Compare the2023 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2023 Hyundai Palisade

For enhanced safety, the Chevrolet Traverse’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Hyundai Palisade doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

The Traverse 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.

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

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

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

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 Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Hyundai Palisade:

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

There are almost 4 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 38 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 17th, below the industry average.

The Traverse’s 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 19 more horsepower (310 vs. 291) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Traverse is faster than the Hyundai Palisade:

Both the Traverse and the Palisade have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Traverses have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. A disable switch costs extra on the Palisade.

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

The Traverse 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.

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

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chevrolet Traverse, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Palisade.

The Traverse stops much shorter than the Palisade:

For better traction, the Traverse has larger tires than the Palisade (255/65R18 vs. 245/60R18).

The Chevrolet Traverse’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 Traverse 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.

The Traverse has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Palisade doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

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

The Traverse RS handles at .84 G’s, while the Palisade SEL AWD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Traverse RS AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Palisade Limited AWD (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

The front grille of the Traverse 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 Traverse 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.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Traverse High Country AWD is quieter than the Palisade Limited AWD (67 vs. 69 dB).

The Traverse has 2.1 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room, .4 inches more third row headroom, 2.1 inches more third row legroom, 4.8 inches more third row hip room and 2.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

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

The Traverse can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Traverse can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Palisade can’t be towed flat on the ground.

On a hot day the Traverse’s driver can lower all the 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Palisade doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Traverse has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Palisade SEL/Limited/Calligraphy.

Insurance will cost less for the Traverse owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Traverse will cost $135 to $3325 less than the Palisade over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Traverse is less expensive to operate than the Palisade because it costs $36 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Traverse than the Palisade, including $189 less for a muffler, $19 less for a starter, $127 less for front struts and $657 less for a power steering pump.

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

The Chevrolet Traverse outsold the Hyundai Palisade by 56% during the 2021 model year.