Compare the2025 GMC AcadiaVS 2025 Hyundai Palisade

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia 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 GMC Acadia 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 GMC Acadia’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 Acadia and the Palisade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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, available all wheel drive, front parking sensors and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Hyundai Palisade:

	Acadia	Palisade
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Compression	2 lbs.	42 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	32/13 lbs.	94/151 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 Acadia is much safer than the Palisade:

	Acadia	Palisade
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Hyundai Palisade:

	Acadia	Palisade
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	73 lbs.	113 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	113	189
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	14 inches
Hip Force	721 lbs.	724 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Palisade:

	Acadia	Palisade
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	55	68
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.47 in	.55 in
Shoulder Force	-156 lbs.	156 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.79 in	1.18 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	6 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	915 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Force	-312 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.06 in	1.46 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The GMC Acadia achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2025 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated moderate overlap front crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Palisade is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

Warranty

There are almost 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator. The Palisade’s 180-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 37 more horsepower (328 vs. 291) and 64 lbs.-ft. more torque (326 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Palisade FWD (20 city/27 hwy vs. 19 city/26 hwy).

The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Palisade (21.7 vs. 18.8 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Palisade doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia stops much shorter than the Palisade:

	Acadia	Palisade
60 to 0 MPH	113 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the Palisade (255/55R20 vs. 245/60R18). The Acadia Denali’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Palisade (275/45R22 vs. 245/60R18).

The Acadia Denali’s optional 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 Acadia Denali offers optional 22-inch wheels. The Palisade’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Hyundai Palisade only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Palisade doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 6.7 inches longer than on the Palisade (120.9 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .81 G’s, while the Palisade Limited HTRAC pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia Denali AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Palisade Limited HTRAC (27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia 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.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Palisade doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia has 1.9 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, .8 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear hip room, 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room, .4 inches more third row headroom, .7 inches more third row legroom, 4.9 inches more third row hip room and 2.7 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

Cargo Capacity

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

	Acadia	Palisade
Behind Third Seat	23 cubic feet	18 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	57.3 cubic feet	45.8 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	97.5 cubic feet	86.4 cubic feet

Ergonomics

The Acadia’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Palisade does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Acadia’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Palisade’s standard power windows’ rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Acadia the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Palisade can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Both the GMC Acadia and Hyundai Palisade offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Acadia 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.

The Acadia has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Palisade SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Night.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the GMC Acadia has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Night offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

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

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