2023 Kia Telluride X-Pro vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee L 4x4: Which 3-Row SUV Is More Dirt-Ready?

This has been typed before, but we'll repeat it: Americans have a seemingly unquenchable thirst for three-row SUVs. They're this century's midsize family sedan—in many cases, today's three-row SUVs are actually based on midsize car platforms. No time to debate the merits of such a trend; rather, today we'll focus on what to do if your helicopter-parenting obligations include the occasional trip over some unpaved roads. What do you do with your car-based crossover then? Brands are increasingly trying to butch these up, and the latest example are the new X-Pro variants of the 2023 Kia Telluride. To put its off-road upgrades to the test, we're pitting it against the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L 4x4 Overland. That's right, Kia versus Jeep.

On paper, certain aspects of these two family machines are remarkably close: horsepower, torque, and even weight, for instance. In other areas, like size and price, there's a bit of a gap. A similarly priced Jeep can easily be configured, so we feel the similarities outweigh the differences, and the Jeep's off-road heritage serves as the perfect measuring stick for the Kia's new X-Pro off-road aspirations; the X-Pro's suspension is raised 0.4 inch, and its 18-inch wheels wear rugged Continental all-terrain tires. So, which of these two three-rows is better than the other off-road while still delivering the around-town refinement and versatility customers are clamoring for?

When the Kia Telluride first appeared on the scene for 2020, it was the hot new thing. We loved the handsomely boxy rig, naming it our 2020 SUV of the Year, and its strong design helped us choose Hyundai Motor Group's Peter Schreyer as our 2020 Person of the Year. But as all carmakers feel compelled to fiddle with their vehicles' styling every now and then, Kia reworked the Telluride's face for 2023 and … didn't improve things. The headlights look like the double-strip LEDs worn by Hyundai's Genesis luxury models, albeit turned 90 degrees vertical. Also, we dug the orange-colored rectangles that surrounded the old headlights (on nicer trims, at least), which were more distinctive than the new white ones. Most egregious, however, is a lower secondary grille that looks as tacked on as any afterthought and causes you to second-guess Kia's actual grille shape. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L is handsome, and from front to back it's just a solid, classic (if slightly conservative) design. Also, the tires on the Jeep are appropriately sized—the shoes worn by the Kia are undersized, and that SUV sits weird as a result. Winner: Jeep.

At least among the two specific competitors here, price is a big differentiator. The Jeep costs about $8,000 more. (A sub-Overland-spec Grand Cherokee L wasn't available for this test, so we made do with the pricier version.) Spend time inside both, however, and you quickly conclude the Grand Cherokee L's interior actually is about $8,000 finer than the Telluride's. The materials are better everywhere, and there's a strong sense that you're in a more luxurious vehicle.

The Kia is nice enough, but it's more clearly a mainstream offering in line with the brand's smaller Sorento and Seltos models. Hyundai/Kia/Genesis employs many ex-BMW folks—the originators of the "one sausage, three lengths" school of car design—so it's little wonder the Telluride feels like its less premium stablemates. The controls and the infotainment screens of both vehicles are quite similar, with Kia slightly edging out Jeep in terms of ease of use. But again, when it comes to which SUV we'd prefer to spend time in, it's the Jeep all the way. Unless we're talking the middle row—Kia wins here with wider and more comfortable seats. The third rows are, in the words of senior editor Aaron Gold, "equally useless."

Poring over the spec sheets, the previously mentioned similarities come into focus. Both come with biggish V-6 engines (3.6 liters for the Jeep, 3.8 liters for the Kia) and put out nearly identical numbers. The Jeep gets 293 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, the Kia a fine 291 hp and 262 lb-ft. Both use eight-speed automatic transmissions and full-time all-wheel drive, though it must be noted the Jeep has a transfer case with low-range gearing, a more serious off-roading setup, along with adjustable-height air springs. (The Kia has fixed metal coils.) Add in that the Grand Cherokee L is 8.0 inches longer than the Telluride (with a wheelbase 7.5 inches longer), and it's wild that the Jeep weighs 62 pounds less (4,965 versus 5,027 pounds).

Despite the negligible differences in power and weight, generally shorter gearing helps the Telluride smoke the Grand Cherokee in a straight line. The Jeep needs a full 7.7 seconds to hit 60 mph, while the Kia needs only 7.0. The Grand Cherokee L lumbers down the quarter mile in 15.9 seconds at barely above freeway speed (87.8 mph). The Telluride gets it finished in 15.2 seconds at 92.8 mph. The Kia two-and-a-half-tonner stops from 60 mph in 123 feet, bang on average for the class, to the Jeep's 132. The Kia's straight-line advantage is gone when it comes to instrumented dynamics. On our test track, not only is the Grand Cherokee capable of pulling (slightly) more g's on a skidpad (0.82 g versus 0.79), but the two are also basically tied around our figure-eight course with the Grand Cherokee L ahead, 27.3 seconds to the Telluride's 27.5.

