Compare the2027 Kia TellurideVS 2026 Ford Explorer

Both the Telluride and Explorer 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 Explorer’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 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 Explorer doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Kia Telluride’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Ford Explorer does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Telluride and the Explorer have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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 Telluride comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Explorer’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 Ford covers the Explorer. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Explorer 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 Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Ford is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 4 places higher in reliability than Ford.

The Telluride’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 29 more horsepower (329 vs. 300) and 29 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 310) than the Explorer’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Telluride 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Explorer 3.0 turbo V6 RWD (20 city/26 hwy vs. 18 city/25 hwy).

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

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

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 Explorer. 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 Ford Explorer (5 to 6). This means the Telluride produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Explorer every 15,000 miles.

The Telluride’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the Explorer ST are solid, not vented.

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

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Telluride is .6 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Explorer.

For greater off-road capability the Telluride X-Pro has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Explorer Tremor (9.1 vs. 8.7 inches), allowing the Telluride to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Telluride offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Explorer can only carry up to 7.

The Telluride has 5.5 inches more rear legroom, .3 inches more third row legroom and .7 inches more third row shoulder room than the Explorer.

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

The Telluride’s cargo area provides more volume than the Explorer.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Telluride’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Explorer doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Telluride’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Explorer doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Telluride uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Explorer uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

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 Explorer doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Telluride’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Explorer’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

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

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Telluride has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Wireless charging costs extra on the Explorer and isn’t available on the Explorer Active, and only charges one device.

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 Explorer doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Motor Trend selected the Telluride as their 2020 Sport Utility of the Year. The Explorer 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 Explorer was last chosen as a North American vehicle of the year in 2011.