2023 Dodge Durango vs 2023 Hyundai Palisade

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade, as Hyundai's largest SUV, had a commanding presence on the road, further enhanced by its 2023 styling update. The new front fascia, with its bold strokes and squared-off grille, framed the new headlights, giving the SUV a stronger and more assertive look. Standard LED accents, daytime running lights, and headlights were complemented by LED taillights on the Ultimate Calligraphy trim. The body-colour mirrors, heated and powered across all trims, added to the Palisade's premium feel, especially with the Ultimate Calligraphy's unique grille and bumper. The 20-inch alloy wheels, standard in Canada, and the new Robust Emerald colour option, added a touch of elegance to the vehicle's appearance.

Inside, the Palisade's Ultimate Calligraphy trim offered a stylish and bright interior, thanks to the dual-pane sunroof. The premium Nappa leather and horizontal quilting echoed luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz. The seating configurations allowed for either seven or eight passengers, with second-row captain's chairs standard on the Ultimate Calligraphy. Heated and ventilated seats, along with a heated steering wheel, were standard, enhancing comfort for all passengers. The Palisade's interior was designed to accommodate passengers with ease, offering a spacious and comfortable environment.

The 2023 Dodge Durango, entering its 12th model year without a redesign, maintained its familiar yet attractive appearance. Dodge opted for clean, car-like styling, avoiding oversized grilles and instead featuring slim styling with forward-leaning headlights and a large lower air intake. The signature "racetrack" taillights at the back gave the Durango a distinctive look. The SRT 392 and SRT Hellcat models had unique styling features, including a Viper-like hood with functional air inlets and heat extractors, but these were subtle enough to maintain the Durango's overall shape.

The Durango's interior, while not as distinctive as its exterior, was still a pleasant place to be. Lower trim levels had materials suited to their price points, while the Citadel added luxurious features like Nappa leather upholstery and heated and ventilated front seats. The SRT Hellcat test car featured bold red leather upholstery, adding a touch of flair. The Durango's interior space was competitive with other three-row midsize SUVs, offering ample headroom and legroom across all three rows. However, the Chevy Traverse offered more cargo space than the Durango, which had 487 litres with all three rows in place, 1,226 litres with the third-row seats folded, and 2,409 litres behind the first row.

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade was equipped with a single powertrain option: a 3.8-litre V6 engine producing 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This made it competitive within its class, surpassing the Mazda CX-9 and Volkswagen Atlas in power, and slightly edging out the Honda Pilot and Nissan Pathfinder. The Palisade's eight-speed automatic transmission, with standard paddle shifters, provided smooth gear changes. In Canada, the standard all-wheel drive (AWD) system, known as HTRAC, demonstrated its capability during a muddy off-road test drive. While not designed for rock-crawling, the Palisade offered a comfortable ride and a towing capacity of up to 2,268 kilograms (5,000 pounds), with a dedicated Tow Mode for optimized shifting. Fuel economy was rated at 12.6 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 9.5 on the highway, and 11.2 combined.

The 2023 Dodge Durango offered a range of powertrains, starting with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine, standard on the SXT, GT, and Citadel trims. This engine produced 293 horsepower (295 hp with dual exhaust) and 260 pound-feet of torque. All Durango models featured an eight-speed automatic transmission, with AWD standard in Canada. The 5.7-litre Hemi V8, standard on the R/T and optional on the Citadel, delivered 360 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, providing a classic V8 rumble. The Durango SRT 392, with its 6.4-litre naturally-aspirated Hemi V8, produced 475 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque, achieving a zero to 100 km/h time of approximately 4.5 seconds. The SRT Hellcat, with a 6.2-litre supercharged V8, boasted 710 hp and 645 lb-ft of torque, reaching zero to 100 km/h in roughly 3.5 seconds. The Hellcat's performance was exhilarating, with minimal wind and tire noise at highway speeds, and the adaptive-damping suspension, Pirelli P Zero performance tires, and Brembo brakes made managing the power a breeze.

The midsize Hyundai Palisade offered ample space for seven or eight passengers, with 1,052 millimetres of legroom in the front row, 1,077 in the second, and 798 in the third. Passenger volume measured 4,397 litres, surpassing the Toyota Highlander. The second-row seating featured a standard one-touch seat slide for easy access to the third row, and ingress/egress handles facilitated entry. The 60/40-split seats in the third row and second-row bench seats folded flat, with power folding available in Urban and Ultimate Calligraphy trims. Cargo space was generous, with 509 litres behind the third-row seats, 1,297 litres behind the second row, and 2,447 litres with all but the front-row seats folded flat. A hands-free smart liftgate was standard on all but the base Preferred trim. The Palisade's interior was designed for passenger comfort, with HVAC vents in all three rows and two cupholders per person.

The Dodge Durango was available in seven-seat or six-seat configurations, with two front bucket seats, a three-seat second-row bench, and a two-seat third-row bench standard on SXT, GT, and R/T models. The Citadel, SRT 392, and SRT Hellcat models featured second-row captain's chairs, which were also optional on GT and R/T models. The Durango's interior space was competitive with other three-row midsize SUVs, offering headroom and legroom within a couple of centimetres of rivals like the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander. However, the Chevy Traverse offered more cargo space than the Durango, which had 487 litres with all three rows in place, 1,226 litres with the third-row seats folded, and 2,409 litres behind the first row. Small-item storage was generous, with a large wireless charging pad and well-placed USB ports. A power liftgate was available, but there was no power-folding third row.

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade featured a new 12.3-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system as standard, offering Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, HD Radio, SiriusXM satellite radio, and Bluetooth connectivity. A premium 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system was standard in Urban and Ultimate Calligraphy trims. Up to two devices could be connected via Bluetooth, and up to seven could charge using USB ports located throughout the vehicle. A wireless charger was standard on Ultimate Calligraphy. The Palisade's technology suite included a 4.2-inch colour driver info display, or a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster on Urban and Ultimate Calligraphy models. An in-car intercom and a colour head-up display were also available. Hyundai's Bluelink connected vehicle system, standard on all trims, offered remote accessibility and management features, including remote start presets and seat heating or cooling.

The Dodge Durango's lower trims featured an 8.4-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity. Starting with the GT grade, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto was added. Both versions used Stellantis's Uconnect infotainment system, with the larger screen featuring the current Uconnect 5 system. The Durango's infotainment experience was comparable to more recently redesigned rivals, with the larger touchscreen and Uconnect 5 offering a responsive and user-friendly interface. The SRT and SRT Hellcat models included the Performance Pages app, providing performance information on the main touchscreen. A 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system was available on higher trims.

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade earned a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It came with Hyundai’s Smart Sense suite of safety features as standard, including forward collision avoidance, driver attention warning, high beam assist, and lane-keeping assist. Blind-spot collision avoidance and rear cross-traffic collision avoidance were newly standard on all Palisades. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go was also standard, along with Hyundai’s Highway Driving Assist I and II on higher trims. A full-display digital rearview mirror and safe exit warning were standard on Ultimate Calligraphy, and rear seat occupant alert was standard on all trims.

The 2023 Dodge Durango received mixed results from the IIHS, with top "Good" marks in some tests but a "Marginal" score in the driver-side small overlap front test. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the Durango a four-star overall safety rating, with five stars in the side crash test and four stars in the frontal crash test. AWD versions received a three-star rollover resistance rating. The Durango offered limited standard driver-assist tech, with blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert standard on all trims. Forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking were not standard but available on higher trims.