Compare the2027 Kia TellurideVS 2026 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.

The Telluride 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 Traverse doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Telluride and the Traverse have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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 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 2026 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 7 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

The Telluride’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 1 more horsepower (329 vs. 328) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 326) than the Traverse’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Telluride 4 cyl. hybrid gas is faster than the Chevrolet Traverse:

Regenerative brakes improve the Telluride Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Traverse doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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.

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

The Telluride offers an optional automatic rear 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 greater off-road capability the Telluride has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Traverse (7.4 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Telluride X-Pro’s minimum ground clearance is 1.3 inches higher than on the Traverse Z71 (9.1 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Telluride is 5.3 inches shorter than the Traverse, making the Telluride easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Telluride has .4 inches more rear headroom and 1.5 inches more rear legroom than the Traverse.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Telluride. The Traverse doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Telluride Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction, infotainment 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/Prestige has standard front air conditioned seats and the Telluride 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.

The Telluride Prestige has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Traverse.

The Kia Telluride stands out above the Chevrolet Traverse by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and one of them provide more flexibility.

The Telluride Prestige’s Remote 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 Traverse’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2027 Kia Telluride retains 51.21% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 48.14% resale value of the 2026 Chevrolet Traverse after five years, which can save the Kia’s owner up to $3353 in depreciation.

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.