Compare the2027 Kia TellurideVS 2026 GMC Acadia

Both the Telluride and Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Acadia doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Telluride and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, 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 Acadia’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 GMC covers the Acadia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Acadia ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 11 places higher in reliability than GMC.

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 Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Regenerative brakes improve the Telluride Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Acadia 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 Acadia. 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 Acadia:

The Telluride offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Acadia doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For greater off-road capability the Telluride has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Acadia Elevation (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 Acadia AT4 (9.1 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Telluride is 4.8 inches shorter than the Acadia, 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 Acadia.

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

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

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 Acadia’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 Acadia doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Telluride SX/Prestige is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Acadia’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

The Kia Telluride stands out above the GMC Acadia 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 Acadia’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

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

The Kia Telluride outsold the GMC Acadia by over two to one during 2025.