Compare the2023 Nissan ArmadaVS 2023 Hyundai Palisade

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Armada are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Hyundai Palisade doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The Armada has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Palisade doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Armada and the Palisade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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.

The Nissan Armada weighs 1145 to 1863 pounds more than the Hyundai Palisade. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Nissan Armada is safer than the Hyundai Palisade:

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

There are over 30 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Armada’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated below average.

The Armada’s 5.6 DOHC V8 produces 109 more horsepower (400 vs. 291) and 151 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 262) than the Palisade’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Nissan Armada is faster than the Hyundai Palisade:

The Armada has 7.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Palisade (26 vs. 18.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

The Armada’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Palisade are solid, not vented.

The Armada stops shorter than the Palisade:

For better traction, the Armada has larger standard tires than the Palisade (265/70R18 vs. 245/60R18). The Armada SL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Palisade (275/60R20 vs. 245/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Armada Platinum has standard 22-inch wheels. The Palisade’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Nissan Armada’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 Armada 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 Armada S/SV has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Palisade; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The rear suspension of the Armada uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Palisade, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Armada has engine 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 Armada’s wheelbase is 6.9 inches longer than on the Palisade (121.1 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Armada’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50.5% to 49.5%) than the Palisade’s (56% to 44%). This gives the Armada more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the Armada S/SV has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Palisade (9.1 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Armada to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Armada SL/Platinum’s minimum ground clearance is 1.3 inches higher than on the Palisade (9.2 vs. 7.9 inches).

The Armada SL/Midnight/Platinum 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.

The Armada has .2 inches more front headroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, 2.6 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear hip room, 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room, 5.1 inches more third row hip room and 5.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

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

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Armada. The Palisade doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Armada’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Palisade’s (8500 vs. 5000 pounds).

The engine in the Armada is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Palisade. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

The Armada’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.

If the windows are left open on the Armada the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or 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.

The Armada S/SV/SL’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Palisade SE/SEL/XRT’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Armada 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.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Armada is less expensive to operate than the Palisade because it costs $163 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Armada than the Palisade, including $217 less for a water pump, $85 less for a muffler, $89 less for front brake pads, $88 less for fuel injection, $76 less for a fuel pump and $446 less for a power steering pump.