Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Kia Telluride

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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.

Both the Santa Fe and the Telluride have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Telluride:

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Telluride.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked fourth.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Telluride’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Kia Telluride:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the Telluride:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe’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.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Kia Telluride (6). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Telluride every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Telluride doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Telluride:

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Telluride:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Telluride (255/45R20 vs. 245/60R18).

The Santa Fe Limited’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Telluride S/EX/SX’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Telluride’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Santa Fe’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Telluride doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Telluride SX Prestige 4x4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Telluride’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.8 feet).

The Santa Fe is 6.7 inches shorter than the Telluride, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .294 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Telluride (.34) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe has .2 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom and .4 inches more rear headroom than the Telluride.

The Santa Fe has a standard Sinking Seat 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.

On a hot day the Santa Fe’s driver can lower all the windows 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 Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Telluride doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Kia Telluride by 19% during 2023.