Compare the2022 Kia TellurideVS 2021 Toyota Sequoia

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the Telluride and Sequoia 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 Sequoia’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Telluride are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Full-time four-wheel drive is optional on the Telluride. Full-time four-wheel drive gives added traction for safety in all conditions, not just off-road, like the only system available on the Sequoia.

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

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Telluride uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Sequoia uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Telluride and the Sequoia 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Telluride is 3% to 4.2% less likely to roll over than the Sequoia.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Telluride the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 120 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sequoia has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

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

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Telluride has a standard 800-amp battery. The Sequoia’s 710-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 41 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 19th, 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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fourth.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride gets better fuel mileage than the Sequoia:

			MPG
Telluride
	2WD	3.8 DOHC V6	20 city/26 hwy
	4WD	3.8 DOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy
Sequoia
	2WD	5.7 DOHC V8	13 city/17 hwy
	4WD	5.7 DOHC V8	13 city/17 hwy

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Kia Telluride, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sequoia.

Brakes and Stopping

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Sequoia:

	Telluride	Sequoia
70 to 0 MPH	162 feet	192 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	139 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	133 feet	163 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Telluride LX/EX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sequoia SR5/TRD Pro’s standard 65 series tires. The Telluride S/SX’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Sequoia TRD Sport/Limited/Nightshade/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .81 G’s, while the Sequoia Platinum 4x4 pulls only .71 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Telluride SX 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.5 seconds quicker than the Sequoia Limited 4x4 (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 29.8 seconds @ .55 average G’s).

Chassis

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1550 to 1600 pounds less than the Toyota Sequoia.

The Telluride is 8.2 inches shorter than the Sequoia, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride is 8.1 inches shorter in height than the Sequoia, making the Telluride much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Telluride’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Sequoia uses body-on-frame design instead.

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

	Telluride	Sequoia
At idle	36 dB	45 dB
70 MPH Cruising	63 dB	66 dB

Passenger Space

The Telluride has 6.1 inches more front headroom, 5.3 inches more rear headroom, 1.5 inches more rear legroom and 3.6 inches more third row headroom than the Sequoia.

The front step up height for the Telluride is 1.5 inches lower than the Sequoia (19.5” vs. 21”). The Telluride’s rear step up height is 2.9 inches lower than the Sequoia’s (19.3” vs. 22.2”).

Cargo Capacity

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

	Telluride	Sequoia
Behind Third Seat	21 cubic feet	18.9 cubic feet

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 Sequoia’s liftover is 33 inches.

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 Sequoia doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Payload

The Telluride has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Sequoia (1662 vs. 1250 lbs.).

The Telluride has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Sequoia (1664 vs. 1350 lbs.).

Ergonomics

The engine computer on the Telluride automatically engages the starter until the car starts with one twist of the key and disables the starter while the engine is running. The Sequoia’s starter can be accidentally engaged while the engine is running, making a grinding noise and possibly damaging the starter and ring gear.

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 Sequoia doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Telluride’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sequoia’s parking brake has to released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Telluride and the Sequoia 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 Sequoia 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 Sequoia’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Telluride’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Sequoia’s power window (except driver window), power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Telluride has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Telluride SX’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sequoia’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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

The Telluride’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Sequoia’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

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 Sequoia doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

On extremely cold winter days, the Telluride EX/SX’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

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 Sequoia doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Telluride owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Telluride with a number “8” insurance rate while the Sequoia is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Telluride is less expensive to operate than the Sequoia because typical repairs cost much less on the Telluride than the Sequoia, including $546 less for a starter, $110 less for a fuel pump, $101 less for front struts and $384 less for a timing belt/chain.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Telluride will be $14567 to $15373 less than for the Toyota Sequoia.

Recommendations

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Kia Telluride as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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

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