Compare the2022 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser

Both the Palisade and Land Cruiser 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 Land Cruiser’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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Palisade uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Land Cruiser uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Palisade and the Land Cruiser have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

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 Land Cruiser has not been tested, yet.

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 Land Cruiser’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 Toyota covers the Land Cruiser. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Land Cruiser ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Land Cruiser’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Palisade for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Land Cruiser (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Palisade has a standard 800-amp battery. The Land Cruiser’s 650-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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 19th, below the industry average.

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

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Palisade’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be disabled at the start of a trip with its optional disable switch. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Palisade higher (5 out of 10) than the Toyota Land Cruiser (3). This means the Palisade produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Land Cruiser every 15,000 miles.

The Palisade stops shorter than the Land Cruiser:

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

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Palisade offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Land Cruiser’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Palisade has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Toyota Land Cruiser has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Palisade’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Land Cruiser (114.2 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Palisade is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Land Cruiser.

The Palisade Limited AWD handles at .81 G’s, while the Land Cruiser pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Land Cruiser (28.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1350 to 1600 pounds less than the Toyota Land Cruiser.

Unibody construction lowers the Palisade’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Land Cruiser uses body-on-frame design instead.

The design of the Hyundai Palisade amounts to more than styling. The Palisade has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .33 Cd. That is lower than the Land Cruiser (.35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Palisade get better fuel mileage.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Palisade Limited AWD is quieter than the Land Cruiser (38 vs. 41 dB).

The Palisade has 11.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Land Cruiser (155.3 vs. 143.4).

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

The Palisade’s cargo area provides more volume than the Land Cruiser Heritage Edition.

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 Land Cruiser’s liftover is 31.6 inches.

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

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Palisade’s second row seats and pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the Palisade’s (not available on SE) optional third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Palisade’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Land Cruiser’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Palisade’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its tailgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Palisade SEL/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Palisade Limited/Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Palisade’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Land Cruiser has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The power windows standard on both the Palisade and the Land Cruiser have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Palisade is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Land Cruiser prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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 Land Cruiser’s cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

Consumer Reports rated the Palisade’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Land Cruiser’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

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

The Palisade’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Land Cruiser’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Palisade is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Palisade owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Palisade will cost $4155 to $6090 less than the Land Cruiser over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Palisade will be $28342 to $39834 less than for the Toyota Land Cruiser.

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