Compared: 2024 Hyundai Palisade vs. 2024 Toyota Highlander
These three-row SUVs offer similar takes on space, convenience, and luxury.
Hyundai | Toyota
QuickTakes:
Three-row SUVs are often the family vehicles of choice these days. If you're hunting for an all-weather kid-hauler, you may be cross-shopping the 2024 Hyundai Palisade and the 2024 Toyota Highlander. Both vehicles offer comparable space, convenience, and all-weather capability. They differ, however, on certain features that might be important to you.
Hyundai
Hyundai Starts at a Lower Price, but Toyota Has Lots of Trim Levels
The 2024 Toyota Highlander starts at just under $41,000 for a base-model LE with front-wheel drive (FWD). Toyota offers 11 trim lines on the Highlander, culminating in the top-of-the-line Hybrid Platinum, which commands roughly $51,000 with FWD. All-wheel drive (AWD) is optional on every trim level, ranging from about $1,600 extra on the LE to about $1,950 more on the Platinum.
The 2024 Hyundai Palisade has a slightly lower entry price for its base-model SE: just over $38,000. The Palisade offers six trim levels, with the Calligraphy Night topping the range at around $55,000. AWD is a $2,000 option on most models but is standard on the Calligraphy Night trim.
Hyundai
Palisade Offers More Room for Passengers in Every Row
The standard seating package in both the Palisade and the Highlander can handle up to eight occupants, and each model offers the option to upgrade to seven-passenger spec with second-row captains' chairs in higher trims.
The optional panoramic sunroof eats up a little headroom for first- and second-row passengers in both vehicles. The Hyundai offers an inch or more headroom in all seats when comparing sunroof-equipped models; it also has a few more inches of legroom in the first two rows. The two models are pretty close in terms of cargo space, with the Toyota offering a little more room with the third row of seats folded and the Hyundai in the lead when you stow all the rear seats.
If you want leather seats at a low price, the Toyota is probably the better bet. The 2024 Highlander offers a leather interior as a no-cost option on the $45,000 XSE trim. With the 2024 Palisade, you must upgrade to the $49,000 Limited spec to get standard leather-trimmed seats. Nappa leather seats aren't standard until you reach the Calligraphy trim another level up.
If you want a big panorama sunroof, however, Hyundai is likely the better choice. The 2024 Palisade offers a standard dual-pane sunroof on the Limited spec and higher. In contrast, Toyota only offers a panoramic roof on the top-spec $51,000 Platinum model, where it comes standard.
Toyota
Highlander Has Better Fuel Economy Even Without the Hybrid Option
Whether you opt for the hybrid-powered Highlander or the conventional drivetrain, Toyota is likely to win the fuel-economy competition. The EPA hasn't released 2024 fuel-economy figures for the Highlander as of publication, but the most efficient 2023 Highlander — the FWD hybrid — gets an estimated 36/35/36 mpg city/highway/combined, dropping slightly to 35/35/35 with AWD. The FWD gas-fueled version does an estimated 22/29/25 mpg.
By comparison, the 2024 Hyundai Palisade is relatively thirsty, getting an estimated 19/26/22 when equipped with FWD. If you choose AWD, you can expect 19/24/21 mpg.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication) and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
