Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2025 Hyundai Palisade

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Palisade have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Palisade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Palisade are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Hyundai Palisade doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The Palisade has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Palisade doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Palisade achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Hyundai Palisade has not been tested.

The Hyundai Palisade’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Hyundai Palisade does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Palisade and the Palisade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all-wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Palisade is much safer than the Palisade:

	Palisade	Palisade
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	MARGINAL
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	POOR

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4189-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Palisade is safer than the Palisade:

	Palisade	Palisade
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	44	68
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Torso Max Deflection	1.1 in	1.18 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	759 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	44	70
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.35 in	.55 in
Shoulder Force	89 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.38 in	1.46 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	357 lbs.	491 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Hyundai Palisade (built after November 2025) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2026 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test, and a “Good” score in the revised vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention test. The Palisade is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2026.

The Palisade’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 38 more horsepower (329 vs. 291) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Palisade 4 cyl. hybrid gas is faster than the Hyundai Palisade:

	Palisade	Palisade
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	7.1 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	15.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	96.1 MPH	89.1 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Palisade gets better mileage than the Palisade:

			MPG
Palisade
	FWD	Blue 2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	33 city/35 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	31 city/32 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	29 city/30 hwy
Palisade
	FWD	3.8 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.8 DOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Palisade Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Palisade doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Palisade higher (6 out of 10) than the Hyundai Palisade (5). This means the Palisade produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Palisade every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Palisade’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Palisade:

	Palisade	Palisade
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	12 inches

The Palisade’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Palisade are solid, not vented.

The Palisade stops much shorter than the Palisade:

	Palisade	Palisade
70 to 0 MPH	172 feet	182 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	132 feet	Consumer Reports

For better traction, the Palisade Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Palisade (265/45R21 vs. 245/60R18).

The Palisade Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Palisade’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Palisade Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Palisade’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Palisade’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Palisade doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Palisade’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Palisade (116.9 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .83 G’s, while the Palisade SEL HTRAC pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Palisade Limited HTRAC (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Palisade XRT PRO has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Palisade (8.4 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Palisade uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Palisade doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC is quieter than the Palisade Limited HTRAC:

	Palisade	Palisade
At idle	34 dB	38 dB
Full-Throttle	71 dB	74 dB
70 MPH Cruising	67 dB	69 dB

The Palisade has 6.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Palisade (161.9 vs. 155.3).

The Palisade has .8 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more front hip room, .2 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, .2 inches more rear shoulder room, .7 inches more third row legroom, 1.6 inches more third row hip room and .4 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

The Palisade’s cargo area provides more volume than the Palisade.

	Palisade	Palisade
Behind Third Seat	19.1 cubic feet	18 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	46.3 cubic feet	45.8 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	86.7 cubic feet	86.4 cubic feet

The Palisade’s cargo area is larger than the Palisade’s in almost every dimension:

	Palisade	Palisade
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	21.9”/50”/85.4”	20.8”/49”/82.5”
Max Width	53.4”	53.7”
Min Width	45.6”	43.4”
Height	33”	30.5”

The Palisade has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Palisade doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

On a hot day the Palisade’s driver can lower the front windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Palisade can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Both the Hyundai Palisade and Hyundai Palisade offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Palisade offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Palisade’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Palisade and the Hyundai Palisade, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Palisade as the 2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Palisade has never been chosen.