2024 Kia Telluride vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2024 Kia Telluride was offered in Canada with a variety of trims, including the EX, SX, and SX Limited, alongside the more rugged X-Line and X-Pro trims, all featuring standard all-wheel drive. The X-Line trim added a centimetre of ground clearance and improved approach and departure angles, while the X-Pro trim enhanced off-road capabilities with 18-inch matte-black wheels and heavy-duty engine cooling, increasing towing capacity to 2,495 kilograms. Prices ranged from $53,433 for the base EX to $66,133 for the X-Pro trim. The Telluride's design, with its attractive proportions and styling updates, continued to draw buyers, although opinions on the updates varied. The interior, particularly in the SX Limited trim, approached luxury standards with premium Nappa leather seats, a dual-screen digital display, and thoughtful details, despite some less appealing plastic elements.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport reinforced its sporty positioning within the Range Rover family with a taller stance and a more athletic appearance due to its shorter wheelbase and chopped top. The lineup included Dynamic SE, Dynamic HSE, Autobiography, and SV Edition Two trims, with the SV Edition Two being the highest-performance model. The SV Edition Two featured 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood, giving it a sleeper look in Marl Grey. The interior boasted red leather upholstery, sport seats with light-up inserts, and illuminated steering-wheel paddle shifters, maintaining a minimalist aesthetic with a focus on luxury. The high console and dash created a cockpit-like feel, although it could feel cramped. Material quality was high, but the use of reflective piano black plastic was a downside.

The 2024 Kia Telluride was powered by a 3.8-litre V6 engine producing 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It offered a towing capacity of 2,268 kilograms, which increased to 2,495 kilograms in the X-Pro trim. The Telluride featured a locking centre differential and multiple driving modes, including Snow, Comfort, Sport, and Smart. It had a ground clearance of 20.3 centimetres, rising to 21.3 centimetres in the X-Line and X-Pro trims. The Telluride provided good acceleration and passing power but was not fuel-efficient, averaging 12.4 L/100 km in combined driving. Despite its firm ride at lower speeds, it offered a smooth and compliant ride at higher velocities, making it capable off-road.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine with 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. The plug-in hybrid powertrain increased output to 454 hp and 487 lb-ft, while the Autobiography model offered 543 hp and 590 lb-ft. The SV Edition Two used a twin-turbo BMW V8 with 626 hp, making it the most powerful Range Rover model. It could accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and had a top speed of 290 km/h. The Range Rover Sport excelled in handling with its sport-tuned air suspension, four-wheel steering, and brake-based torque vectoring, providing a luxurious ride and impressive agility. It also featured the Terrain Response system for off-roading, with varying ground clearance and approach angles.

The 2024 Kia Telluride offered a comfortable interior, especially in higher trims with premium Nappa leather upholstery, heated and ventilated seats, and a dual sunroof. The controls were oriented horizontally, with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and physical controls. The Telluride included thoughtful details like a digital instrumentation panel with scenic views and generous storage space. It featured a hands-free power liftgate and offered 594 litres of cargo space behind the third row, expanding to 2,463 litres with seats folded. The X-Line and X-Pro trims provided useful roof rails for additional cargo capacity.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, positioned between the Velar and full-size Range Rover, offered a two-row, five-seater configuration. It provided adequate headroom and legroom, with reclining rear seats and 20-way power-adjustable front seats. The Sport had 835 litres of cargo space behind the second row, expanding to 1,860 litres with seats folded. It featured power operation and an "access height" setting for easier loading. The Sport's towing capacity was 3,500 kilograms for turbo-six and V8 models, with plug-in hybrids rated at 3,000 kilograms. It offered more towing capacity than some competitors but less cargo space.

The 2024 Kia Telluride came equipped with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, requiring a cable for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It included a Kia Connect trial subscription, satellite radio, wireless smartphone charging, and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. The Telluride featured a blue-light filter, Quiet Mode, and a digital key function. It also offered a camera-based rearview mirror and a 10-inch head-up display with blind-spot warnings and a 360-degree camera system.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport featured a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment, with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration. The minimalist design had functional shortfalls, with limited physical controls. The Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two included "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers for a unique audio experience. The Meridian audio system offered up to 29 speakers, depending on configuration.

The 2024 Kia Telluride impressed with its standard driver assistance features, including collision avoidance, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and Highway Driving Assist. Safety feature upgrades included front parking sensors, junction cross-traffic alert, and a Blind-Spot View Monitor. The Telluride received a five-star overall crash test rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport included standard driver-assist features like automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring. It featured a 360-degree camera system and a digital rearview mirror. However, the parking sensors were overly sensitive. At the time of writing, safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available.