Compare the2022 Kia TellurideVS 2021 GMC Yukon

Both the Telluride and Yukon 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 Yukon’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 Yukon doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Telluride’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Yukon.

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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Yukon’s blind spot costs extra.

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. Cross-path warning costs extra on the Yukon.

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

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

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

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 51 points higher than the Yukon.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 15 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 8th.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 46 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 25th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 1 place higher in reliability than GMC.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Telluride uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Yukon Denali 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 GMC Yukon (3 to 5). This means the Telluride produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Yukon every 15,000 miles.

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Yukon:

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 Yukon’s standard 65 series tires.

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .81 G’s, while the Yukon Denali 4x4 pulls only .73 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Telluride SX 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.3 seconds quicker than the Yukon AT4 4x4 (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 30.6 seconds @ .51 average G’s).

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1400 pounds less than the GMC Yukon.

The Telluride is 1 foot, 1.1 inches shorter than the Yukon, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride is 7.6 inches shorter in height than the Yukon, 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 Yukon uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Telluride has 1.3 inches more rear headroom and .4 inches more rear legroom than the Yukon.

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

The front step up height for the Telluride is 3.7 inches lower than the Yukon (19.5” vs. 23.2”). The Telluride’s rear step up height is 4.2 inches lower than the Yukon’s (19.3” vs. 23.5”).

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 Yukon’s liftover is 37 inches.

The Telluride’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Yukon’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

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 Yukon doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Telluride to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Yukon 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 Yukon doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Telluride will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Telluride will retain 46.99% to 47.58% of its original price after five years, while the Yukon only retains 45.33% to 46.75%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Telluride is less expensive to operate than the Yukon 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 Yukon, including $9 less for a water pump, $405 less for a muffler, $69 less for a fuel pump and $269 less for a timing belt/chain.

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

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