Hyundai Palisade vs Honda Pilot

Standing out in the highly competitive midsize SUV market is never easy, but the Hyundai Palisade and Honda Pilot have managed to stay at the top of the segment for years. These three-row SUVs boast comfortable interiors, impressive driving dynamics, and a wealth of infotainment and safety technologies, so it’s no surprise that they both regularly feature on best family SUV lists. But how do they stack up in 2025? In this battle royale, we pit these two heavyweights against each other to determine how they fare in several critical areas and which reigns supreme.

Power and Fuel Efficiency Compared

Under the 2025 Hyundai Palisade’s hood sits a 3.8-liter direct-injection V-6 engine that produces a remarkable 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This formidable powerplant connects to an eight-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC. A front-wheel (FWD) drivetrain comes standard on most models, while HTRAC all-wheel drive (AWD) is optional on the SEL, XRT, SEL Premium, Limited, and Calligraphy trims and standard on the apex Calligraphy Night.

The 2025 Honda Pilot has an equally impressive, albeit slightly less powerful, powerplant. Its 3.5-liter V-6 engine produces 285 horsepower and connects to a ten-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Like its rival, the Honda Pilot comes with standard FWD, while an iVTM4 AWD is optional.

The 2025 Hyundai Palisade and Honda Pilot are evenly matched on the fuel economy front. When equipped with FWD, the Hyundai Palisade achieves fuel efficiency ratings of 19 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined. AWD models get EPA-estimated ratings of 19 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined.

With the Honda Pilot, you can expect fuel economy ratings of 19 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined for the FWD models. AWD variants achieve ratings of 19 mpg in the city, 25 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined.

Roominess and Comfort for Families

The new Hyundai Palisade and Honda Pilot offer equally roomy cabins designed to optimize passenger comfort. The Palisade provides 40.7 inches of headroom in the front row, 40.1 inches in the middle row, and 37.8 inches in the rear row. The legroom is equally spacious, with 44.1 inches in the front row, 42.4 inches in the middle row, and 31.4 inches in the third row.

The 2025 Honda Pilot’s dimensions are similar, with 40.5 inches of headroom in the front row, 40.2 inches in the middle row, and 39.3 inches in the rear row. As for legroom, you get 41 inches in the front row, 40.8 inches in the center row, and 32.5 inches in the rear row.

Interior amenities are plentiful on both SUVs. The 2025 Palisade offers a range of premium seating surfaces across its trim lineup, including cloth and synthetic leather upholstery for the base and mid-tier trims and genuine leather seating on higher models. Other standard and optional features available on this model include eight-way power driver and front passenger seats, heated and ventilated seats, and a two-tone leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The 2025 Honda Pilot also has many seating options, ranging from cloth seats on the base trim to synthetic leather and perforated leather on higher models. However, while the Palisade offers heating and ventilation for all rows of seats, particularly on its higher models, they’re only available for the first two rows of the Pilot. Even so, it boasts other comfort amenities, including power front seats with a memory driver seat and a power moonroof on higher models.

Tech, Audio, and Safety Features That Matter for Your Family

The new Hyundai Palisade and the Honda Pilot perform equally well on the safety front thanks to their robust driver-assistance technology suites. Every model in the 2025 Hyundai Palisade lineup comes with Hyundai’s advanced Smart Sense technology, which integrates standard features such as smart cruise control with stop and go, rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, forward collision-avoidance assist, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, driver attention warning, and highway driving assist. Additional driver-assistance technologies, particularly on higher models, include remote smart parking assist and parking collision-avoidance assist reverse.

The 2025 Honda Pilot comes with the Honda Sensing suite, which features many similar technologies. Standard driver-assistance features include auto high-beam headlights, forward collision warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, driver attention monitoring, lane departure warning, and traffic sign recognition.

Infotainment Display Size Comparison

Each model in the new Hyundai Palisade lineup comes with a 12.3-inch high-resolution touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. Dynamic Voice Recognition technology also comes standard, giving you hands-free control over most functions on the infotainment system. Other noteworthy connectivity and entertainment features include a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot, Passenger Talk in-car intercom, and a 12-speaker Harman-Kardon premium audio system.

The 2025 Honda Pilot’s infotainment system feels unremarkable when pitted against the Palisade. Its base Sport trim is outfitted with a 7-inch center touch screen, while higher models come with a 9-inch screen, which is still small compared to the Palisade. Nevertheless, Pilot displays feature wireless smartphone integration, allowing you to conveniently make calls and send messages right from the infotainment system. Other notable technologies include a wireless phone charger, Bluetooth audio streaming, multi-zone audio, CabinTalk in-car intercom, and a 245-watt nine-speaker audio system.

Get Behind the Wheel of the New Palisade at Titus-Will Hyundai

While the 2025 Hyundai Palisade and the Honda Pilot are similar, each has an edge in certain areas. The Palisade offers a more powerful engine and a more advanced infotainment system with a larger display and plenty of family-friendly technologies, while the Pilot has a more upscale interior with plenty of comfort amenities and a remarkably large number of standard driver-assistance features, even in its entry-level model. If you’re still unsure which to buy, schedule a test drive of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade at Titus-Will Hyundai in Olympia, Washington, to discover whether it better suits your needs.

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