Compare the2022 Kia TellurideVS 2021 Cadillac Escalade

Both the Telluride and Escalade 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 Escalade’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 Kia Telluride has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Escalade doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Telluride has a standard blind spot warning system that 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 Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport 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 Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport 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 Escalade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

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 Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Telluride and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Escalade has not been tested, yet.

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 Escalade’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Telluride 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Cadillac covers the Escalade. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Escalade ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Telluride has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

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 45 points higher than the Escalade.

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 Cadillac vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Cadillac is ranked 14th.

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 Cadillac vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Cadillac is ranked fifth.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Cadillac vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 6 places higher in reliability than Cadillac.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Telluride uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Escalade requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

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

The Telluride stops shorter than the Escalade:

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .80 G’s, while the Escalade Sport 4WD pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Telluride SX 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Telluride’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Escalade’s (38.8 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1400 to 1500 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The Telluride is 1 foot, 3 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride is 7.8 inches shorter in height than the Escalade, 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 Escalade uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Telluride has 1.3 inches more rear headroom and .7 inches more rear legroom than the Escalade.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Telluride’s middle and third row seats recline. The Escalade’s third row seats don’t recline.

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 Escalade’s liftover is 37 inches.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Telluride to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escalade doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Telluride is less expensive to operate than the Escalade because it costs $37 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Telluride than the Escalade, including $510 less for a muffler, $16 less for a fuel pump, $535 less for front struts, $23 less for a timing belt/chain and $260 less for a power steering pump.

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 Escalade has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

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