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 Volkswagen Atlas 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 Volkswagen Atlas doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.
Both the Palisade and Atlas 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 Atlas’ 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 Atlas doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 Atlas 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 Volkswagen Atlas, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
| |
Palisade |
Atlas |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| |
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
| 12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
| 25 MPH |
-18 MPH |
-10 MPH |
| |
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
| 12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
| 12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-10 MPH |
| 25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
| 25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
| |
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
| 25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
| 25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
| 37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-28 MPH |
| 37 MPH Low beams |
-34 MPH |
-2 MPH |
| Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.4 sec |
.6 sec |
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 Volkswagen Atlas has not been tested.
The Hyundai Palisade’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Volkswagen Atlas does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
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 Atlas doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Palisade and the Atlas have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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.

