Hyundai Palisade vs Toyota Land Cruiser

What's the difference?

The Palisade Calligraphy is a nice SUV to drive on road. It’s composed and refined, and as an eight-seater, it makes a sensible daily driver, especially for those of us with more than a couple of children.

My teenagers loved this Palisade because there were charge points for everyone – namely them – and that second row, according to them, is very comfortable.

It has a few niggles, but, while it’s not perfect, the Palisade Calligraphy does so many things so well that you are willing to forgive it its few quirks and AWD gives it a handy advantage over any of its 2WD rivals. 

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport is a total knockout when it comes to its looks, comfort and practicality. It’s stupidly easy to drive and has a fuel efficiency that should make you swoon but the servicing is a bit annoying and it’s not the most affordable option on the market. However, even though it hasn't benefited from any updates this year, you don't feel like you're missing out on any luxuries.

My son adores it, wants it and will be very disappointed when we hand it back. Naturally, he gives it a 10/10.

This is a nice looking SUV in a generic, non-offensive way.

The Calligraphy is in the top ranks of the Palisade range, so, in terms of design you'd expect it to be a bit easy on the eye and it is, especially the exterior, from the big grille all the way back.

Our test vehicle’s colour looks a lot like black to me. Hyundai calls it 'Robust Emerald' and I started to not strongly dislike it after a few days.

The interior has a real premium look and feel to it with Nappa leather accents and expanses of soft-touch surfaces adding to that prevailing overall impression.

This is a cleanly designed space – it's really quite easy on the eyes – and it's comfortable to be in. Bonus: the build quality is great, it all feels so well put together. 

This Palisade is also a prime example of a car maker effectively blending high-tech displays and controls into a cabin in a low-key way – nothing really seems out of place here and everything is easy to locate and operate.

Design is 100 per cent subjective. I love the look of the LC300 GR Sport because it features what I feel is a timeless, handsome shape.

For some, it may look too big and brutish, because you could throw a bunch of beefy words at it, and somehow, they’d all fit the roadside presence of this extra-large SUV.

What visually sets the GR Sport apart from its siblings are the multitude of black accents across the body from the rear badging, wheels and arches, door handles and roof racks. The grille is also distinctly different in its horizontal design with the Toyota badging capitalised in a bold white font for extra effect. 

Head inside and the cabin looks ruggedly capable with the dimensions of the centre console and dashboard complementing the external looks.

Technology looks upmarket, joinery is solidly put together and the leather upholstery adds to the plush comfort of the seats but there is a sense of capability in the physical buttons and dials still found on the dashboard.

Which is where I start to really like the LC300 GR Sport because everything is where you expect it to be - this is not a car you’ll get flustered in but nor does it have that generic Toyota look.

Once you've spent any time in the Palisade Calligraphy cabin, you get to realise just how comfortable it is. 

The driver and front-passenger seats are very comfortable and very supportive, and these are both power adjustable. The driver’s seat is 12-way power-adjustable so you can precisely dial in your position.

There are so many handy features to the interior that if you can find something that's missing, I want to hear about it. 

There are plenty of storage spaces and cupholders* and lots of charge points, including a USBs up the front and two USB-Cs for each row’s passengers.

* Hyundai reckons there are 17 cupholders throughout the Palisade interior but I didn’t count them so we’re taking the company's word for it.

The second row is quite spacious and on the right side of comfortable and the passengers have access to sufficient controls including climate control. 

The outboard seats are heated and there are controls for the fan on the back of the centre console. There are USB-C points on the inside edges of the front seats for the second-row passengers, a couple of cupholders either side as well as sun shades on each second-row window.

That’s helpful if you're trying to get your little ones to sleep, or at least prevent the sun from blasting them in the eyes. 

In terms of child restraint points in the second row, you have three top tether points and two ISOFIX anchors and in the third row you have two top tethers and one ISOFIX location. 

