Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 506 and 554 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Volkswagen Atlas has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2022 for the Atlas and 2021 and 2022 for the Telluride.
Volkswagen Atlas
Kia Telluride
By age group
| Model years | Atlas | Telluride | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | n/a | n/a | About even |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 783 | n/a | About even |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 443 | 554 | Atlas |
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.
Year by year
| Year | Atlas | Telluride |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | n/a | n/a |
| 2013 | n/a | n/a |
| 2014 | n/a | n/a |
| 2015 | n/a | n/a |
| 2016 | n/a | n/a |
| 2017 | n/a | n/a |
| 2018 | 783 | n/a |
| 2019 | 595 | n/a |
| 2020 | 46 | 1,038 |
| 2021 | 663 | 402 |
| 2022 | 347 | 331 |
| 2023 | Too new | Too new |
| 2024 | Too new | Too new |
Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.
Questions
Is the Atlas or Telluride more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 506 and 554 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Volkswagen Atlas has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2022 for the Atlas and 2021 and 2022 for the Telluride.
Which Atlas and Telluride years should I avoid?
For the Atlas: 2018, 2021. For the Telluride: 2020.