Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2026 Dodge Durango

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Palisade have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Dodge Durango doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Palisade 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 Dodge Durango doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

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.

The Palisade 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 Durango doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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	-18 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	1.8 sec	No Warning
37 MPH Low beams	-34 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.4 sec	No Warning

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Palisade achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Dodge Durango has not been tested.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Palisade AWD’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.

The Palisade SEL Premium/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid 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.

The Hyundai Palisade’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Dodge Durango does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

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, 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.

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	99	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	24 cm	26 cm
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Femur Force R/L	1.8/.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/.4	1.53/.59

The Hyundai Palisade achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2025 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated moderate overlap front crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Durango is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

Warranty

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 Durango’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 Dodge covers the Durango. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Durango ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Durango’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Palisade have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Durango.

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 Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 7 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is ranked 7th.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Palisade V6 is faster than the Durango GT V6:

	Palisade	Durango
Zero to 60 MPH	7.9 sec	8 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.6 MPH	86.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Palisade gets better mileage than the Durango:

			MPG
Palisade
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/25 hwy
	AWD	3.5 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy
Durango
	RWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/24 hwy
		5.7 OHV V8	14 city/21 hwy

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

Regardless of its engine, the Palisade’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Dodge only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Durango V6.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Durango R/T requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

Brakes and Stopping

The Palisade stops shorter than the Durango:

	Palisade	Durango
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Palisade Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Durango’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The Palisade has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Palisade flat and controlled during cornering. The Durango’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

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 Durango doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Palisade is 3.6 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Durango.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .83 G’s, while the Durango GT 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Durango R/T (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.8 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Palisade XRT PRO’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Durango’s (39 feet vs. 41 feet). The Palisade’s turning circle is 1.8 feet tighter than the Durango’s (39.2 feet vs. 41 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Palisade XRT PRO has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Durango (8.4 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 pounds less than the Dodge Durango.

The front grille of the Palisade uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Durango doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC is quieter than the Durango GT 4x4:

	Palisade	Durango
At idle	34 dB	38 dB
Full-Throttle	71 dB	76 dB
70 MPH Cruising	67 dB	67 dB

Passenger Space

The Palisade offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Durango can only carry up to 7.

The Palisade has 20.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Durango (161.9 vs. 141.4).

The Palisade has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 3.9 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 4.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.2 inches more rear hip room, 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.9 inches more third row hip room and 5.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the Durango.

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

Cargo Capacity

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

	Palisade	Durango
Behind Third Seat	19.1 cubic feet	17.2 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	46.3 cubic feet	43.3 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	86.7 cubic feet	85.1 cubic feet

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

	Palisade	Durango
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	21.9”/50”/85.4”	20”/50”/83”
Max Width	53.4”	49”
Min Width	45.6”	42.5”
Height	33”	36”

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

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Palisade’s second row seats and pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the Palisade Limited/Calligraphy’s third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Durango doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Palisade’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Durango doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Ergonomics

The Palisade Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction, infotainment and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Durango doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Palisade’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Durango’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The Palisade Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Durango’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Palisade’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Durango’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Palisade to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Durango 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. Dodge doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Durango.

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 Durango doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Palisade Calligraphy has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Durango.

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 Durango doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

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

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Dodge Durango by 84% during 2024.

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