The third row is the domain of children, or two adults if you don't like them. There's not a lot of room. I racked the second row forward just a bit to give me some much-needed knee room.

There are a couple of cupholders either side in the third row and passengers there do have access to air vents. This is sufficiently comfortable for children, but it's a no-go zone for adults. 

With all three rows in use, there is a claimed 311 litres of cargo space in the boot area, which doesn’t mean a lot until you can see what fits in there, for better or worse.

Now, normally in a Family review, you might expect to see groceries and maybe a pram in the rear cargo area as an illustrative measure of what you can or cannot fit in there. Well, that’s not my style.

This is an AWD vehicle, and I drive on dirt roads as part of any AWD test, so I wanted some items from my vehicle-recovery kit onboard, including a set of four MaxTrax (vehicle-recovery boards, if you don’t know already), an air compressor (to re-inflate a punctured or intentionally deflated tyre), a first-aid kit, and a tyre-puncture repair kit.

All of these things fit easily into the rear cargo area with the third row up and theoretically in use.

That listed cargo space increases to 704 litres with the third row stowed away.

Then, with the second and third rows down you’re at 2447 litres.

Kerb weight is 2070kg and GVM is 2755kg, so you have a little bit of wiggle room in terms of how much you can pack onboard. A full-size spare sits under the body at the rear. 

The front row is roomy and even with a co-pilot, you feel like you have yards of space to settle into. The seats offer a wide seat and plush padding, as well as heat and ventilation functions which adds comfort for longer trips.

Individual storage is good with a large glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders and a large middle console that also features a 'cool box' function for drinks or snacks.

The comfort of the front is replicated in the backseat, which deftly accepts the height of my 183cm father. The width of the seat can easily accommodate three adults in relative comfort or, if you have a few tots in tow, three child seats.

Amenities and storage in the back row are what you'd expect for a top model in this class. The rear outboard seats feature heat and ventilation functions and there is dual air-conditioning and climate control, as well as, four directional air vents.

The fold-down armrest features two cupholders while the doors hold a drink bottle each and a small storage bin. There are also two map pockets and you can access the middle console cool box with a rear-mounted button.

The GR Sport does remind you that it's a big car with its 235mm ground clearance and my seven-year-old son declared I needed to hold all of his stuff this week as getting in and out is a ‘two-handed- operation'. Like him, I too am grateful for the grab handles and side steps in this car.

The technology is well-rounded and simple to use. The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and is responsive to touch. It has built-in satellite navigation and a Toyota Connected Services app with three years of complimentary updates. There is also wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, AM/FM radio and DAB+ radio but there’s not much else to access in this system.

The mostly analogue instrument cluster features a 7.0-inch tech screen and this is where you can do a lot of your customisations with display and safety.

The charging options are solid up front with the choice of a USB-A and C port, 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad. The rear gets two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket as well.

The boot is cavernous with its 1131L of luggage capacity and that’s with all seats in use. The squared shape of the boot and the 90-degree angle the boot lid opens to are quite practical, especially when fitting bulky items or loading things in the rain.

All GR Sports come with a powered boot lid and a domestic 220-volt socket for charging larger items while adventuring.

The LC300 series is offered in six grade levels for our market and the second-from-top-spec GR Sport model (the Sahara ZX is slightly more expensive) is on test here. It’s priced from $145,876 before on-roads which is almost $4K dearer than last year’s pricing but doesn’t feature any new upgrades.

Its price point also positions it more towards the top-end of the upper-large SUV market, compared to its rivals. Sitting at the top of that list is the Lexus LX500D F Sport at $180,061 MSRP and then the Land Rover Discovery D300 at $129,020 MSRP.

The most affordable rival is the Nissan Patrol Warrior for $104,160 MSRP but it's important to note that the Patrol is only available with a hefty 5.6L V8 petrol engine, there's no diesel variant. Which is something to consider when you're at the bowser.

