The Toyota Grand Highlander and Kia Telluride are two of our favorite midsize 3-row SUVs. They’re a couple of our top choices for midsize SUVs that have almost minivan levels of family-friendly practicality and don’t have the bulk or fuel costs of a full-size SUV.
Declaring a winner will be tough, but let’s take a closer look at the Toyota Grand Highlander and Kia Telluride.
2025 Toyota Grand Highlander
2024 model shown
The Toyota Grand Highlander takes everything we love about the regular Highlander and makes it more Grand. The main difference is that the Grand Highlander is bigger, yielding quite a bit more interior space while retaining the safety, reliability, and resale value Toyota is famous for. Pricing starts at $45,080.
Toyota Grand Highlander Highlights
Bigger interior: Three more inches of third-row legroom and 10 more cubic feet of maximum cargo space make the Toyota Grand Highlander considerably roomier than the Kia Telluride. Choose the Toyota, and your passengers will thank you.
More efficient: The Toyota Grand Highlander has two optional hybrid powertrains, and the most efficient version gets up to 36 mpg combined. But even the non-hybrid Grand Highlander is more efficient than the V6-powered Kia Telluride. More interior space and better fuel economy is a one-two punch for the Toyota.
Many standard features: Just a few of the many standard features in the Toyota Grand Highlander include a 12.3-inch infotainment display, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, SofTex seats (heated in front), an adjustable power liftgate, and the Toyota Safety Sense
Read our Toyota Grand Highlander Expert Review or see 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander models for sale near you.
2025 Kia Telluride
The Kia Telluride is a repeat winner of our Best Buy Award in the midsize 3-row SUV class. That’s because it has a roomy and family-friendly interior that’s nicer than its price tag suggests, a dutiful V6 engine, class-leading warranty coverage, and some of our favorite styling in this class, especially in the rugged X-Pro trims. Pricing starts at $37,585.
Kia Telluride Highlights
Class-leading warranty: The Kia Telluride’s 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty are best-in-class. If good warranty coverage is a priority, then the Telluride is unbeatable in its class.
Affordable pricing: The Kia Telluride has a considerably lower starting price than the Toyota Grand Highlander. That makes it a little more within reach for a greater range of drivers who need a solid family vehicle.
Excellent safety ratings: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the Kia Telluride its highest rating of Top Safety Pick+. It earns the top “Good” rating in every safety criterion for crashworthiness, crash avoidance, and seat belts, giving families peace of mind.
Read our Kia Telluride Expert Review or see 2025 Kia Telluride models for sale near you.
Similarities
The Toyota Grand Highlander and Kia Telluride are similarly sized 3-row SUVs with seating for up to eight and above-average resale value.
Conclusion
If you ask your kids in the back seats to pick their favorite ice cream flavor, your query will be met with frenetic indecision and mind-changing. That’s how we feel trying to pick a favorite between the Toyota Grand Highlander and Kia Telluride.
The Kia Telluride earns our Best Buy Award in its class for its well-rounded talents as a sensible family hauler that we actually like driving, and its practical benefits of class-leading warranty coverage, reasonable pricing, and perfect safety scores are icing on the cake. However, we can’t deny the minivan-like practicality of the Toyota Grand Highlander with its extra interior space and better fuel economy, especially with its hybrid options. This is one comparison where you truly can’t go wrong with either, so we recommend test-driving both if you’re in the market for a midsize family SUV.
New 2025 Kia Telluride Prices
|
Retail Price
|
Fair Purchase Price (92620)
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
$37,805 |
$36,126 |
|||
$40,805 |
$39,123 |
|||
$43,505 |
$42,012 |
|||
$47,605 |
$45,805 |
|||
$47,900 |
$46,252 |
|||
$48,800 |
$46,442 |
|||
$51,300 |
$49,263 |
|||
$52,805 |
$50,666 |
|||
$54,200 |
$51,994 |
|||
$55,100 |
$52,945 |
The Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price for any individual used vehicle can vary greatly according to mileage, condition, location, and other factors. The prices here reflect what buyers are currently paying for New 2025 Toyota Highlander vehicles and New 2025 Kia Telluride vehicles in typical condition when purchasing from a dealership. These prices are updated weekly. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) quoted includes the destination fee, but does not include tax, license, document fees, and options.
| 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander | 2025 Kia Telluride | |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | 2.4-liter turbo 4-cylinder | 3.8-liter V6 |
| Horsepower | 265 hp @ 6,000 rpm | 291 hp @ 6,000 rpm |
| Torque | 310 lb-ft @ 1,700-3,600 rpm | 262 lb-ft @ 5,200 rpm |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic | 8-speed automatic |
| Fuel Economy | 21 city/28 highway/24 combined | 20 city/26 highway/22 combined mpg |
| Also Available | AWD, hybrid drivetrains | AWD |
| Specs | ||
| Basic Warranty | 3 Years/36,000 Miles | 5 Years/60,000 Miles |
| Powertrain Warranty | 5 Years/60,000 Miles | 10 Years/100,000 Miles |
| NHTSA Overall Safety | Not rated | 5 stars |
| Max Seating Capacity | 8 | 8 |
| Wheelbase | 116.1 inches | 114.2 inches |
| Overall Length | 201.4 inches | 196.9 inches |
| Width | 78.3 inches | 78.3 inches |
| Height | 72.1 inches | 68.9 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 38.8 feet | 38.1 feet |
| Headroom, Front | 41.5 inches | 40.9 inches |
| Headroom, 2nd Row | 40.2 inches | 40.2 inches |
| Headroom, 3rd Row | 37.2 inches | 38.1 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.7 inches | 41.4 inches |
| Legroom, 2nd Row | 39.5 inches | 42.4 inches |
| Legroom, 3rd Row | 33.5 inches | 31.4 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 60.2 inches | 61.6 inches |
| Shoulder Room, 2nd Row | 58.8 inches | 61.2 inches |
| Shoulder Room, 3rd Row | 57.5 inches | 55.3 inches |
| Cargo Volume | 20.6/57.9/97.5 cubic feet | 21.0/46.0/87.0 cubic feet |
