Compare the2025 Kia TellurideVS 2025 Honda Pilot

Both the Telluride and Pilot 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 Pilot’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.

Both the Telluride and Pilot have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Telluride has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pilot’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Telluride and the Pilot 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, 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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Telluride is much safer than the Pilot:

The Kia Telluride has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Pilot is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

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 Pilot’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 Honda covers the Pilot. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Pilot ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Telluride’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Pilot’s camshafts. If the Pilot’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Telluride has a standard 800-amp battery. The Pilot’s 650-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Telluride third among upper midsize suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Pilot isn’t in the top three.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 10th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

The Telluride’s 3.8 DOHC V6 produces 6 more horsepower (291 vs. 285) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Kia Telluride is faster than the Honda Pilot:

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Pilot:

The Telluride has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Telluride has a standard automatic load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Pilot doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .80 G’s, while the Pilot Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Telluride SX 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Pilot TrailSport (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Telluride has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (8 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Telluride X-Line’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Pilot TrailSport (8.4 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Telluride is 3 inches shorter than the Pilot, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces. The Telluride is 3.3 inches shorter than the Pilot TrailSport.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Telluride SX 4x4 is quieter than the Pilot Elite:

The Telluride has .4 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front legroom, .5 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more rear legroom and .6 inches more rear hip room than the Pilot.

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 Pilot’s liftover is 33.2 inches.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Telluride’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Telluride’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (5000 vs. 3500 pounds).

The Telluride uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Pilot uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Consumer Reports rated the Telluride’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Pilot’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Telluride’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

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 Pilot doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

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 57.67% to 58.24% of its original price after five years, while the Pilot only retains 55.18% to 56.17%.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Telluride and the Honda Pilot, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its August 2023 issue and they ranked the Kia Telluride SX Prestige X-Line 4x4 higher than the Honda Pilot Elite.

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 Pilot isn’t in the top three.

The Telluride was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024 and 4 more times in the last 5 years. The Pilot hasn’t been picked since 2007.

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

The Kia Telluride outsold the Honda Pilot by 467 units during 2023.