Compare the2026 Hyundai PalisadeVS 2025 Nissan Armada

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 Nissan Armada doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

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

Both the Palisade and Armada have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Palisade has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Armada’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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

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

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Palisade for 1 year and 12000 miles longer than Nissan pays for maintenance for the Armada (3/36,000 vs. 2/24,000).

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 2 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Palisade uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Armada requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Palisade higher (6 out of 10) than the Nissan Armada (5). This means the Palisade produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Armada every 15,000 miles.

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 Armada SV’s standard 70 series tires. The Palisade Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Armada Platinum Reserve’s 50 series tires.

The Palisade’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Armada doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Hyundai Palisade may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1250 pounds less than the Nissan Armada.

The Palisade is 10.4 inches shorter than the Armada, making the Palisade easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Palisade is 5.3 inches narrower than the Armada, making the Palisade easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The Palisade is 7.1 inches shorter in height than the Armada, 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 Armada doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Palisade has standard flush composite headlights. The Armada has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Palisade uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Armada doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Palisade has .4 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more rear headroom, 3.8 inches more rear legroom and 1.6 inches more third row headroom than the Armada.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Palisade has a standard rear wiper. The Armada doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

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

The Palisade’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Armada Platinum/PRO-4X.

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. Nissan doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Armada.

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 Armada 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 Armada doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Palisade outsold the Nissan Armada by over seven to one during 2024.