Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2026 Buick Enclave

Both the Palisade and Enclave 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 Enclave’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.

The Hyundai Palisade has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Enclave doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Palisade is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Buick Enclave, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Palisade AWD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Enclave doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

Both the Palisade and the Enclave have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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.

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 Enclave:

The Palisade comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Enclave’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Palisade 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Buick covers the Enclave. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Enclave ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Enclave’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Palisade has a standard 800-amp battery. The Enclave’s 730-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Buick vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Buick is ranked 9th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Buick vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 1 place higher in reliability than Buick.

The Palisade’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 1 more horsepower (329 vs. 328) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 326) than the Enclave’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is faster than the Buick Enclave:

Regenerative brakes improve the Palisade Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Enclave doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

The Palisade stops shorter than the Enclave:

The Palisade has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Enclave doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Palisade’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Enclave doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .82 G’s, while the Enclave Sport Touring AWD pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Enclave Sport Touring AWD (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Palisade has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Enclave (7.4 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Palisade XRT PRO’s minimum ground clearance is 1.1 inches higher than on the Enclave Avenir (8.4 vs. 7.3 inches).

The Palisade is 8.4 inches shorter than the Enclave, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Enclave can only carry 7.

The Palisade has .1 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more rear headroom and 1.5 inches more rear legroom than the Enclave.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Palisade’s middle and third row seats recline. The Enclave’s third row seats don’t recline.

The Palisade has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Enclave doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

The Palisade’s standard front power windows open or close 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 Enclave’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically. The Palisade Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Palisade to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Enclave doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid has standard heated front seats and second and third row heated seats also available, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Buick doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Enclave.

The Palisade SEL Premium/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid has standard front air conditioned seats and the Palisade SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Enclave doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Palisade Calligraphy’s Remote Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Enclave’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2026 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Palisade XRT PRO higher than the Buick Enclave Sport Touring AWD.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Palisade as the 2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Enclave has never been chosen.

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Buick Enclave by over four to one during 2024.