Compare the2025 Kia TellurideVS 2025 Cadillac Escalade

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the Telluride and Escalade 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 Escalade’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.

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 Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Telluride and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors, 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 Kia Telluride is safer than the Cadillac Escalade:

	Telluride	Escalade
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	36%	47%
Neck Stress	131 lbs.	272 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	351/369 lbs.	333/811 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 Kia Telluride is safer than the Cadillac Escalade:

	Telluride	Escalade
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	93 lbs.	111 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	640 lbs.	764 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Telluride, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 5.7% to 7.6% less likely to roll over than the Escalade, which received a three-star rating.

The Kia Telluride has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 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 Escalade has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

Warranty

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 Escalade’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Telluride 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Cadillac covers the Escalade. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Escalade ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

There are over 40 percent more Kia dealers than there are Cadillac dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Telluride’s warranty.

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Telluride has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

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 Cadillac vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 51 more problems per 100 vehicles, Cadillac is ranked 23rd, below the industry average.

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 Cadillac 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, Cadillac is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Cadillac vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 12 places higher in reliability than Cadillac.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Telluride
	FWD	3.8 DOHC V6	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.8 DOHC V6	18 city/23 hwy
Escalade
	RWD	6.2 OHV V8	15 city/19 hwy
	AWD	6.2 OHV V8	14 city/18 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Telluride uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Escalade requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Telluride higher (6 out of 10) than the Cadillac Escalade (5). This means the Telluride produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Escalade every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Escalade:

	Telluride	Escalade
70 to 0 MPH	162 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	113 feet	122 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	133 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

The Telluride SX 4x4 handles at .81 G’s, while the Escalade Sport Platinum 4WD pulls only .67 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Telluride SX 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Telluride’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Escalade’s (38.8 feet vs. 39.5 feet). The Telluride’s turning circle is 1.8 feet tighter than the Escalade with 24” wheels’ (38.8 feet vs. 40.6 feet).

Chassis

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1550 to 1650 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The Telluride is 1 foot, 3 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride is 7.8 inches shorter in height than the Escalade, making the Telluride much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

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 Escalade doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Telluride SX 4x4 is quieter than the Escalade Sport Platinum 4WD:

	Telluride	Escalade
At idle	36 dB	42 dB
Full-Throttle	74 dB	75 dB
70 MPH Cruising	63 dB	66 dB

Passenger Space

The Telluride has 1.3 inches more rear headroom and .6 inches more rear legroom than the Escalade.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Telluride’s middle and third row seats recline. The Escalade’s third row seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

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 Escalade’s liftover is 37 inches.

Payload

The Telluride has a higher standard payload capacity than the Escalade (1662 vs. 1570 lbs.).

The Telluride has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Escalade (1664 vs. 1580 lbs.).

Ergonomics

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Telluride to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escalade doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Telluride owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Telluride will cost $1620 less than the Escalade over a five-year period.

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 Escalade only retains 48.69% to 51.52%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Telluride is less expensive to operate than the Escalade because it costs $37 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Telluride than the Escalade, including $510 less for a muffler, $16 less for a fuel pump, $535 less for front struts, $23 less for a timing belt/chain and $260 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Kia Telluride, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Cadillac Escalade isn't recommended.

The Telluride was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2025 and 5 more times in the last 6 years. The Escalade has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

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

The Kia Telluride outsold the Cadillac Escalade by almost three to one during 2024.

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