Kia Telluride vs Lincoln Corsair

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair was introduced as a replacement for the Lincoln MKC, which had been around since 2014. The MKC, based on the Ford Escape platform, lacked the athleticism and modern cabin feel of its counterpart. The Corsair, riding on the new C2 platform shared with the latest Escape, marked a significant improvement. Lincoln managed to differentiate the Corsair from its Ford sibling, a feat that General Motors struggled to achieve with its Cadillac XT4 and XT5. The Corsair's design, featuring slab sides, blacked-out rear pillars, and straight belt- and rooflines, gave it a refined and larger appearance, similar to the Aviator and Navigator.

Inside, the Corsair's cabin shared design elements with its more expensive siblings, such as a flowing dash and floating center touchscreen. However, it didn't quite match their fit and finish, with more hard-touch materials present. The black leather and dark wood trim seemed to target older buyers, while younger buyers might prefer the lighter palettes with tan leather. The Corsair came in three trims: Standard, Reserve, and the new Grand Touring plug-in hybrid. The Standard trim included features like 18-inch alloy wheels, a power rear liftgate, and a 10-speaker premium stereo. The Reserve trim added 19-inch wheels, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, and a 14-speaker Revel stereo. The Grand Touring trim combined many of these features with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The 2022 Kia Telluride boasted a muscular design with balanced proportions and trendy blacked-out wheels and trim. For 2022, Kia made only minor changes to the grille pattern and added new badges. The Telluride continued to be available in LX, S, EX, and SX trims, with prices ranging from $32,790 to $44,590, plus a $1,225 destination charge. Our SX test vehicle, equipped with AWD and the SX Prestige Package, totaled $48,325. The Telluride's interior was well-organized and appealing, though the glossy plastic on the lower half of the cabin looked cheap, especially in the SX Prestige with its Nappa leather upholstery and simulated suede headliner.

For 2022, Kia added several new standard features, including a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, automatic climate control, Highway Driving Assist, and navigation-based Smart Cruise Control-Curve. The S trim gained a standard wireless smartphone charger. Despite the loss of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the Telluride's interior remained functional and family-friendly, with thoughtful details like overhead air vents, rear smartphone storage pouches, and USB ports in all three rows.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair offered two engine options. The base engine was a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder unit producing 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This engine provided adequate power, but the optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with 295 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, delivered stronger acceleration. Both engines were paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The 2.0-liter engine could be configured with either front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), while the 2.3-liter engine was exclusively AWD.

The Corsair featured unique drive modes like "Conserve" and "Excite," with Excite being similar to a Sport mode. The 2.3-liter engine provided brisk acceleration and confident cornering, even at high speeds, though there was some body roll in turns. The suspension was designed to absorb deeper potholes at higher speeds, resulting in a comfortable ride with some road noise. The Grand Touring trim added a plug-in hybrid powertrain, combining a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), battery power, and electric motors for a combined 266 horsepower. It offered 28 miles of pure EV driving, 78 MPGe in electric mode, and 33 mpg combined in hybrid mode.

The 2022 Kia Telluride featured a 3.8-liter V6 engine producing 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This engine, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, provided ample power for the Telluride. AWD models included a Lock mode for even power distribution between the front and rear axles. The Telluride offered eight inches of ground clearance, making it capable on snowy and muddy roads, though limited wheel articulation meant it was best suited for less challenging terrain.

The Telluride's driving experience was enhanced by a brake-based Torque Vectoring Cornering Control system and selectable driving modes, including Eco, Comfort, Smart, and Sport. The SX trim featured 20-inch wheels and 245/50 tires, providing good grip. The ride quality was smooth, with some body roll in corners, but overall handling remained confident. On the highway, the Telluride cruised effortlessly, aided by the excellent Highway Driving Assist technology. During testing, the Telluride matched its EPA fuel economy estimate of 21 mpg in combined driving, with our SX AWD model returning 21.1 mpg. The Telluride's towing capacity was 5,000 pounds.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair offered a spacious cabin with comfortable seats and ample storage space. However, the large lip when stepping in or out of the vehicle was a notable downside, as it posed a tripping hazard. The rear seats could recline and slide, providing a comfortable second-row experience with impressive legroom for a compact SUV. The Corsair offered 27.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, expanding to 57.6 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. These figures were average for the compact luxury SUV segment. The Corsair came standard with a power liftgate and offered a hands-free power liftgate option.

