Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Kia Telluride

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional 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 shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Kia Telluride doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Telluride doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia and the Telluride have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Kia Telluride:

	Acadia	Telluride
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	27%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	275 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	32 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	164/998 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	319	378
Leg Forces (l/r)	210/60 lbs.	351/369 lbs.

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

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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Kia Telluride:

	Acadia	Telluride
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	440 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	381	450
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	52 G’s

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

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Telluride’s (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

There are over 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 19 more horsepower (310 vs. 291) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 262) than the Telluride’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Telluride
	FWD	3.8 DOHC V6	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.8 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The Telluride doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Telluride doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Telluride doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Telluride (21.7 vs. 18.8 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Telluride doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Kia Telluride (5). This means the Acadia produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Telluride every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Telluride.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia’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 Acadia stops shorter than the Telluride:

	Acadia	Telluride
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	177 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Telluride (255/65R17 vs. 245/60R18).

The GMC Acadia’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 Acadia 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.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Telluride’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Telluride SX 4x4 pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Telluride SX 4x4 (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The Acadia is 3.5 inches shorter than the Telluride, making the Acadia easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Telluride doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Telluride doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The front step up height for the Acadia is 1.5 inches lower than the Telluride (18” vs. 19.5”). The Acadia’s rear step up height is .3 inches lower than the Telluride’s (19” vs. 19.3”).

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Telluride doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Telluride’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Acadia’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.

The Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali’s standard rear view mirror and optional 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.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Acadia owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Acadia will cost $205 less than the Telluride over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Telluride because it costs $36 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost less on the Acadia than the Telluride, including $39 less for a water pump, $95 less for a muffler, $33 less for a starter, $85 less for fuel injection, $73 less for a fuel pump, $101 less for front struts and $70 less for a power steering pump.

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