2024 Kia Sorento
Best Safety Value: $33,365 (LX)
Base Price: $33,365 | Expert Rating: 4.7
Combined Fuel Economy: 26 mpg
A bit smaller than the typical 3-row SUV, the Kia Sorento is affordable to buy and easy on fuel. If you want even better mileage numbers, Kia offers Sorento as a hybrid and even a plug-in hybrid. Kia gave Sorento a mild makeover for 2024, which didn’t affect its safety credentials, including a TSP nod from the IIHS. Among our favorite safety features are LED headlights, heated outboard mirrors with integrated turn signals, and hill-start assist.
Every Sorento comes standard with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, safe-exit assist, junction-turning assist, a driver-monitoring system, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, lane-following assist, and high-beam assist. Stepping up to the S grade adds front/rear park assist, navigation-based adaptive cruise control with curve control, and a semi-autonomous driving system that can steer, brake, and accelerate under certain conditions. If our buying consideration was strictly safety, we’d stick with the entry-level LX.
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2024 Kia Sportage
Best Safety Value: $30,565 (EX)
Base Price: $28,565 | Expert Rating: 4.6
Combined Fuel Economy: 28 mpg
Boasting one of the more spacious interiors among compact SUVs, the Kia Sportage is available with an internal combustion engine or as a hybrid. In either case, it’s bristling with technology. NHTSA gave it a 5-Star rating, and the IIHS made the Sportage a TSP for 2024. Its safety features include LED headlights, high-beam assist, eight airbags, and hill-start assist.
Among our listed advanced tech are a driver monitoring system, lane-following assist, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, and rear park assist. Because the base LX trim has no option packages, you must move to the EX to gain outboard mirrors with integrated turn signals, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and safe exit warning. You must opt for the SX trim to add junction-turning assist and adaptive cruise control. The $2,000 the EX costs over the LX is a bargain because of all the other upgrades and goodies it brings. For sure, we recommend the EX grade.
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2024 Kia Telluride
Best Safety Value: $37,585 (LX)
Base Price: $37,585 | Expert Rating: 4.8
Combined Fuel Economy: 22 mpg
Winner of our 2024 3-Row Midsize SUV Best Buy Award, the Kia Telluride represents everything most families want or need in a large SUV. A kissing cousin to the Hyundai Palisade, the Telluride combines handsome styling with a smooth ride and cutting-edge technology. It maintains a spot on the IIHS TSP+ list.
The good news for Telluride shoppers is the entry-level LX trim comes loaded with many of our suggested safety features and tech. For example, navigation-based adaptive cruise control, auto on/off projector LED headlights, high-beam assist, hill start assist, and safe exit assist are standard. Heated outboard mirrors with integrated turn signals and seven airbags are standard, too. In its Drive Wise bundle of safety tech, Kia includes junction-turning assist, lane departure warning, lane-following assist, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Stepping up to the EX only gains an auto-dimming rearview mirror. Stay with the LX for the best safety value.
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