Hyundai Palisade vs Mazda CX-90

What's the difference?

VS
Hyundai Palisade
Hyundai Palisade

$66,800 - $93,400

2026 price

Mazda CX-90
Mazda CX-90

$55,990 - $87,276

2025 price

Summary

2026 Hyundai Palisade
2025 Mazda CX-90
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Inline 4, 2.5L

Inline 6, 3.3L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol/Electric

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
6.8L/100km (combined)

8.2L/100km (combined)
Seating
8

7
Dislikes
  • Rear bench-style seats are firm
  • Safety systems sometimes clunky
  • More expensive than rivals

  • Transmission should be smoother
  • Ride still a bit hard
  • Price attracts unfavourable comparisons
2026 Hyundai Palisade Summary

If you’re in the market for an eight-seat family SUV, the Hyundai Palisade has probably already crossed your radar. But now there’s a twist. Hyundai has taken this well-established large SUV and given it a hybrid powertrain.

That puts it up against familiar rivals like the Toyota Kluger GXL Hybrid and Kia Sorento Sport+ Hybrid which are both strong players in the family-friendly space. The version we’re looking at for this review is the mid-spec Elite and we're family-testing it to see if the new hybrid powertrain makes for a winning combo.

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2025 Mazda CX-90 Summary

When it comes to Mazda’s luxury aspirations, the CX-90 is it. The big Kahuna. Seven seats of what should be the Japanese brand’s exceptionalism amongst its mainstream rivals.

But does this more than five-metre-long Mazda have what it takes to elevate the brand beyond the likes of Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Kia?

Importantly, is this base version - which is closer to Mazda’s traditional price point - a bit of a luxury seven-seat SUV bargain?

We drove a CX-90 G50e Touring (the most affordable CX-90 of the lot) for a week to find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2026 Hyundai Palisade 2025 Mazda CX-90

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