2026 Toyota Grand Highlander vs. 2027 Kia Telluride: The Three-Row Trade-Offs

Some of those gaps matter more here than they would elsewhere. Winters are long, most trips involve real elevation change, and the back of a family SUV stays loaded for a good part of the year.

Almost everyone cross-shopping this pair is buying for one job: moving 5 to 8 people and their gear year round without stepping up to a full-size SUV. Both do that job. Which one does it better depends on what matters most to you.

• Fuel economy, cargo and ground clearance against most Telluride trims: the 2026 Grand Highlander.
• Warranty coverage and entry price: the 2027 Telluride, and neither margin is small.
• Seating, towing and overall size: close enough to call even.
• Crash-test results: the 2026 Grand Highlander has one, and the 2027 Telluride has not been tested yet.

Matching measurements sit side by side below, and the last column names which vehicle takes each one. One row is not measured the same way on both: Kia includes under-floor storage in its third-row cargo figure while Toyota leaves it out, which makes that row a note about measurement rather than a scored result.

MSRP at launch, excluding destination, for the entry front-wheel-drive trim of each vehicle.

Read down the Edge column and the shape of this matchup shows up fast. Both are close on everything you can judge from the curb. They separate on the things you learn later: what it costs to run, how much fits behind the second row, and how long the coverage lasts. Neither one sweeps the table, and each has a real argument.

The 2 even rows that matter most are towing and seating. Both are rated to tow 5,000 pounds, though the Toyota carries that rating on its gas and Hybrid MAX powertrains, and the Kia's tow hitch is a factory option rather than standard equipment. Both seat 7 or 8 depending on how they are configured, so seat count settles nothing.

On the outside they are near-twins, which is a large part of why so many shoppers end up with both on the list.

Two of those numbers are worth a second look. The Telluride rides on a wheelbase 0.8 of an inch longer, yet the Toyota measures 2.2 inches longer overall, which puts more of its body outside the axles rather than between them. The cargo figures behind the first and second rows favor the Toyota as well.

Height is the second of those numbers. The Grand Highlander measures 70.1 inches tall, while the Telluride ranges from 69.5 to 71.5 inches depending on trim. If you park under a low garage door or in a parking deck with a height bar, check the height of the exact version you are looking at before you buy, not after.

The exterior numbers do not separate these 2 on footprint. Neither one asks for meaningfully more room in a parking space, and neither is the easier one to park. Exterior size is not what decides this matchup. It is why the matchup exists.

The Toyota's advantages are the ones you meet most often, and the first of them is at the fuel pump.

• Fuel economy, all-wheel drive against all-wheel drive: the 2026 Grand Highlander is EPA-rated 21 city / 27 highway / 23 combined MPG with all-wheel drive. The 2027 Telluride with all-wheel drive is rated 18 / 24 / 20. Both are EPA figures for the same drivetrain layout, so this is a direct comparison, and the Toyota is ahead by 3 on all 3 figures.

  The consistency matters as much as the size of the gap. A vehicle can win on the highway number alone and hand it back in town, which makes the advantage depend on the kind of driving you actually do. The Grand Highlander is ahead in the city, on the highway, and on the combined figure that blends the two, so no mix of driving flips it.

  Around here, that gap applies to nearly every mile. A year in Fayette County brings about 43 inches of snow in the valley and up to about 75 at higher elevations, and all-wheel drive and 4x4 make up most of what we sell. So the all-wheel-drive figures are the ones most of our customers actually live with.

• Cargo, on the 2 measurements taken the same way: with every seat folded flat, the 2026 Grand Highlander holds 97.5 cubic feet to the 2027 Telluride's 89.3, a gap of 8.2. Fold only the third row, with 5 people still aboard, and the 2026 Toyota holds 57.9 against 48.7, a gap of 9.2.

  The bigger of those 2 gaps is the one you run into more often. The Toyota's advantage grows in the configuration a family actually uses, 5 aboard and the back loaded, rather than in the empty-shell measurement nobody drives around in. On a ski weekend at Seven Springs or a camping run down to Ohiopyle, 9.2 cubic feet is the difference between the last bag going in and the last bag riding on somebody's lap.

• Ground clearance against most of the Telluride range: the 2026 Grand Highlander is listed at 8.0 inches above the road, and most 2027 Telluride trims sit at 7.4. That 0.6 of an inch sounds like nothing until you meet the plow ridge at the end of your driveway or a rutted gravel pull-off on Chestnut Ridge.

  The gap holds against most of the Telluride range. The X-Pro trims are the exception and sit higher than both figures, so if that version is on your list, read the clearance off the exact trim.

