Hyundai Palisade vs. Subaru Ascent: Here’s The Difference
Hyundai Palisade by Kevauto — CC-BY-SA-4.0
The three-row SUV segment remains one of the most competitive automotive markets. When you have a growing family, you’ll want to seat everyone in comfort and still have enough room for their stuff. Plus, family SUVs are known for offering a commanding view of the road, a comfortable ride, and advanced tech and safety features.
Hyundai Palisade vs. Subaru Ascent, which large SUV suits your family?
This head-to-head comparison between the Hyundai Palisade vs. Subaru Ascent is interesting. Both can seat eight passengers and offer a wide range of features and creature comforts. Here’s how they stack against each other.
Exterior Features
While the Palisade’s outline has a familiar SUV look, it sports a reptilian styling that makes it stand out. The Palisade SUV reminds us of a crocodile with its bowed grille and fang-like LED lights. The addition of a honeycomb grille with silver trims helps balance things and is further reinforced by the rest of the Palisade’s conventional SUV styling.
All Palisade models are equipped with LED accents, LED daytime running lights, and LED headlights. Other standard exterior features include LED side mirrors with turn signals, automatic headlights, Roof-mounted Center High-Mount Stop Light (CHMSL), solar front glass, etc.
Evident here is Hyundai’s philosophy of function over form. The Subaru Ascent is nearly bling-free and sports the iconic station wagon aesthetic. If you prefer your SUVs with a no-fuss look, you should feel right at home with the Ascent’s classic look. Otherwise, the Ascent certainly won’t help you turn heads as you drive by.
For the base and Premium models, you get 18-inch wheels as standard, while upper trims like Onyx, Limited, and Touring are outfitted with larger 20-inch alloys. All Ascent models have LED Steering Responsive Headlights (SRH), but only the top three trims get LED fog lights. In addition, all Ascent SUVs have raised roof rails for securing extra cargo loads.
WINNER: Tie. It all comes down to the buyer’s preference, whether they like a bold or classic design.
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Performance and Fuel Economy
Every Ascent houses a 2.4-liter turbo flat-4 engine mated to a continuous variable transmission (CVT) that sends power to all four wheels. The engine outputs 260 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque which feels adequate when plugging through highway speeds. Although ride quality is on-point, the powertrain is quite noisy at full throttle.
The Ascent with standard AWD tackles dirt roads and trails with relative ease. The base Ascent has enough power to haul 2,000 lbs, good enough for general applications. However, if you’re planning to do some heavy trailering, you’ll want to get at least the Ascent Premium for 5,000 lbs of towing capacity.
Meanwhile, the Palisade performs as a family SUV should. It does a great job of cushioning the road but still manages to be suitably quick. Under the hood, you’ll find the 3.8-liter V-6 engine paired with 8-speed transmission, capable of doling out 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. All Palisade has a standard front-wheel drive with the option to go all-wheel.
Performance-wise, the Palisade boasts an average but engaging power output. The engine is best in the midrange when doing highway passes and lane changes. Moreover, the Palisade has a maximum towing capacity of 5,000 lbs when using a load-leveling rear suspension.
The Ascent has EPA ratings of 21 mpg/city, 27/highway, and 23/combined. Conversely, the Palisade has EPA ratings of 19 mpg city, 26/highway, 22/combined for FWD, and the number drops to 19/24/21 for AWD.
WINNER: The Palisade has a more potent engine and transmission than the Ascent. However, the Ascent wins fuel economy with better AWD mpg ratings.
Interior and Cargo Space
Kudos to Hyundai for its clever space utilization and overall quality interior design that shine even with the base model. The driver controls are logical and intuitive, and the dash layout looks clean and sophisticated. Depending on the trim, occupants are treated to soft-touch materials or faux/genuine leather (Nappa leather for top-end).
The base SE comfortably seats eight passengers with 44.1 inches of legroom and 40.7 inches of headroom. A three-seat bench or two captain chairs are available for second-row passengers, with heating and cooling upgrades. Third-row seats have enough knee room for adults but have limited headroom.
The Palisade provides 18 cu-ft of cargo space behind the third row. Folding the third-row seats gives you access to a total of 45.8 cubes of trunk space and a large 86.4 cubes if you fold the second-row seats. Various storage options include 16 cupholders and a massive center console storage bin.
Although Subaru’s function-over-form philosophy is clearly at play here, the Ascent’s cabin design looks spartan next to the Palisade. The slightly skewed dash best demonstrates this function-focused approach. The top two trims have the most desirable cabin features, including heated seats, power-adjustable seats, leather upholstery, etc.
The Ascent can seat seven and up to eight people and leaves ample room for cargo. The front seats have 42.2 inches of legroom and 41.3 inches of headroom. Second-row passengers have 38.6 inches of legroom and available captain chairs in Premium, Limited, and Touring editions - cutting down seating capacity to seven.
Behind the Ascent’s third row, there’s 17.8 cu-ft of space for luggage and gear. With the third-row seats folded, 47.5 cu-ft of storage becomes instantly accessible and expands to a cavernous 86.5 cu-ft with both third and second-row seats folded. Furthermore, Ascent uses intelligent storage solutions like Velcro straps in the cargo hold for more storage space.
WINNER: The Ascent and Palisade are neck-in-neck for seating and cargo capacity. However, the Palisade has a more visually-pleasing cabin depending on your preference.
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Infotainment and Safety Features
The Ascent offers a 6.5-inch touchscreen display powered by Subaru’s Starlink system for in-car entertainment. Starting with the Premium edition, the standard infotainment system becomes a larger 8.0-inch unit. The system includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth support. A six-speaker sound system is standard for audio except for the Touring trim, which boasts a Harman Kardon Quantum Surround Sound audio system.
Safety-wise, the Subaru Ascent is a proud recipient of the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and a 5-star rating from the NHTSA. All trim options are equipped with Subaru’s EyeSight driver assistance package, including lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, high-beam assist, adaptive cruise control, and more.
On the flip side, the Palisade features an 8.0-inch touchscreen display, standard on SE and SEL trims. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration are standard. A larger 10.25-inch unit with navigation and traffic capabilities and an added 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster are Limited edition standards.
Like the Ascent, the Hyundai Palisade has earned top marks in safety, receiving the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-star rating. The Palisade comes with standard and advanced safety features such as blind-spot collision assist, rear cross-traffic assist, smart cruise control, lane-keep assist, and many more.
WINNER: The Palisade has a more luxurious and feature-packed infotainment system. Both are top contenders in safety.
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Hyundai Palisade vs. Subaru Ascent: Which 3-Row SUV is Better?
Let’s wrap up our Hyundai Palisade vs. Subaru Ascent comparison with each vehicle’s starting prices. The base 2022 Palisade FWD is available for $33,150, while the base 8-passenger 2022 Ascent is $32,295 MSRP.
The Palisade has a leg up in performance, interior comfort, and desirable features. Meanwhile, the Ascent has better fuel economy and off-road prowess.
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