Both the Palisade and Pacifica 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 Pacifica’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.
With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Palisade is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Chrysler Pacifica, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Palisade |
Pacifica |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
-23 MPH |
-4 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-6 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
1.4 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-35 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.4 sec |
No Warning |
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Palisade 4WD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pacifica doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the Palisade and Pacifica have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Palisade has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pacifica’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
The Palisade’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Pacifica doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Palisade and the Pacifica 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, 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 Hyundai Palisade is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Palisade |
Pacifica |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
160 |
168 |
Neck Injury Risk |
19% |
29% |
Neck Stress |
161 lbs. |
230 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
42 lbs. |
56 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
94/151 lbs. |
75/194 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Compression |
43 lbs. |
51 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
351/306 lbs. |
440/251 lbs. |
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 Hyundai Palisade is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Palisade |
Pacifica |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
25 |
72 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
113 lbs. |
149 lbs. |
Hip Force |
303 lbs. |
395 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
54 G’s |
Hip Force |
189 lbs. |
764 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
223 |
293 |
Spine Acceleration |
45 G’s |
50 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Palisade is safer than the Pacifica:
|
Palisade |
Pacifica |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
68 |
167 |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
.94 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.18 in |
1.26 in |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
70 |
83 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-67 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
1.1 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
424 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.46 in |
1.97 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
491 lbs. |
1450 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Hyundai Palisade achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Pacifica last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.