Compare the2023 Infiniti QX80VS 2022 Kia Telluride

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX80 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia Telluride doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The QX80 Sensory’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Telluride doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX80 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Kia Telluride doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The Infiniti QX80 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Telluride doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The QX80 has standard Active Head Restraints (AHR), which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the AHR system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Telluride doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The QX80 has standard Backup Collision Intervention that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Telluride doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the QX80 and the Telluride have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 available all wheel drive.

The Infiniti QX80 weighs 1261 to 1973 pounds more than the Kia Telluride. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Infiniti QX80 is safer than the Kia Telluride:

	QX80	Telluride
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	27	41
Abdominal Force	81 lbs.	93 lbs.
Hip Force	144 lbs.	440 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	31	137
Spine Acceleration	21 G’s	47 G’s
Hip Force	151 lbs.	449 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	437	450
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	52 G’s

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

Warranty

The QX80’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Telluride’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Infiniti pays for scheduled maintenance on the QX80 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Infiniti will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Telluride.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Infiniti vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Infiniti 4 places higher in reliability than Kia.

Engine

The QX80’s 5.6 DOHC V8 produces 109 more horsepower (400 vs. 291) and 151 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 262) than the Telluride’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Infiniti QX80 is faster than the Kia Telluride:

	QX80	Telluride
Zero to 60 MPH	6.1 sec	7.2 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	15.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93.9 MPH	92.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The QX80 has 7.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Telluride (26 vs. 18.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the QX80’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Telluride:

	QX80	Telluride
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	13.4 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	12 inches

The QX80’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Telluride are solid, not vented.

The QX80 stops shorter than the Telluride:

	QX80	Telluride
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	126 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the QX80 has larger tires than the Telluride (275/60R20 vs. 245/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the QX80 Luxe has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Telluride LX/EX. The QX80 Premium Select/Sensory’s 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Telluride S/SX.

The Infiniti QX80’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Kia Telluride only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The QX80 has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Telluride doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The QX80 has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Telluride; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The rear suspension of the QX80 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Telluride, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the QX80’s wheelbase is 6.9 inches longer than on the Telluride (121.1 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The QX80’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (51% to 49%) than the Telluride’s (55.7% to 44.3%). This gives the QX80 more stable handling and braking.

The QX80 AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Telluride SX 4x4 (28.3 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the QX80 has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Telluride (9.2 vs. 8 inches), allowing the QX80 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the QX80 has an electronically controlled liquid-filled front engine mount. A computer-controlled electric current in the liquid changes its viscosity, allowing the mount to dampen the engine completely at all RPMs. The Telluride uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

Passenger Space

The QX80 has .3 inches more front hip room, 2.2 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear hip room, 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room, 5.1 inches more third row hip room and 5.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the Telluride.

Cargo Capacity

The QX80’s cargo area provides more volume than the Telluride.

	QX80	Telluride
Third Seat Folded	49.6 cubic feet	46 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	95.1 cubic feet	87 cubic feet

The QX80 has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Telluride doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

Both the QX80 and the Telluride offer second row automatic folding seats. The QX80’s third row seats also fold up or down at the press of a switch. The Telluride doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

Towing

The QX80’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Telluride’s (8500 vs. 5000 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The engine in the QX80 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Telluride. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Infiniti service is better than Kia. J.D. Power ranks Infiniti 9th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 28% lower rating, Kia is ranked 26th.

Ergonomics

The QX80’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Telluride does not have an oil pressure gauge.

If the windows are left open on the QX80 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Telluride can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The QX80’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Telluride’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The QX80’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Telluride’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The QX80 Sensory has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Telluride doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the QX80 Sensory has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Telluride doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The QX80’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Telluride offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The QX80 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Telluride.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Infiniti QX80 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Telluride S/EX/SX offers wireless charging.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the QX80 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the QX80 with a number “5” insurance rate while the Telluride is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the QX80 is less expensive to operate than the Telluride because it costs $163 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the QX80 than the Telluride, including $208 less for a water pump, $205 less for a muffler, $65 less for front brake pads, $62 less for fuel injection, $127 less for a fuel pump and $58 less for front struts.