Compare the2025 GMC AcadiaVS 2025 Kia Telluride

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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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.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the GMC Acadia achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Kia Telluride has not been tested.

The GMC Acadia’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Kia Telluride does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Acadia and the Telluride have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact 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, available all wheel drive, front parking sensors and driver alert 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
HIC	165	281
Neck Injury Risk	20.1%	27%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	275 lbs.
Neck Compression	2 lbs.	32 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	32/13 lbs.	164/998 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	234	378
Neck Injury Risk	35.9%	36%
Neck Compression	48 lbs.	91 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	160/266 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
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.6 inches
Abdominal Force	73 lbs.	84 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches
HIC	346	444
Spine Acceleration	48 G’s	51 G’s

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

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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Telluride:

	Acadia	Telluride
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	55	68
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.47 in	.55 in
Shoulder Force	-156 lbs.	156 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.79 in	1.18 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	6 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	915 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Force	-312 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.06 in	1.46 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

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 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 37 more horsepower (328 vs. 291) and 64 lbs.-ft. more torque (326 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	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/27 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/24 hwy
Telluride
	FWD	3.8 DOHC V6	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.8 DOHC V6	18 city/23 hwy

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.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia stops much shorter than the Telluride:

	Acadia	Telluride
60 to 0 MPH	113 feet	126 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the Telluride (255/55R20 vs. 245/60R18). The Acadia Denali’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Telluride (275/45R22 vs. 245/60R18).

The Acadia Denali’s optional 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 Acadia Denali offers optional 22-inch wheels. The Telluride’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 6.7 inches longer than on the Telluride (120.9 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .81 G’s, while the Telluride SX 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia Denali AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Telluride SX 4x4 (27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia 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 Acadia has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear hip room, .8 inches more rear shoulder room, .1 inches more third row headroom, .7 inches more third row legroom, 4.9 inches more third row hip room and 2.6 inches more third row shoulder room than the Telluride.

Cargo Capacity

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

	Acadia	Telluride
Behind Third Seat	23 cubic feet	21 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	57.3 cubic feet	46 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	97.5 cubic feet	87 cubic feet

Both the Acadia and the Telluride offer second row automatic folding seats. The Acadia Denali’s third row seats also fold up or down at the press of a switch. The Telluride doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

Ergonomics

The Acadia’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Telluride does not have an oil pressure gauge.

If the windows are left open on the Acadia the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Telluride can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Acadia’s optional rear and 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.

The Acadia has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Telluride.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the GMC Acadia has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Telluride S/EX/SX offers wireless charging.

The Acadia’s optional Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Telluride doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

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

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