Compare the2023 Kia TellurideVS 2023 Ford Expedition

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

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

Both the Telluride and the Expedition 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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, results indicate that the Kia Telluride is safer than the Ford Expedition:

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 3.8% to 6.5% less likely to roll over than the Expedition.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Telluride its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Expedition has not been fully 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 Expedition’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 Ford covers the Expedition. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Expedition ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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 17 points higher than the Expedition.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Telluride second among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Expedition isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 10th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 43 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 16th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 9 places higher in reliability than Ford.

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride gets better mileage than the Expedition:

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

The Telluride has a true all-wheel drive system, which uses a four wheel traction control system to redirect engine power to the axle and wheel that still has traction to keep the Telluride moving if even only one wheel still has traction. The Expedition doesn’t offer a true four-wheel drive system; it could get stuck while one or more wheels still have traction.

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Expedition:

The Telluride LX/X-Pro’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 Expedition Timberline’s standard 70 series tires.

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .80 G’s, while the Expedition XLT 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Telluride’s turning circle is 2.2 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (38.8 feet vs. 41 feet).

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1150 to 1250 pounds less than the Ford Expedition.

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

The Telluride is 7.7 inches shorter in height than the Expedition, 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 Expedition uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Telluride has .2 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom and .8 inches more third row headroom than the Expedition.

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

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 Expedition’s liftover is 34.7 inches.

The Telluride SX Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Expedition doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Expedition’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or 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 Expedition 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 Expedition doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 Expedition’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

Insurance will cost less for the Telluride owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Telluride will cost $770 less than the Expedition over a five-year period.

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 54.84% to 55.57% of its original price after five years, while the Expedition only retains 49.75% to 51.3%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Telluride will be $15910 to $26500 less than for the Ford Expedition.

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

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Telluride second among upper midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Expedition isn’t in the top three in its category.

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

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Telluride as the 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Expedition has never been chosen.

The Kia Telluride outsold the Ford Expedition/Expedition Max by 61% during 2022.