A black 2021 GMC Acadia is parked outside of a hotel after winning a 2021 GMC Acadia vs 2021 Hyundai Palisade comparison.

It’s a Race to the Finish. Will the 2021 GMC Acadia or the 2021 Hyundai Palisade Win?

There’s no question that both the 2021 GMC Acadia and the 2021 Hyundai Palisade are high-quality vehicles. However, there are certain aspects of each of these vehicles that differentiate them from all their competitors. In fact, there are even features that put one of these SUVs about the other. So in a head-to-head race between the 2021 GMC Acadia vs 2021 Hyundai Palisade, which one comes out on top?

The 2021 GMC Acadia and the 2021 Hyundai Palisade are both considered to be mid-size SUVs. This means they both feature three rows of seating that allow for the comfortable ride of 7 or 8 passengers. These mid-size SUVs are also going to be more compact and therefore easier to drive and park than a full-size SUV would be. If you’re in the market for a large and comfortable family vehicle that doesn’t feel like an enormous beast to drive, let alone park, then you need to look at a mid-size option. Some people do not enjoy driving around the biggest vehicle on the market and prefer to stick with more compact and user-friendly vehicles.

No matter your reason for looking into a mid-size SUV, both the 2021 GMC Acadia and the 2021 Hyundai Palisade will serve you well. However, only one of these awesome vehicles is going to fit in your driveway, so you must decide what features and options are most important to you. What do you want in a mid-size SUV? Will you go with the 2021 Acadia or the 2021 Palisade?

A Race for Fuel Efficiency

With gas prices ever rising, nowadays drivers are more and more concerned about saving money on gasoline, and one of the easiest ways to do this is by buying a fuel-efficient vehicle. When you buy a large family SUV such as the Acadia or the Palisade, you know you’re going to end up with lower fuel mileage than if you’d gone with a compact sedan or some other commuter car. However, just because you want to save as much money on gasoline as possible doesn’t mean you can always opt for the smaller vehicle. Some of us just have a lot of people and gear that we need to haul around, and a teeny tiny commuter car is out of the question.

Thankfully, the folks behind the GMC Acadia were thinking ahead, and they worked extra hard to make an SUV that was as fuel-efficient as possible. Between the 2021 GMC Acadia and the 2021 Hyundai Palisade, the GMC Acadia gets the better gas mileage. Whether you’re using your SUV to cart kids around town, to and from school, and to local soccer games, or whether you’re using your SUV to show your family the world through regular road trips and family vacations, you’re going to get the best fuel mileage, and therefore the greatest gas savings, with the 2021 GMC Acadia. This is especially the case when you get one with the 2.0L turbocharged engine.

A grey 2021 Hyundai Palisade is parked on a brick driveway.

Unique Safety Features Put the Acadia Ahead of the Competition

In our modern world, cars are coming out with newer and better safety features every single day. But this year’s Acadia model features a safety feature that we wish every vehicle would include. That premium safety feature is the rear camera mirror.

Have you ever driven a vehicle that didn’t allow for a good view behind you? Today’s modern vehicles have solved this issue when you’re in a reverse situation with backup cameras. Backup cameras solve the problem of backing up in a vehicle that has an obstructed rearview. However, what about when you’re driving forward? Just because you’re driving in a forward direction doesn’t make the need to see behind you any less important.

Unfortunately, between passenger heads, seats, gear, luggage, and even tinted windows, some vehicles just don’t allow for much of a rearview, even when using the rearview mirror. This can make driving less safe than it should be. Speaking from personal experience, driving without proper use of a rearview mirror can also make the driver feel a tiny bit claustrophobic. However, the 2021 Acadia has solved all these problems and more with a rearview camera mirror.

What is a rearview camera mirror, you ask? Essentially, your Acadia’s rearview mirror will also come equipped with a camera view. This camera view takes images that are being filmed from behind your vehicle and puts them directly on your mirror. This allows you to always be able to enjoy a completely unobstructed view of the road and all the vehicles behind you, no matter what you’re stowing in your rear seat or cargo area.

Imagine a world where you can always see the cars driving around you and behind you. Imagine never having to wonder what those around you are up to because you’ll just always know. Knowing what’s going on around you allows you to predict unfortunate situations and adapt to said situations. When you know what’s going on around you, you are better able to prevent all kinds of accidents and dangerous situations. And it’s all thanks to the 2021 GMC Acadia’s rear camera mirror.

If you don’t want to use the camera mode, you can just switch your mirror to regular rearview mirror mode. This allows you to always be in control of your driving situation. Now you can drive in as safe a manner as possible, no matter your driving habits.

As cool as this rear camera mirror is, unfortunately, the 2021 Hyundai Palisade does not offer this feature. You’ll have to settle for a regular rearview mirror when you opt to drive the 2021 Hyundai Palisade. Both the Acadia and the Palisade offer some other pretty fantastic safety features, but if this is a safety feature that is important to you, you’re going to want to go with the GMC Acadia rather than the Hyundai Palisade. Who knows – maybe future model years and versions of the Palisade will offer such features as the rear camera mirror.

A white 2021 GMC Acadia is shown from the front overlooking a mountain.

What Are You Going to Do Next?

Are you convinced? While both the 2021 GMC Acadia and the 2021 Hyundai Palisade are wonderful vehicles, only one can be the best. If you’re looking for a vehicle that gets great gas mileage and also has some unique and user-friendly safety features that the competitors are lacking, it’s clear that the 2021 GMC Acadia comes out on top. In a race for the best fuel efficiency and the coolest safety features, the GMC Acadia again pulls ahead of the Hyundai Palisade.

While both of these midsize SUVs are great options, the 2021 Acadia is simply too good to pass up. With everything you could need and more options for customization than the Palisade, the Acadia is simply the better choice all around.

So what are you going to do with this information? You could file this knowledge away for the next time your friends are debating between the Acadia and the Palisade. There is certainly nothing wrong with knowing what you’re talking about and being able to help a buddy who needs some help with their car shopping research. Or you could go out and see for yourself why everybody’s talking about the Acadia. Take the newest Acadia for a test drive and ask the dealership all your nagging questions. There’s no time to waste.