Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2026 Chevrolet Traverse

Both the Palisade and Traverse 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 Traverse’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 Traverse 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 Traverse 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 Chevrolet Traverse, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

Both the Palisade and the Traverse have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 Traverse:

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

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

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 Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked fifth.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 6 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

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 Traverse’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is faster than the Chevrolet Traverse:

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

The Palisade has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Traverse. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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

The Palisade stops shorter than the Traverse:

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

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .83 G’s, while the Traverse RS AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Traverse High Country AWD (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Palisade has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Traverse (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 .6 inch higher than on the Traverse Z71 (8.4 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Palisade is 5.3 inches shorter than the Traverse, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade has 4.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Traverse (161.9 vs. 157).

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

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

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 Traverse doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Traverse’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 Traverse 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. Chevrolet doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Traverse.

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 Traverse 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 Traverse.

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 Traverse’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 Chevrolet Traverse High Country AWD.

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

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Chevrolet Traverse by 9% during 2024.