Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2025 GMC Acadia

Both the Palisade and Acadia have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Palisade has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Acadia’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Hyundai Palisade has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Acadia doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Palisade and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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 and around view monitors.

The Palisade comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Acadia’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Palisade 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than GMC covers the Acadia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Acadia ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Acadia’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Palisade for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Acadia.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 16th, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 10 places higher in reliability than GMC.

The Palisade’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 1 more horsepower (329 vs. 328) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 326) than the Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

The Palisade has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Acadia. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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

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

The Palisade has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Acadia doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

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 Acadia doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For greater off-road capability the Palisade has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Acadia Elevation (7.4 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Palisade XRT PRO’s minimum ground clearance is .6 inch higher than on the Acadia AT4 (8.4 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Palisade is 4.8 inches shorter than the Acadia, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade has .7 inches more rear headroom and 1.5 inches more rear legroom than the Acadia.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Palisade’s middle and third row seats recline. The Acadia’s third row seats don’t recline.

The Palisade’s standard front power windows open or close 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 Acadia’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically. The Palisade Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Palisade to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Acadia doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Palisade SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Acadia’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid has standard heated front seats and second and third row heated seats also avaiable, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. GMC doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Acadia.

The Palisade SEL Premium/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid has standard front air conditioned seats and the Palisade SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Acadia doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Palisade Calligraphy has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Acadia.

The Palisade Calligraphy’s Remote Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Acadia’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the GMC Acadia by over two to one during 2024.