In terms of luxuries, there is a heated steering wheel, powered front seats with heat and ventilation functions, leather upholstery and synthetic leather trims throughout. The rear outboards seats also have heat and ventilation functions and a sunroof comes standard.

The technology looks premium with a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system and a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster headlining the dashboard. There's some 'old world' charm with the CD/DVD player at the front.

Tech is rounded out by the wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in satellite navigation, Toyota Connected Services App, head-up display, three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, two 12-volt sockets and a wireless charging pad. There is also a 220-volt domestic socket located in the boot and a premium 14-speaker JBL sound system.

The key practical features include a powered tailgate, cool box (middle console), four-zone air-conditioning and climate control, push-button start, keyless entry and a full-size spare wheel.

Our test vehicle has a 2.2-litre four-cylinder, common-rail, turbo-diesel engine sending 147kW (at 3800rpm) and 440Nm (at 1750-2750rpm) to all four wheel via an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

This Palisade has an AWD system called 'HTrac' (Hyundai Traction) and it operates on a similar principle to most other AWD systems in city-going SUVs, and that is it directs power to the appropriate wheels to optimise traction. 

This vehicle also has multiple drive modes – 'Comfort', 'Sport', 'Eco' and 'Smart' – for on road and 'Sand', 'Mud' and 'Snow' for when you go off-road.

These off-road drive modes are absolutely no substitute for 4WD, but they are fine for when conditions get slippery, for example, if there’s a little bit of rain on the bitumen or the dirt track becomes slightly muddy.

The LC300 models all share the same 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel engine that produces a hefty 227kW and 700Nm of torque. Making it powerful enough to easily handle its 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.

The GR Sport has a 10-speed auto transmission and has a full-time 4WD system with high and low range. It also has front, rear and centre diff locks, so adventuring pursuits should be a breeze but check out Crafty’s off-road review on this model for more 4WD insights.

Fuel consumption is listed as 7.3L/100km on a combined cycle. On this test, I recorded 9.0L/100km. 

The Palisade has a 71-litre fuel tank. So, going by that on-test figure, you could expect a driving range of almost 800km from a full tank.

But remember you’ll be carrying more people and gear onboard so fuel economy will be affected accordingly.

It's big and has a lot of power, so it should be pretty thirsty ... right?

Wrong! The official combined fuel-cycle consumption figure is 8.9L/100km and my real world usage came out at 9.8L/100km after doing a mix of long open-road trips and some urban stuff.

Based on the official combined fuel cycle and the two fuel tanks, which equal 110L, you’d be able to get a theoretical driving range of 1236km.

This is an easy driving wagon. It's nice and comfortable, it's refined, it's always composed and it's always controlled and it's just an all around nice drive from the engine and the auto, which are a really good pairing. 

As mentioned earlier, kerb weight is listed as 2070kg and this Palisade has an 11.8m turning circle, so it’s not an insubstantial vehicle to steer around.

It’s not very dynamic, not very lively, but it has a nice consistent feel to it all – and being composed and consistent is important with something that's intended as a people mover, as a family vehicle because that's what you want. 

Ride and handling are well sorted out and, though there’s a touch of firmness to the suspension, ride quality is smooth in general terms. 

There are the paddle shifters on the steering wheel if you want a little bit more input into shifting up and down in the automatic transmission, but it’s rather clever so you can just let it do its job as it does that nicely. 

There are four on-road drive modes – Comfort, Eco, Sport and Smart. Smart tweaks vehicle characteristics such as engine output, transmission settings and braking to suit your driving style, and depending on which of the other modes you select, it will adjust those characteristics and/or more to suit the terrain or the conditions you’re driving in. 

And while this Palisade is impressive in terms of performance and driving characteristics, there are a few niggles. 

Acceleration is a bit laggy and it takes a heavy right boot to get the Palisade moving at pace.

Some of the driver-assist tech is often abrupt and intrusive. The traffic-sign recognition (or speed limit assist) is clunky. It detects and reacts to signs that don't apply at that time of day, say school zone signs, or it picks up on signs that don't apply to that section of road.

