Prestige handles at .77 G’s, while the Santa Fe XRT pulls only .73 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Telluride SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Santa Fe XRT (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Telluride has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (7.4 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Telluride X-Pro’s minimum ground clearance is .8 inch higher than on the Santa Fe XRT (9.1 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Telluride 4x4 is 8.8 inches shorter in height than the Santa Fe, making the Telluride 4x4 much easier to wash and garage and drive off-road (lower center of gravity).

The Telluride offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Santa Fe can only carry up to 7.

The Telluride has 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear legroom, 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.1 inches more third row legroom and 1.8 inches more third row shoulder room than the Santa Fe.

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

	Telluride	Santa Fe
Behind Third Seat	22.3 cubic feet	14.6 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	48.7 cubic feet	40.5 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	89.3 cubic feet	79.6 cubic feet

Both the Telluride and the Santa Fe have standard second row automatic folding seats. The Telluride’s third row seats also fold down via a control in the cargo area. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Telluride. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Telluride’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (5000 vs. 3500 pounds).

The Telluride’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Santa Fe’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Telluride’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Santa Fe’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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 Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe.

The Telluride has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Telluride has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Only the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers wireless charging.

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