Pricing and Warranty Coverage

One good indicator of high competitiveness in an automotive segment is when there’s close pricing – and that’s certainly the case among these four models. There’s about a $2,500 gap between the Ford Explorer ($40,465) and the Toyota Grand Highlander ($42,960). The Hyundai Palisade ($41,435) sits near the bottom of the range, while the Chevrolet Traverse ($42,800) is only slightly less expensive than the Toyota.

Hyundai puts the Palisade in a category all by itself when it comes to warranty protection. Those safeguards include a five-year or 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and powertrain coverage lasting either 10 years or 100,000 miles. The basic warranties for the others in this comparison are good for three years or 36,000 miles, while their powertrain warranty stops after five years or 60,000 miles. Hyundai also includes five years of roadside assistance with no mileage limit, while Chevrolet and Ford cap their five-year programs at 60,000 miles. Toyota offers a two-year, unlimited-mileage roadside assistance benefit.

Ratings

Edmunds' professional reviewers gave the Palisade a 7.7 out of 10 overall rating, while the Grand Highlander earned a 7.3. The Explorer takes third place with 7.1, and the Traverse received a 6.3. The Palisade also scored above the others in specific categories, including comfort, in-cabin tech, and value. According to Edmunds owner reviews, owners also ranked the Palisade above these rivals. This Hyundai received an overall score of 4.6 out of 5, while the Traverse came closest with 3.9. The Explorer and Grand Highlander were tied at 3.5.

Powertrain

The Palisade is unique among this group as the only model with standard V6 power (for the Explorer, there’s a V6 upgrade available on the higher-priced trims). The Palisade’s rivals rely on turbocharged four-cylinder engines. In the Grand Highlander, this setup produces 265 horsepower, compared to 287 from the Palisade's larger engine. Turbocharging enables higher horsepower output in the Traverse (328 hp) and Explorer (300 hp), but the trade-off is the potential for more complex repairs later. The Palisade's V6 is naturally aspirated.

Seating Capacity and Cabin Space

Only the Palisade and Grand Highlander come standard with seating for eight (two seats in front and three each in the second and third rows). Traverse buyers can opt for an eight-person layout in lieu of the standard seven-person configuration. The Explorer, on the other hand, comes in a six-person arrangement that can only be upgraded to accommodate seven.

With front legroom of 44.2 inches, the Palisade offers more comfort than the Explorer (43.0 inches) and the Grand Highlander (41.7 inches). The Traverse is negligibly more spacious than the Palisade – by a mere one-tenth of an inch. Meanwhile, the Palisade's second row offers notably more legroom (43.0 inches) than the Explorer (39.0 inches), Grand Highlander (39.5 inches), and Traverse (41.5 inches). There's also plenty of room to stretch out in the Palisade's third row: its 32.1 inches of legroom matches the Traverse and tops the Explorer (31.8 inches). In addition, the Palisade’s maximum cargo capacity of 86.7 cubic feet is slightly more than the Explorer’s 85.8 cubic feet. This Hyundai offers similar storage space advantages behind the second and third rows compared to the Ford.