GMC Terrain vs Hyundai Palisade: which is more reliable?
The GMC Terrain is clearly ahead of the Hyundai Palisade on the federal record: 83/100 against 68/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
GMC Terrain
- 15 model years scored
- 2,848 owner complaints on record
- about 21 complaints per year on the road
- 36 recall campaigns, 10 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (92/100) · worst 2018 (71/100)
Hyundai Palisade
- 4 model years scored
- 1,579 owner complaints on record
- about 151 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 11 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (78/100) · worst 2025 (58/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Terrain against Palisade
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
GMC Terrain
- Engine — 1,094 complaints
- Power Train — 417 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 346 complaints
Hyundai Palisade
- Service Brakes — 316 complaints
- Seat Belts — 263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 237 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Terrain's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Palisade's in Service Brakes. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
GMC Terrain: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016….
Hyundai Palisade: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2020, 2021.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used GMC Terrain prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Palisade at about $63,100 — the GMC Terrain is roughly $22,300 less, and they return 25.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the GMC Terrain or the Hyundai Palisade more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the GMC Terrain scores 83/100 against the Hyundai Palisade's 68/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The GMC Terrain carries about 21 complaints per year on the road against 151 for the Hyundai Palisade.
Which GMC Terrain and Hyundai Palisade years should I avoid?
GMC Terrain: no year scores below 45. Hyundai Palisade: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the GMC Terrain and the Hyundai Palisade?
The largest complaint group on the GMC Terrain is Engine (1,094 complaints); on the Hyundai Palisade it is Service Brakes (316).
Is the GMC Terrain or the Hyundai Palisade cheaper to own?
A recent used GMC Terrain prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Palisade at about $63,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.