Kia Telluride vs Honda Pilot
Summary
Shared ground first: both tow 5,000 lb, both seat eight, and third-row legroom is within 0.4 in (32.5 in Pilot, 32.1 in Telluride) — a children-and-short-trips row in either.
The Telluride carries more: 22.3 vs 18.6 cu ft behind the third row, and its 43 in of second-row legroom beats the Pilot's 40.8. It also starts lower — $39,190 against $42,395.
The Pilot's case is overhead and on paper: 39.3 in of third-row headroom against 37.4 — the largest gap on this page — and a third-row safety record verified entirely from prose, where the Telluride's stays marked partial.
The numbers, side by side
| Spec | Kia Telluride | Honda Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| MSRP range | $39,190 – $57,590 | $42,395 – $55,195 |
| Space | ||
| Row 1 legroom | 41.4" | 41" |
| Row 2 legroom | 43" | 40.8" |
| Row 3 legroom | 32.1" | 32.5" |
| Row 3 headroom | 37.4" | 39.3" |
| Cargo behind row 3 | 22.3 cu ft | 18.6 cu ft |
| Cargo behind row 2 | 48.7 cu ft | 48.5 cu ft |
| Max cargo | 89.3 cu ft | 87 cu ft |
| Exterior | ||
| Length | 199.2" | 200.1" |
| Width (excl. mirrors) | 78.3" | 78.5" |
| Height | 69.9" | 71" |
| Capability | ||
| Max towing | 5,000 lbs | 5,000 lbs |
| Seating | ||
| Max seats | 8 | 8 |
| Second row | Captain’s chairs or bench | Captain’s chairs or bench |
Cargo and the second row are Kia’s
Behind the third row the Telluride holds 22.3 cu ft to the Pilot's 18.6 — a 3.7 cu ft margin, the difference between a full cabin's luggage fitting or riding on laps. The other cargo positions are nearly a wash: 48.7 vs 48.5 cu ft behind the second row, 89.3 vs 87 maximum.
The second row is the Telluride's other win: 43 in of legroom against 40.8. If the middle row carries adults or rear-facing seats daily, that 2.2 in is the number to weigh.
Headroom is Honda’s — by the largest margin here
The Pilot publishes 39.3 in of third-row headroom to the Telluride's 37.4 — 1.9 in, the biggest gap either sheet shows. Third-row legroom runs the other way but barely: 32.5 in Pilot, 32.1 Telluride. For an adult riding in row 3, the Pilot's advantage is torso room, not knee room.
Front-row legroom is close enough to ignore: 41.4 in Telluride, 41 in Pilot.
Safety: more hardware vs a cleaner record
The Telluride documents two LATCH lower-anchor sets and three top tethers in its third row; the Pilot documents one lower set and three tethers. On hardware count, Kia leads.
On verification, Honda does. The Pilot's third-row record is fully verified — including curtain-airbag coverage stated in words. The Telluride's stays marked partial because Kia describes its curtain airbags by door rather than by row; our coverage value is read from Kia's own cabin illustration, which is weaker evidence than prose and is labelled as such on the model page.
Price and powertrain
The Telluride runs $39,190 to $57,590; the Pilot $42,395 to $55,195. Kia is $3,205 cheaper at the floor; Honda's ceiling sits $2,395 lower. The ladders cross because the Telluride's top trims are hybrids and the Pilot's lineup is gas only — if an electrified family 3-row is the goal, only one of these offers it.
Towing is 5,000 lb on both, and both seat eight.
When each one fits
Kia Telluride: Cargo, second-row space, a lower starting price, and a hybrid option. The most vehicle for the money of the two.
Honda Pilot: Adult-friendly third-row headroom and the only fully verified third-row safety record of the pair. The pick when row 3 carries grown passengers and the paper trail matters.
Compare legroom yourself
Find your match
Six questions, deterministic scoring, top three matches across the full directory.
Take the quizWill you fit either third row?
Open the fit estimator preloaded with the Kia Telluride and check both models against your height.
Best-value family 3-row
The guide lens closest to this pairing — the whole cohort re-sorted on that axis, answer stated up top.
Deciding across the whole segment, not just these models? See Best Family 3-Row SUVs — every published model, ranked from verified specs. A cross-segment pairing gets both rankings, because neither one alone covers the models on this page.