Compare the2023 Kia TellurideVS 2023 Toyota Sequoia

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.

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’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 Sequoia 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 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, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 around view monitors.

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 Sequoia 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 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.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Telluride second among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Sequoia 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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 14th.

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

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

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

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Sequoia:

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 Sequoia’s standard 70 series tires.

The Telluride has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Telluride flat and controlled during cornering. The Sequoia’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .81 G’s, while the Sequoia Capstone 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Telluride’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Sequoia’s (38.8 feet vs. 40.2 feet). The Telluride’s turning circle is 5.8 feet tighter than the Sequoia TRD Pro’s (38.8 feet vs. 44.6 feet).

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1500 to 1750 pounds less than the Toyota Sequoia.

The Telluride is 11.2 inches shorter than the Sequoia, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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.

The Telluride has 1.7 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more rear headroom, 3.2 inches more rear legroom and 2.5 inches more third row headroom than the Sequoia.

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

The Telluride has a higher standard payload capacity than the Sequoia (1662 vs. 1555 lbs.).

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

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

The Kia Telluride outsold the Toyota Sequoia by almost 19 to one during 2022.