So, it's forever chopping and changing between speeds you should be at and speeds you shouldn't. You can adjust those settings or switch them off in the Hyundai app via the touchscreen multimedia system, but those settings return as defaults when you next start the vehicle. 

Now for some dirty talk. The Palisade Calligraphy is an all-wheel drive SUV wagon that does sufficiently well on terrain that would be moderately challenging for a 2WD vehicle. 

Our light-duty test track is sandy and there are some very shallow wheel ruts – nothing serious – and this Palisade handled all of the minor challenges well.

Ride quality over some of the lumpier sections was good. It's a bit on the firm side as you'd expect because this is a SUV designed for the suburbs not the Simpson, but it is perfectly reasonable on a very easy dirt track in dry conditions. 

And that’s the good thing about an AWD over a 2WD vehicle; you have that extra degree of traction, especially if you get into a traction-compromised situation such as a slippery wet bitumen road or a slightly muddy, but otherwise well-maintained, gravel route. 

This Palisade has three terrain driving modes – Sand, Mud, and Snow – which each adjust throttle response, engine output, and the automatic transmission, among other things, to ensure you keep moving safely with controlled momentum. 

If you’re planning to use your daily driver / family mover as a towing platform it’s handy to note that the Pailsade’s towing capacity is 750kg (unbraked) and 2200kg (braked).

The GR Sport is a massive car but it doesn’t handle like one. That's not to say it handles like a small car but it doesn't feel like a truck to drive.

The power is effortlessly gutsy and there's no issue keeping your speed consistent on hills. The 10-speed auto transmission manages its gear changes and power hits smoothly. The rumble of the V6 engine is also quite therapeutic when it comes time to tackle an overflowing causeway or muddy road.

The GR Sport feels solidly grounded and even on winding roads, the roll in corners isn’t bad at all. Less so than a Prado, actually. 

The ride comfort is very good in the GR Sport grade as it has special adaptive suspension and that means that you really aren’t bothered by the road surface. Besides some whistling from the roof racks, there’s also little outside noise and it feels refined in the cabin because of it.

The wide windows and high seating position offers great visibility all around but I'm very aware of how large the car is as I can't see my son when he walks around it. The sensors alert you but make sure all kids are accounted for before you start moving.

Despite its size, the GR Sport is very nimble to manoeuvre with a small 11.8m turning circle and steering that is responsive.

Parking has been no issue for me this week and while the 360-degree view camera is a bit too fish-eye lense for me, its clear and you get used to it pretty quickly.

The GR Sport is the only grade not covered by the LandCruiser 300 Series' 2022 five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Toyota doesn’t have any plans to get it rated but it still features all of the safety equipment of its top-spec Sahara siblings.

Standard items include AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping aid, lane departure alert, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree camera system, trailer sway control, parking sensors (front and rear), and a rear parking support brake.

Other safety highlights include an alarm system, SOS emergency call button, stolen vehicle tracking and an automatic collision notification system.

The GR Sport has 10-airbags but misses out on the newer front centre airbag.

There are ISOFIX child-seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top-tether anchor points. You can absolutely get three child seats installed but you miss out on a third row due to the grade level. Which might be a bummer for larger families who are wanting this spec.

Every Palisade is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assistance is complimentary for the first 12 months, renewed annually (for the life of the vehicle) if you have your Palisade serviced at an authorised Hyundai dealer. 

Service intervals are set at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest, and pre-paid plans are available over three, four or five years.

The latter costs $2445, which equates to $489 per service. Not cheap but not outrageous. 

The GR Sport comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and if you stick to your service schedule, you get an additional two years of engine coverage.

There is capped-priced servicing for up to five years or 100,000km, which entails a total of 10 services or two a year as servicing intervals are a pain at every six months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first.

Services are $400 which equates to $800 per year, which is a bit expensive but not outrageous for the class.