Compare the2024 Buick EnclaveVS 2024 Hyundai Palisade

For enhanced safety, the Buick Enclave’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 Enclave 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 Enclave and the Palisade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Buick Enclave 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 Buick Enclave 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 2 times as many Buick dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Enclave’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Enclave second among midsize suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Palisade isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 17th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick second in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked third.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick 2 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Enclave’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 Car and Driver the Buick Enclave is faster than the Hyundai Palisade:

Both the Enclave and the Palisade have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Enclaves 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 Enclave AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Palisade (21.7 vs. 18.8 gallons).

The Enclave 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.

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

The Enclave’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 Enclave stops shorter than the Palisade:

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

The Buick Enclave’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 Enclave 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 Enclave offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Palisade’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Enclave has 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 Enclave’s wheelbase is 6.7 inches longer than on the Palisade (120.9 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The Enclave Avenir AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Palisade SEL HTRAC pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The front grille of the Enclave 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 Enclave 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 Enclave Essence is quieter than the Palisade Limited HTRAC (67 vs. 69 dB).

The Enclave has 1.9 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.1 inches more third row legroom, 4.8 inches more third row hip room and 2.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Palisade.

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

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

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Buick service is better than Hyundai. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in service department satisfaction. With a 41% lower rating, Hyundai is ranked 29th.

The Enclave’s front and rear power windows all lower 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 Palisade’s standard power windows’ rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Enclave the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. 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 Enclave’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 Enclave has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Palisade.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Buick Enclave has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers wireless charging.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Enclave 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 less on the Enclave than the Palisade, including $77 less for a muffler, $9 less for a starter, $124 less for front struts and $181 less for a timing belt/chain.

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