• Crash-test rating: The 2026 Grand Highlander holds 5 stars overall from NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which runs the federal crash-test program. The 2027 Telluride has not been tested. Untested is not a low score: a vehicle that has not been through the test has no result in either direction, and the Telluride may well rate 5 stars once it goes through. Ratings change as new tests are published, so check NHTSA.gov for the latest on both.

The Kia takes real ground here too, and 2 of its advantages are large enough to settle a purchase on their own.

• Powertrain warranty, and it is not close: the 2027 Telluride carries 10 years or 100,000 miles of powertrain coverage. The 2026 Grand Highlander carries 60 months or 60,000 miles. The Kia covers the most expensive parts of the vehicle for twice as long, and for 40,000 more miles.

  Basic coverage runs the same direction, at 5 years or 60,000 miles on the 2027 Kia against 36 months or 36,000 miles on the 2026 Toyota. Kia also covers the Telluride against corrosion for 5 years or 100,000 miles, and its roadside assistance runs 5 years or 60,000 miles. For a buyer who plans to keep the vehicle well past the 60,000-mile mark, the longer powertrain coverage is a real financial argument, and it runs through exactly the years when a major repair stops being hypothetical.

• Starting price: the 2027 Telluride LX launched at $39,190 with front-wheel drive. The 2026 Grand Highlander LE launched at $42,260, also with front-wheel drive. Entry version against entry version, destination excluded on both, the Kia is $3,070 less.

  One more price step, this one inside the Toyota's own range: moving the LE to all-wheel drive brought it to $43,260 at launch, $1,000 above the same trim with front-wheel drive. That $1,000 is measured against the Toyota's own front-wheel-drive price, not against the Kia's. For a Southwestern Pennsylvania shopper pricing the all-wheel-drive version, it is the Toyota number to work from.

• Power, narrowly: the 2027 Telluride's 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder makes 274 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. The 2026 Grand Highlander's 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder makes 265 and 310. That is 9 horsepower and 1 lb-ft to the Kia, delivered through the same kind of 8-speed automatic.
• Cargo with all 3 rows up: the 2027 Telluride lists 22.3 cubic feet behind the third row against the 2026 Grand Highlander's 20.6. Kia takes that measurement with the space beneath the load floor counted in, and Toyota leaves it out, so the 2 figures do not cover the same space.
• Ground clearance on the X-Pro trims: the X-Pro versions of the 2027 Telluride ride at 9.1 inches, 1.1 above the 2026 Grand Highlander's 8.0. If the X-Pro is the specific version on your list, the Kia is the higher-riding vehicle of the 2, and on a washed-out forest road that is the figure that counts.

Neither of these is a wrong answer. The useful question is which set of trade-offs matches your week, not which one wins on paper.

• Choose the Grand Highlander if: your mileage is high and you drive all-wheel drive year round. A driver running US-40 daily, or climbing Chestnut Ridge on the commute, banks the efficiency difference every day rather than on the occasional long trip. The Toyota also fits if the back is usually loaded with 5 people still aboard, since that is the configuration where its cargo lead is widest. Same if you want the 8.0-inch clearance figure without weighing which Telluride version carries which number.
• Choose the Telluride if: you are keeping this one for the long haul, or the entry price is what decides the purchase. A buyer heading well past 100,000 miles is buying coverage as much as a vehicle. The X-Pro is the other reason: if that is the version you want, its 9.1 inches of clearance is a figure the Grand Highlander's 8.0 does not reach.

Settle the configuration either way before you sign: if you plan to tow near the 5,000-pound limit, the powertrain decides it on the Toyota. The hybrid is rated at 3,500 pounds, while the other 2 powertrains carry the full 5,000. On the Kia, the factory tow hitch is optional, so confirm it on the exact vehicle in front of you. The numbers that move by trim deserve the same treatment: Telluride ground clearance and overall height both depend on which version you are looking at, so read them off the specific vehicle rather than off the model name.

What the numbers will not tell you is how either one climbs a grade with 7 people aboard, or how the third row treats an adult on a 2-hour drive. That part takes a seat and a set of keys, back to back on the same day if you can manage it.

We sell Toyotas, so the Grand Highlander is the half of this comparison you can drive with us at 1 Mary Jane Wood Drive in Uniontown, PA 15401. A new Telluride is not something you will find on our lot, so drive that one at a Kia store, ideally in the same week, while the comparison is still fresh.

A Fayette County winter is why the all-wheel-drive versions are the ones we know best here. We can give you the Toyota side properly: a loaded third row, and a climb steep enough to tell you something.

New Toyota Inventory

Our Toyota specials change monthly, so see our new Toyota specials for the latest deals on new cars, trucks, and SUVs. If the entry-price gap above is what you are weighing, that is also a conversation worth having with our finance team: we offer in-house financing, and credit history is only one consideration in the decision. You can also read about our Kelly Confidence Program.