Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2026 Toyota 4Runner

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

Safety

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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 Toyota 4Runner doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

Both the Palisade and 4Runner 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 4Runner’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 4Runner doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

To deliver safety and visibility under dusty conditions the Hyundai Palisade’s backup monitor has a standard rear washer to keep the view clear. A camera washer system costs extra on the Toyota 4Runner.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Palisade has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the 4Runner Limited/Platinum/Trailhunter/TRD Pro offers Parking Support Brake.

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 4Runner uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Palisade and the 4Runner have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 4Runner:

	Palisade	4Runner
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Injury Chance	19%	27%
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Leg Forces L/R	360/382 pounds	382/1012 pounds
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh Rating	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 4Runner 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 4Runner’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 Toyota covers the 4Runner. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the 4Runner ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the 4Runner’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Palisade has a standard 800-amp battery. The 4Runner’s 776-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 27 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 17th, below the industry average.

Engine

The Palisade’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 3 more horsepower (329 vs. 326) than the 4Runner’s optional 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is faster than the 4Runner Trailhunter 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid:

	Palisade	4Runner
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	6.7 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	16.6 sec	21.1 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7.1 sec	7.4 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	3.8 sec	4.1 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.7 sec	4.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	15.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	95 MPH	88 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	112 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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. Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the 4Runner Limited/i-FORCE MAX.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Palisade’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the 4Runner:

	Palisade	4Runner
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13.4 inches

The Palisade stops shorter than the 4Runner:

	Palisade	4Runner
70 to 0 MPH	172 feet	178 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Palisade’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 4Runner SR5’s standard 70 series tires. The Palisade Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the 4Runner TRD Sport/Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Palisade has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the 4Runner SR5. The Palisade Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the 4Runner TRD Sport/Limited/Platinum.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Palisade has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Toyota 4Runner has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Palisade has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The 4Runner 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 4Runner doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Palisade’s wheelbase is 4.7 inches longer than on the 4Runner (116.9 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Palisade is .8 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the 4Runner.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC handles at .83 G’s, while the 4Runner Trailhunter pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the 4Runner Trailhunter (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Chassis

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 4Runner doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

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 4Runner doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the Palisade Calligraphy HTRAC is quieter than the 4Runner Trailhunter (71 vs. 73 dB).

Passenger Space

The Palisade offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the 4Runner can only carry up to 7.

The Palisade has 25.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the 4Runner (161.9 vs. 136).

The Palisade has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front legroom, 3.6 inches more front hip room, 3.4 inches more front shoulder room, 2.9 inches more rear headroom, 8.2 inches more rear legroom, .6 inches more rear hip room, 3.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.5 inches more third row headroom and .3 inches more third row legroom than the 4Runner.

Cargo Capacity

The Palisade’s cargo area provides more volume than the 4Runner.

	Palisade	4Runner
Behind Third Seat	19.1 cubic feet	12.1 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	46.3 cubic feet	44.8 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	86.7 cubic feet	84.4 cubic feet

The Palisade’s cargo area is larger than the 4Runner’s in almost every dimension:

	Palisade	4Runner
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	21.9”/50”/85.4”	10”/41.5”/65”
Max Width	53.4”	56”
Min Width	45.6”	44”
Height	33”	40.1”

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 4Runner doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Servicing Ease

The Palisade uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The 4Runner uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Palisade has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The 4Runner doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 4Runner’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Palisade to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The 4Runner doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The 4Runner offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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. Toyota doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the 4Runner.

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 4Runner 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 4Runner.

The Palisade has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the 4Runner Limited/Platinum/Trailhunter/TRD Pro.

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 4Runner doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2026 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Palisade XRT PRO higher than the Toyota 4Runner SR5.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Palisade as the 2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The 4Runner has never been chosen.

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Toyota 4Runner by 14% during 2024.

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