The 2022 Kia Telluride balanced form and function with an upscale, organized interior. Thoughtful details included functional grab handles, overhead air vents, rear smartphone storage pouches, USB ports in all three rows, and accessible rear cupholders. Dual-zone automatic climate control served front-seat occupants, while a single-zone panel served the rear. The Telluride offered SynTex simulated leather in LX and S trims, with real leather in EX and SX trims. The SX Prestige package added premium Nappa leather upholstery and a simulated suede headliner.

The Telluride's interior looked and felt more expensive than its price suggested, with features like heated and ventilated front and second-row seats, dual sunroof panels, and a Smart Power Liftgate. All three rows of seats were comfortable for adults, though the third row was less preferred. The Telluride provided ample storage space, with 21 cubic feet of cargo room behind the third row, 46 cubic feet with the third row folded, and a maximum of 87 cubic feet. The flat load floor made it easy to haul large items, such as during an Ikea run.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair came standard with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system running the SYNC 3 interface. The system was user-friendly, with a logical menu layout and a dock of buttons at the bottom of the screen. It included Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The steering wheel design allowed easy access to the voice control button. Our Reserve test model featured optional wireless device charging, a 14-speaker Revel premium audio system, and a head-up display (HUD) with crisp graphics.

For 2022, Kia made its 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system standard across all Telluride trims, including a navigation system with voice recognition technology. However, this change meant the loss of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which now required a wired connection. The voice recognition system was not conversational, which could be frustrating. Kia provided USB charging ports in all three rows, with airline-style ports embedded in the front seatbacks for rear passengers. A wireless smartphone charging pad was standard in all trims except the LX.

Kia Connect, a connected services platform, was standard and included a one-year free trial. It offered features like 911 Connect, safe teen driving alerts, remote engine start, cabin climate pre-conditioning, Find My Car, and smart speaker integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The system also included rear occupant sensors to detect movement and send alerts if a child was left in the vehicle. The Telluride featured a Quiet Mode to play music only through the front speakers and a Driver Talk function to broadcast the driver's voice to rear-seat occupants. Our SX test vehicle had a 10-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system, an outstanding head-up display, and a surround-view monitoring system with a top-down camera view.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair came standard with a comprehensive suite of safety features, including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. Additional features included traction control, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and a full array of front-and-side-impact airbags. Our test model featured the Lincoln CoPilot360 Plus suite, which added a HUD, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive LED headlights, surround-view parking cameras, front parking sensors, speed-limit sign recognition, stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, reverse automatic braking, and automatic parking assist. The Corsair earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus designation when equipped with high-feature headlights.

The 2022 Kia Telluride included numerous standard driver assistance and collision avoidance technologies under the Kia Drive Wise umbrella. These features included forward-collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centering assist, and adaptive cruise control with curve speed reduction. The Telluride also featured Highway Driving Assist, which combined adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance. However, it required the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel and could only slow the vehicle to a stop in an emergency.

New for 2022, the Smart Cruise Control-Curve system used GPS data to predict upcoming curves and automatically slow the Telluride, though this feature could be irritating. The Telluride also included Safe Exit Assist, which warned occupants of approaching vehicles or cyclists when opening a door. Our SX test vehicle featured Blind-Spot View Monitor technology, which displayed camera-based imagery of the blind spots within the instrumentation display when using the turn signal. The Telluride earned a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA, though it received four stars for frontal-impact protection for the driver and front passenger. The IIHS awarded the Telluride its "Top Safety Pick" designation, but it missed the highest "Top Safety Pick+" award due to headlight ratings.