Compared: 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe vs. 2024 Kia Telluride
Two boldly styled takes on family motoring square off.
Hyundai | Kia
Hyundai gave the Santa Fe a complete redesign for the 2024 model year, with retro-futuristic styling inside and out. The Kia Telluride is larger than the Santa Fe and has a handsome but more conventional design. Here is a look at how these two family-focused vehicles compare in terms of price, features, and fuel economy.
Hyundai
The Santa Fe's Base Price Is Lower
The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe comes in five trim levels: SE, SEL, XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy. The base-model SE starts right around $35,000 and includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, push-button engine start, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
In the middle of the lineup at around $42,000, the more rugged-looking XRT adds standard all-wheel drive, all-terrain tires, blacked-out exterior parts, navigation, voice recognition, a moonroof, and Hyundai's Highway Driving Assist.
At the very top of the range, the $48,000 Santa Fe Calligraphy includes nappa leather upholstery, second-row captain's chairs, a head-up display, a camera rearview mirror, and advanced Highway Driving Assist 2. Hyundai also builds a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Santa Fe. It is not included in this comparison, however, as there is no hybrid Telluride.
Kia
The 2024 Kia Telluride comes in 10 trim levels: LX, S, EX, EX X-Line, SX, SX X-Line, SX X-Pro, SX Prestige, SX Prestige X-Line, and SX Prestige X-Pro, with starting prices ranging from around $38,000 up to around $55,000. The base LX comes with push-button start, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, and rear parking sensors.
Work your way up the trim levels and you'll find features such as dual moonroofs, blind-spot monitoring, park assist, heated and ventilated seats, and Harman Kardon premium audio, among other luxuries.
Hyundai
The Telluride Has More Cargo Space
If your family runs tall in stature but fewer in number, the Hyundai may be a better bet. While the Santa Fe and the Telluride are close on headroom, the Hyundai wins on legroom in the front row with 44.4 inches, bettering the Telluride by nearly 3 inches.
Kia
The Kia Telluride offers seating for eight on certain models, compared with the Santa Fe's maximum capacity of seven occupants. That drops to six if you get a model with second-row captain's chairs. Should cargo space be a top concern for you, keep in mind that the Telluride offers more cargo space: 21 cubic-feet, compared with the Santa Fe's 14.6 cu-ft.
Hyundai
The Santa Fe Wins on Fuel Efficiency
Every Hyundai Santa Fe model, aside from the hybrid, gets power from a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 277 horsepower. The thriftiest front-wheel-drive, non-hybrid version gets 20/29/24 mpg in city/highway/combined driving, which falls to 20/28/23 mpg with all-wheel drive.
The off-road-oriented Santa Fe XRT is the thirstiest, netting 19/26/22 mpg. Most Santa Fe models can tow 3,500 pounds, while the XRT is rated for up to 4,500 pounds.
Kia
The Kia Telluride uses a 3.8-liter V6 engine making 291 horsepower in all trim levels. It's rated by the EPA at 20/26/22 mpg in front-wheel-drive trim, dropping to 18/24/20 mpg with all-wheel drive. The Telluride can tow up to 5,500 pounds.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
Written by humans.
Edited by humans.
Bob SorokanichBob Sorokanich is a car-obsessed journalist and editor who manages to maintain an old Mini Cooper and a love affair with automobiles while living in New York City. When he's not thinking about cars, he's riding his motorcycle, and when he's not riding his motorcycle, he's anticipating his next joy ride.
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