Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2026 GMC Yukon

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 GMC Yukon doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

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 Yukon doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 GMC Yukon has not been tested.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Palisade uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Yukon uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

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

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 Yukon has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

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

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

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 Yukon.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Palisade has a 800-amp battery. The Yukon only offers a standard 730-amp battery.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 16th, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 10 places higher in reliability than GMC.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is faster than the GMC Yukon 5.3 V8:

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

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Yukon with the 6.2 V8 engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

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 Yukon. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Palisade higher (6 out of 10) than the GMC Yukon (4 to 6). This means the Palisade produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Yukon every 15,000 miles.

The Palisade stops much shorter than the Yukon:

The Palisade has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Palisade flat and controlled during cornering. The Yukon’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 Yukon doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .83 G’s, while the Yukon Denali 4x4 pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.4 seconds quicker than the Yukon AT4 (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 30.6 seconds @ .51 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Palisade’s turning circle is tighter than the Yukon’s:

For greater off-road capability the Palisade has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Yukon Denali Ultimate (7.4 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1050 to 1200 pounds less than the GMC Yukon.

The Palisade is 10.9 inches shorter than the Yukon, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade is 7 inches shorter in height than the Yukon, making the Palisade much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Palisade’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Yukon doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The Palisade has 1.8 inches more rear headroom and 1 inch more rear legroom than the Yukon.

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

The front step up height for the Palisade is 4.1 inches lower than the Yukon (19.1” vs. 23.2”). The Palisade’s rear step up height is 4.2 inches lower than the Yukon’s (19.3” vs. 23.5”).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Palisade easier. The Palisade’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 32.8 inches, while the Yukon’s liftover is 37 inches.

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

The Palisade Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Yukon’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

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

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 Yukon’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

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

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the GMC Yukon by 32% during 2024.