Compare the2022 Kia TellurideVS 2021 Subaru Ascent

Both the Telluride and Ascent 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 Ascent’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 SX has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ascent only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Telluride has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Telluride has a standard cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring has a cross-path warning system.

The Telluride’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Ascent doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Telluride and the Ascent have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Telluride is safer than the Subaru Ascent:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Telluride is 1.5% to 2.7% less likely to roll over than the Ascent.

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 Ascent’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 Subaru covers the Ascent. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Ascent ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

There are over 20 percent more Kia dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Telluride’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Telluride has a standard 800-amp battery. The Ascent’s 530-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Telluride’s reliability 65 points higher than the Ascent.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 51 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 27th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 28 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 17th.

The Telluride’s 3.8 DOHC V6 produces 31 more horsepower (291 vs. 260) than the Ascent’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Kia Telluride is faster than the Subaru Ascent:

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Telluride higher (5 out of 10) than the Subaru Ascent (3). This means the Telluride produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ascent every 15,000 miles.

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

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Ascent:

The Telluride has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Ascent’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Telluride has a standard automatic load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Ascent doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Telluride is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Ascent.

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .81 G’s, while the Ascent Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 150 to 300 pounds less than the Subaru Ascent.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Telluride SX 4x4 is quieter than the Ascent Touring:

The Telluride has 1.2 inches more front hip room, .5 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 3.8 inches more rear legroom, .5 inches more rear hip room, .9 inches more rear shoulder room and 1.8 inches more third row headroom than the Ascent.

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

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Telluride easier. The Telluride’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.7 inches, while the Ascent’s liftover is 32 inches.

The Telluride’s cargo area is larger than the Ascent’s in almost every dimension:

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Telluride’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Ascent doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Telluride’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Ascent’s (5000 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Telluride uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ascent 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 SX offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Ascent doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Telluride and the Ascent have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Telluride is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ascent prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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 Ascent’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

Consumer Reports rated the Telluride’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Ascent’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Telluride’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring.

When the Telluride SX is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Ascent’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Telluride S/EX/SX has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) for the front seat. The Ascent doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Telluride is less expensive to operate than the Ascent because typical repairs cost much less on the Telluride than the Ascent, including $157 less for a starter and $270 less for front struts.

Consumer Reports® chose the Kia Telluride as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Subaru Ascent isn't recommended.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its May 2020 issue and the Kia Telluride SX 4x4 won out over the Subaru Ascent Touring.

The Telluride was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 2 years. The Ascent has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

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