Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2025 Ford Expedition

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 Expedition doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

Both the Palisade and Expedition 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 Expedition’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 Hyundai Palisade has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Expedition doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Expedition doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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

Both the Palisade and the Expedition have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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 Expedition’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 Expedition. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Expedition ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Palisade’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Expedition’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 Expedition.

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.

On the EPA test cycle the Palisade gets better mileage than the Expedition:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Expedition 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 Expedition. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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 Expedition’s standard 70 series tires.

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

For better maneuverability, the Palisade XRT PRO’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (39 feet vs. 41 feet). The Palisade’s turning circle is 1.8 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (39.2 feet vs. 41 feet).

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 to 1000 pounds less than the Ford Expedition.

The Palisade is 10.7 inches shorter than the Expedition, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade is 8.6 inches shorter in height than the Expedition, making the Palisade much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

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

The Palisade has .3 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more rear headroom, 1.9 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more third row headroom than the Expedition.

The Palisade’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Expedition’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

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 Expedition doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its tailgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

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 Expedition 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 Expedition’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Palisade’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start standard on the Expedition only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

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

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 Expedition’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 Expedition.

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 Expedition 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 Expedition doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Ford Expedition by 45% during 2024.