Both the Palisade and Outlander 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 Outlander’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 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 Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Mitsubishi Outlander does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
Both the Palisade and Outlander 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 Outlander’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Palisade and the Outlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The Hyundai Palisade weighs 517 to 1191 pounds more than the Mitsubishi Outlander. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Palisade is safer than the Outlander:
| |
Palisade |
Outlander |
| Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
| Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| |
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| |
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Outlander:
| |
Palisade |
Outlander |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| |
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head Injury Criterion |
44 |
171 |
| Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
| Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.46 in |
| Torso Deflection Rate |
6 MPH |
8 MPH |
| Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1071 lbs. |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| |
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head Injury Criterion |
44 |
132 |
| Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Shoulder Force |
89 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
| Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Pelvis Force |
357 lbs. |
647 lbs. |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Outlander is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

