Compare the2025 Kia TellurideVS 2025 Chevrolet Traverse

Both the Telluride and Traverse 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 Traverse’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.

The Kia Telluride has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Traverse doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Kia Telluride is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Chevrolet Traverse, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

Both the Telluride and the Traverse 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 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 safer than the Traverse:

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 Traverse is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 7 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

As tested in Car and Driver the Kia Telluride is faster than the Chevrolet Traverse:

The Telluride has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Traverse. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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

For better stopping power the Telluride’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Traverse:

The Telluride stops much shorter than the Traverse:

The Telluride LX/X-Pro’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Traverse LT’s standard 65 series tires.

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

For better maneuverability, the Telluride’s turning circle is .2 feet tighter than the Traverse’s (38.8 feet vs. 39 feet). The Telluride’s turning circle is 1.9 feet tighter than the Traverse with 22-inch wheels’ (38.8 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Telluride has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Traverse (8 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Telluride X-Line’s minimum ground clearance is .6 inch higher than on the Traverse Z71 (8.4 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Kia Telluride may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 pounds less than the Chevrolet Traverse.

The Telluride is 7.6 inches shorter than the Traverse, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride has .2 inches more front hip room, .2 inches more rear headroom and .9 inches more rear legroom than the Traverse.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Telluride. The Traverse doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Telluride’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Traverse’s (5000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Telluride SX Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Traverse doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Telluride’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Traverse’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

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

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

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

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 Traverse isn’t in the top three in its category.

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

The Kia Telluride outsold the Chevrolet Traverse by 11% during 2024.