Compare the2022 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2021 Lexus RXL

Both the Palisade and RXL 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 RXL’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Palisade are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RXL doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Palisade and the RXL have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Palisade its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 63 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The RXL is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.

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 RXL’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Palisade 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the RXL. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the RXL ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the RXL’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Palisade for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the RXL (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Palisade’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Palisade has a standard 800-amp battery. The RXL’s 580-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 12th.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Hyundai Palisade is faster than the RX 350L 3.5 DOHC V6:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The RX 450hL requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Palisade has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the RXL Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

The Palisade stops shorter than the RXL:

For better traction, the Palisade has larger tires than the RXL (245/60R18 vs. 235/65R18).

The Palisade’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RXL’s standard 65 series tires. The Palisade’s optional tires have a lower 50 series profile than the RXL’s optional 55 series tires.

The Palisade offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The RXL doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Palisade’s wheelbase is 4.4 inches longer than on the RXL (114.2 inches vs. 109.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Palisade is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 3.6 inches wider in the rear than on the RXL.

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 450 pounds less than the Lexus RXL.

The Palisade has standard seating for 8 passengers; the RXL can only carry 7.

The Palisade has 38.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the RXL (155.3 vs. 117).

The Palisade has .9 inches more front headroom, 2.7 inches more front legroom, 2.3 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear headroom, 11.5 inches more rear legroom, 1.9 inches more rear hip room, 3 inches more rear shoulder room, 3 inches more third row headroom, 7.9 inches more third row legroom and 9.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the RXL.

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

The front step up height for the Palisade is 2.5 inches lower than the RXL (18” vs. 20.5”). The Palisade’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the RXL’s (19.5” vs. 20.8”).

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

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Palisade easier. The Palisade’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.6 inches, while the RXL’s liftover is 31.9 inches.

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

The Palisade’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RXL’s (5000 vs. 0 pounds).

The Palisade’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The RXL’s cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Palisade’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the RXL’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

Standard air conditioned seats in the front and second seat rows keep the Palisade Limited/Calligraphy’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The RXL doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

Insurance will cost less for the Palisade owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Palisade will cost $1025 less than the RXL over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Palisade is less expensive to operate than the RXL because typical repairs cost much less on the Palisade than the RXL, including $644 less for a water pump, $329 less for a starter, $1060 less for a timing belt/chain and $935 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Palisade will be $6039 to $8598 less than for the Lexus RXL.