Hyundai Palisade Highlander petrol vs Kia Carnival Platinum petrol vs Nissan Pathfinder Ti 2023 comparison review

In this comparison we have the Nissan Pathfinder Ti which is the entry-point to its line-up, with a petrol engine and all-wheel drive being the only choice. The Ti is also the only grade in the range with eight-seats. This new-generation Pathfinder Ti arrived just last year and lists for $71,490.

The Hyundai Palisade we’ve chosen is the top-of-the-range petrol Highlander with front-wheel drive and has a list price of $75,900.

And then there’s the Kia Carnival which is front-wheel drive only and ours is the highest grade Platinum with the petrol engine and has a list price of $65,580.

The standard features comparison table below shows the equipment lists for the three vehicles.

As you can see all come standard with LED headlights and LED DRLs, plus they all have alloy wheels. The Palisade has the biggest alloys - they’re 20-inch wheels, the Carnival has 19-inch rims and the Pathfinder has 18s.

They all come with roof rails, dark tinted privacy glass for the rear windows and all have power tailgates.

Inside, the Palisade and Carnival both come with 12.3-inch media screens, while the Pathfinder has a 9.0-inch display. The Palisade also has a 12.3-inch driver display but the Carnival and Pathfinder have analogue dials with smaller digital screens. The Palisade and Pathfinder also have a head-up display.

All have three-zone climate control and all have heated seats up front and in the second row, but only the Palisade and Carnival have ventilated seats up front, too. If our Pathfinder was the top of its range Ti-L grade it would have these cooling seats, as well.

The Carnival and Palisade also have sunroofs and again if our Pathfinder was the fancy one it’d have one, too.

All have sat nav, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - which is wireless in the Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder and Carnival both have Bose sound systems - it’s a 12-speaker system in the Carnival and a 13-speaker stereo in the Pathfinder. The Palisade has a 12-speaker Infinity stereo and to my ears sounds the best of the three.

All come with a stack of standard features, but the Carnival offers outstanding value at this price from the big media screen to climate control in the second row.

That said, it doesn't have a head-up display while the other two do; it’s a feature which makes keeping an eye on your speed and sat nav directions easy.  

How practical is this trio? That’s probably the most important question here.

Well, we’ve lived with all three eight-seaters with our families and we can tell you they offer excellent levels of practicality and utility. There is a clear winner, though.

If it's enormous boot space you’re after the Carnival can’t be beaten. Whether it’s with the third row in place or folded the Carnival offers the largest cargo capacity.

For third-row comfort the Carnival offers the best legroom but the Pathfinder offers the best headroom.

For the best access to the third row nothing beats the sliding door of the Carnival. The automatic power sliding door makes it easy for kids to open, and tight carparks aren’t a worry for access, plus getting to the third row is more like stepping through rather than climbing through as it is for the Palisade and Pathfinder.

Special mention has to go to the quick release folding mechanism on the Pathfinder second-row seats to give access to the third row. Also, a special mention to my eight-year old who discovered the button while I almost broke the seat trying to fold it forward.

For second-row passengers the Carnival offers the best leg- and headroom, while the Palisade has the most comfortable second row and the Pathfinder offers excellent visibility for small children with its high seating position.

All our eight seaters are well equipped with power outlets, USB ports and all have wireless phone charging.

Cabin storage is good, too, with all having more cupholders than you’ll ever have drinks for, but parents know they also double as snacks bowls and buckets in which to put toys, rocks, shells and dummies.

The Palisade’s cabin storage up front is excellent with its floating centre console which has a large area underneath and a generous covered area under the armrest.

All have tinted windows and retractable sunblinds, but only the Carnival has sun shades in the third row too. Have a look at the video, they’re cute.

While all three of our eight seaters are practical, the Carnival stands out offering the best access to second and third rows through those electric sliding doors.

The Carnival also has the most spacious cabin - one small children can even stand up and get changed in, plus it offers the biggest boot, by a long way.

All of our eight seaters have V6 petrol engines. In the case of the Palisade the size is 3.8 litres, while the Carnival and Palisade have 3.5-litre engines.

The table shows how much power and torque the engines produce but the takeaway here is the outputs of the V6s in the Carnival and Palisade are almost identical. Plenty of power, too.

The Pathfinder’s engine is less powerful, but the good news is this SUV can tow more than the Palisade and Carnival.

The Pathfinder is the only all-wheel drive in this comparison, the other two are front-wheel drive. You can get the Palisade with all-wheel drive but it’s paired with a diesel engine and you can’t get the Carnival with all-wheel drive.

The Palisade and Carnival have eight-speed automatic transmissions, while the Pathfinder has a nine-speed auto.

An important part of our testing is investigating how much fuel a car uses and we conducted a direct comparison by taking the vehicles in convoy through a 130km loop of every type of road condition you’ll find.

We filled the tanks then headed off though Sydney’s CBD, onto motorways and into the suburbs, then onto some fast and hilly bushland roads, before looping back towards the city just in time to join the 5:00pm peak hour traffic.

Refilling the tanks revealed the real-world fuel consumption of each over the same conditions and distance.

You’ll see in the table below that the Palisade and Carnival came back using almost identical amounts of fuel.

An important part of our testing is investigating how much fuel a car uses. (Image: Sam Rawlings)

The Pathfinder was thirstier by one litre more per 100km, but remember it's the only all-wheel drive here and generally these drivetrains will increase fuel consumption.  

That’s an interesting finding. If you think an all-wheel drive SUV will use a lot more than a two-wheel drive SUV, then the truth is yes, but not a lot more -  about $2.00 more per 100km.

You’ll also see in the table how much each eight-seater costs to fill.

It’s very close to call here, but the Carnival wins again.

All of our eight-seaters have been awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but as you can see in the table the Pathfinder’s score is fresher. 

The table also shows what safety equipment is featured from AEB and lane keeping assistance to airbags and how many child seat attachment points are on board.

The takeaway here is that all three of our comparison vehicles have airbags which extend to cover the third row occupants.  

All of our eight-seaters have been awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. (Image: Sam Rawlings)