Which One Should You Buy?
Finding areas in which the Grand Highlander Hybrid falls short is also tough, as it really nails many of the fundamentals with strong scores for comfort and technology. The areas where it falls behind the Palisade Hybrid have more to do with the Hyundai’s strengths than the Toyota’s deficiencies. But in this head-to-head matchup, those things matter.
Where the Toyota really falls short against its new rival is in the looks department. Lined up alongside its new Hyundai counterpart, the Toyota looks (and feels) less expensive by comparison with its toned-down exterior styling and admittedly highly functional but drab interior. It’s clear that Toyota chose function over form in this vehicle, but its competitor says, “Why not both?”
And though its cargo area is large, it lacks amenities. The second- and third-row seats have to be operated manually, and the mechanism to move the captain’s chairs can be hard to use, so children or older passengers might have trouble sliding the seats out of the way to get to the third row. This also means that if you want to lower all of the seats to fit more cargo, you’ll be walking around the vehicle a few times to get all of that done. In the Hyundai, since both of its rows are available with power adjustments, you can drop one or all of the seats from the cargo area with just the touch of a button.
1st place: Hyundai Palisade Hybrid
Edmunds Rating: 8.3/10
The good: Luxury-grade interior, lots of features
The bad: Could be more efficient
Similar to the Toyota, it was nigh impossible to pick just one good thing about the Palisade Hybrid, so we’ll go ahead and cheat again. The first thing to mention about this vehicle is its showstopping interior. Our Calligraphy model is the top trim available, and its cabin wouldn’t be out of place in a Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand. The dashboard’s design is “midcentury modern” inspired, and there isn’t a sharp edge to be found anywhere; it looks like a piece of vintage furniture as much as it does a dashboard.
The Palisade Hybrid is also feature-rich compared to its competitors, even if you extend beyond the Toyota. Lower trim levels that we’ve driven still have materials and equipment that give the SUV even greater appeal. The Calligraphy has Nappa leather upholstery, heated and ventilated first- and second-row seats, heated third-row seats, an integrated dashcam, and power for all of the seats so they can be lowered or raised from the screen up front. And we can’t forget the five-year/60,000-mile basic and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranties backing it all up.
