Both the Palisade and Durango 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 Durango’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 Durango doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Palisade is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Dodge Durango, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Palisade |
Durango |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH |
-23 MPH |
No Slowing |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
No Warning |
37 MPH Low beams |
-35 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.4 sec |
No Warning |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Palisade Calligraphy/Night has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Durango doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Palisade 4WD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Durango doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
The Palisade’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Durango and is not available with SXT.
The Palisade XRT/SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Night has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Durango only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
Both the Palisade and Durango 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 Durango’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 Durango doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Palisade and the Durango 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, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
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 Dodge Durango:
|
Palisade |
Durango |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
19% |
34% |
Neck Stress |
161 lbs. |
236 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
94/151 lbs. |
339/364 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Stress |
132 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
43 lbs. |
86 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Hyundai Palisade is safer than the Durango:
|
Palisade |
Durango |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head injury index |
109 |
119 |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
0 cm |
9 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Max Chest Compression |
25 cm |
26 cm |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Femur Force R/L |
1.2/1.4 kN |
5.3/2.5 kN |
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
6%/0% |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
Tibia index R/L |
.38/.35 |
1.53/.59 |
Tibia forces R/L |
1.4/1.3 kN |
1.9/1.4 kN |
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 Dodge Durango:
|
Palisade |
Durango |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
25 |
46 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1.1 inches |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
189 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
14 inches |
14 inches |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Durango is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.