Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2025 Ford Explorer

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 Ford Explorer doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

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

The Hyundai Palisade’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Ford Explorer does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Palisade and the Explorer 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 Palisade comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Explorer’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 Ford covers the Explorer. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Explorer ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Palisade for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Explorer.

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 Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 13th, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 3 places higher in reliability than Ford.

The Palisade’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 29 more horsepower (329 vs. 300) and 29 lbs.-ft. more torque (339 vs. 310) than the Explorer’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Palisade 3.5 DOHC V6 FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Explorer 3.0 turbo V6 RWD (19 city/25 hwy vs. 18 city/25 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Explorer 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 Explorer. 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 Ford Explorer (5 to 6). This means the Palisade produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Explorer every 15,000 miles.

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

For greater off-road capability the Palisade XRT PRO has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Explorer Platinum (8.4 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Palisade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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

The Palisade has 9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Explorer (161.9 vs. 152.9).

The Palisade has .8 inches more front headroom, 1.2 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more rear headroom, 4 inches more rear legroom, 4.4 inches more third row hip room and 1 inch more third row shoulder room than the Explorer.

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

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

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Palisade’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Explorer doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Palisade’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Explorer doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Palisade uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Explorer 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.

The Palisade Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Explorer doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Palisade Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Explorer’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

When the Palisade SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Explorer’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Palisade SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy/Hybrid has standard heated front seats and second and third row heated seats also avaiable, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Ford doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Explorer.

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 Explorer doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

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 Explorer doesn’t offer an automated parking system.