Off the test track and onto the freeways of Los Angeles, it's quickly apparent that the Jeep is the better-riding vehicle. Does this conclusion come down to the Overland's air springs? Perhaps its longer wheelbase? Probably both, but it's a noticeable and notable difference between the two. "Right away the Kia doesn't feel as refined as the Jeep," Gold said. "It jitters more over the bumps and lacks the Grand Cherokee's heavy, substantial feel." Exactly. The Grand Cherokee L just feels beefier, in the old Wendy's advertisement, "Where's the beef?" sense of the word. We found the Jeep to be the quieter vehicle, as well.

That said, we do like getting onto said freeways as quickly as possible, so the Jeep's acceleration is disappointing. It sounds bad getting up to speed, too, whereas Gold liked the sound of the Kia. Neither sounded good nor impressed with its speed, but only the Jeep offers a reprieve: The Overland-spec Grand Cherokee L can be optioned with a more powerful 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 for an extra $3,995 to quicken things up.

Weirdly, the Kia proved to be the much better dance partner on curving canyon roads. "I'm starting to really like the way this thing drives," Gold said. "The Telluride has good body control, minimal lean, nice grip, and stability in these broad curves—a reminder of why we picked this thing as our 2020 SUV of the Year."

Up until right now we haven't mentioned tires. Well, friends, an alternative headline for this comparison could be, "A Tale of Two Sets of Tires." Remember, this is the Telluride X-Pro, and its 18-inch Continental TerrainContact A/T mud and snow tires do a lot of the heavy lifting off-road—mostly because they're pretty much the only functional upgrade next to the raised suspension. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland (emphasis incredulously added) arrived on Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 400 Plus mud and snow tires. Yes, folks, the Jeep shipped on low rolling resistance rubber more at home on pavement than off it. This one clearly isn't Trail Rated without the Off-Road Group option that has been announced for Overland but remains unavailable to order. These tires are mall-rated, and Jeep knows it. "Ecopia sounds like the new electric car ride at Disneyland," Gold said.

Our feeling is that the Ecopias do the otherwise impressive Grand Cherokee L a real disservice. Why are they there? I'd guess because Jeep is fully aware of how bad the miles per gallon would be, could be because of the old Pentastar V-6 and therefore pulled out all the stops to keep the numbers decent. As things stand, the Grand Cherokee L manages a nominal fuel economy win over the Telluride X-Pro—18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined compared to the Kia's 18/24/21—but at the cost of the Jeep feeling pretty bogus around any type of corner. I suppose Jeep figured that Grand Cherokee L drivers aren't interested in sporty driving, and Jeep's probably right. However, this handicap continues somewhat off-road, where you'd expect the Jeep to excel. It handily beats the Kia in the dirt, of course, but in part because the Telluride is not a very legitimate off-road vehicle.

Yes, we most certainly did. We still rank the Telluride at the top of our three-row SUV segment rankings, even three years after its SUV of the Year win, so validating the new X-Pro's advantages over the regular Telluride required taking the kiddie-schlepper into the mud and up some slick rocks. With the Jeep for comparison.

The Grand Cherokee L is better, full stop. The Telluride X-Pro was able to get up a mud-coated rocky hill, but it could only do so with momentum—speed built up before the steeper section of the hill—because its powertrain simply isn't made for off-roading. At one point the Kia's forward progress stopped, and dipping deeper into the throttle for more torque led to a burning smell from the all-wheel-drive system's center coupling. We were able to get it up the hill by reversing down and then just half-blindly charging up.

Its Ecopia-tire-related traction limitations aside, the Jeep could slowly and methodically claw its way up the hill. At the end of the day, a well-engineered off-roader is just that. We've seen Range Rovers, G-Wagens, and Lexus LXs do amazing things in the rough on what are essentially all-season tires, and this Grand Cherokee proved no different—just on slightly worse tires. That said, you can (and should) change tires on the Overland, but the Telluride will never grow in capability around its more aggressive off-road tires. Big win in the rough stuff for Jeep. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that if you must have a midsize SUV with three rows of seating and you go off-road regularly enough to require that capability, skip the X-Pro version of the Telluride altogether in favor of the Jeep.

Because this comparison test was designed to gauge our favorite three-row SUV's new off-road variant against the segment's off-road leader, the Grand Cherokee L, off-road is where it was decided. It was not an easy decision, of course, but Kia's X-Pro upgrades fail to elevate the still-great Telluride into the same beyond-pavement seriousness as the Jeep. Sure, the tires and the cladding and the small suspension lift beef up the Telluride's looks, but there is no competing with the Jeep's adjustable air suspension, low-range gearing, and history of performing well in unforgiving environments.

As a bonus, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is a more substantial-feeling and more luxurious SUV than the Kia Telluride. It ought to be, as it costs thousands more, but even less expensive Grand Cherokee Ls feel premium (though they do without the air suspension and low-range gearing that helped push the Jeep over the edge here). Again, if you must have three rows of seats and the ability to go over hill and dale, we feel that the Jeep's total package is worth the extra $133 or so per month it will cost you in this particular situation. Just be sure to budget for a new set of tires should you want to take advantage of the Grand Cherokee L's full off-road powers.

Verdict: The post-facelift Telluride remains a great SUV, but the X-Pro is show, not go.

Verdict: A mountain climber in flip-flops, the Grand Cherokee L is nonetheless the better SUV this day.