Released here in 2020, Palisade is the largest of Hyundai’s SUVs — not counting the electric
Ioniq 9.
Palisade is targeted at buyers of large SUVs who want a more car-like driving experience
than that offered by traditional 4WDs.
It’s available in seven and eight-seat configuration, with two standalone “captain’s chairs”
occupying the second row in the seven-seat version.
That leaves three people to squeeze in to the split-fold third row of seats, making it more of a
six-seater but six-seaters have never done well in Australia.
The Kia equivalent of Palisade is the Telluride, but unfortunately that is not available here,
which is not to detract from the Palisade.
There’s not much to dislike, apart from the price. The more interesting question is whether to
get one of these or the excellent Kia Carnival people mover which in top grade is also
sumptuously equipped.
STYLING
Hyundai has just added a more budget friendly Elite grade to the range priced from $76,500.
The Calligraphy eight-seat is $89,900, while the top of the range seven-seater is $90,900
and the subject of our review — all prices before on-road costs
It’s been five years since our last drove this car and Palisade has become a whole lot sexier
and more refined in that time, with an impressive face and American-style road presence.
Clearly, the message from Hyundai is why fork out a lot more for a Euro when you can drive
home one of these babies that is optioned to the hilt and buy a second family car with the
change.
The V6 has been replaced by a more frugal hybrid with drive on demand to all four wheels
and a six-speed automatic transmission across the board.
Launched in 2024, the current second-generation Palisade boasts a bolder look, sleeker
profile and cleaner sheet metal to create a strong yet luxurious flagship SUV.
Revised proportions include a shorter front overhang, more upright windscreen, an extended
wheelbase and a lengthened rear overhang.
An elevated bonnet flanked by vertical DRLs creates a confronting impression, with silver-
coated hidden headlights featuring a grille-style graphic seamlessly tying into silver
mouldings, rear lights, and roof rails — for a unified look.
Standard kit includes just about anything you can think of as standard, right down to
fingerprint recognition to start the thing.
Other goodies include a digital mirror, smart phone lock/unlocking, traffic sign recognition,
auto high beam, hands-free parking, side, front and rear parking sensors, two sunroofs,
electric tailgate, Nappa leather trim, heated and cooled seats, power-adjust and heated
steering wheel, power-fold second and third row seats, and three-zone climate control air.
In fact, packed to the gills and heading down the coast for a week away with the kids, we
finally found a use for the loathsome digital mirror which showed what was behind, despite
the fact the rear window was completely blocked by luggage.
But it’s only good for a glance — anything more is liable to make your car sick as your eyes
struggle to adjust.
Palisade is covered by a 7-year unlimited kilometre warranty, provided you service the car
with them — otherwise it’s five years.
The hybrid battery is covered for 8 years/160,000km — most people do more than 20,000km
a year.
INFOTAINMENT
Infotainment extends to navigation-based connected car services and incorporates
advanced technologies such as biometric and voice recognition, all presented through a
new, intuitive user interface.
There’s satnav, voice control, Bluetooth which can accommodate multiple phones, AM-
FM/DAB+ digital radio, plus wireless CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless phone
charging.
Bose premium audio delivers a rich, true-to-life audio experience through an external
amplifier and 14 speakers.
There are three USB ports in the front (1 x data, 2 x charge), two more for the second row (2
x charge) and another two for the third row (2 x charge), but bear in mind they are all USB-C
— which rules out most flash drives.
There’s also 12-volt outlets in the front and rear as well as a 240-volt socket in the luggage
area.
SAFETY
With a five-star ANCAP safety rating, Palisade features a suite of eight airbags, including a
driver’s knee airbag and a front centre side airbag.
A comprehensive suite of safety features, includes navigation-based smart cruise control,
lane following assist 2, highway driving assist 2, and driver monitoring that we’re told
improves ADAS accuracy and reliability.
Navigation-based cruise automatically slows the vehicle in anticipation when approaching
bends.
Autonomous emergency braking (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User, Junction & Crossing,
Backover and Head-On) as well as a lane support system with lane keep assist (LKA), lane
departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK), and an advanced speed
assistance system (SAS) are standard.
The third row caters for small children with ISOFix and top-tether anchor points provided, but
a supervision mirror would not go astray.
ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS
The 2.5-litre turbocharged hybrid powertrain is paired with a six-speed automatic and
delivers 245kW of power and 460Nm of torque.
DRIVING
It looks big because it is big. At 5065mm it’s 70mm longer than the previous model, and at
2970mm has a 70mm longer wheelbase.
The bigger, blunter facade features an active air flap that closes when cooling is not needed,
reducing wind drag by up to eight percent.
The latest self-charging hybrid setup improves on the traditional transmission-mounted
electric drive system with its innovative dual-motor design.
Greater efficiency is achieved by dedicating one motor to the regeneration of energy and the
other to driving the wheels, rather than using a single motor for both functions.
Enhanced regenerative braking combined with an efficient petrol engine extends all-electric
range and enhanced fuel efficiency, in a refined and environmentally sustainable powertrain
package.
And here’s one just for the parents out there. Stay Mode lets occupants remain comfortable
and connected even when parked, say at the weekend sport, drawing on the high-capacity
battery to safely power the infotainment system, climate control and other features — all with
the engine switched off.
Meanwhile, you can place personal items such as your phone, wallet and keys in the centre
console box, push a button and they will be sterilised using ultraviolet light.
We also like the sensor that keeps the rear camera clear, spraying it with fluid when the rear
wiper is operative.
The 2.5-litre turbocharged hybrid powertrain, paired with a six-speed automatic, delivers
more power and torque than either the previous 3.8-litre petrol engine or the 2.2-litre turbo-
diesel.
It delivers 245kW of power and 460Nm of torque, but with lower fuel consumption at a
claimed 6.8L/100km on the combined cycle. Outstanding.
Ride and handling benefit from local tuning, with evaluation of different suspension
components, including springs and anti-roll bars. This led to Aussie passive damper and
steering tunes, which have been adopted around the world.
Multi-link rear suspension features passive self-levelling dampers to maintain rear travel
when heavily laden.
Noise-reduction measures include acoustic foam-lined 21-inch tyres, layered soundproofing
and new, 70 percent larger acoustic cabin floor insulation, plus a new rear quarter panel
acoustic pad.
A curved panoramic display incorporates two 12.3-inch digital screens, one for the
infotainment display and the other for the instrument cluster.
In addition, 12-inch head-up display projects key driving, navigation and safety information
on to the lower area of the windscreen. However, to this day, it remains almost invisible if
you wear polarised sunglasses.
Moving the gear selector to the steering column frees up space in the centre console which
houses two cupholders, wireless charging pad, three USB ports, fingerprint sensor and the
UV sterilisation button.
Mounted on the right, you twist the end to change from drive to reverse and vice-versa,
which prevents accidentally selecting the wrong gear — but it can be confusing at times.
All-new Palisade features relaxation comfort seats for the first and second row, with third-row
powered seats with fold and dive, slide, and recline functions. Seven-seat variants also
feature a walk-in tilt function.
The driver’s seat uses air pockets for optimal fit while dynamically adjusting lateral support
based on driving conditions.
While remote smart parking assist literally lets users complete perpendicular, parallel, and
diagonal parking manoeuvres from outside the car using the smart key.
Although Palisade is an SUV and all-wheel drive at that, the focus is on comfort rather than
off-road ability.
This is a vehicle that will happily negotiate rough and even muddy dirt roads and tracks, but
we wouldn’t be tackling anything more challenging because that is not what it is designed
for.
It does however come with a full-size alloy spare, unlike the majority of hybrids which give
over this space to the battery pack.
There are three drive modes from which to choose: Custom, Eco, and Sport, but we found
the latter a little sharp and happily left it in the default Eco mode which was plenty
responsive.
It’s a quiet cabin with very little engine noise unless pushed hard, but at around 2.3 tonnes it
feels heavy and at times cumbersome, and the steering could do with some adjustment
options.
Its size can also make it difficult to park.
As well as buttons on the seats, there’s a control panel located on the left inside the back
which takes some time to learn how to use properly.
Both second and third rows slide and luggage space is abundant with the third row folded,
and a cavernous 2081 litres with both rows stowed.
Moving the rear seats backwards and forwards for third row access is slow and the opening
created is not huge, so the third row is better suited to children — two nimble adults at best.
The second-row passenger side seat sometimes failed to move at all and that’s the seat that
needs to do all the work, because it’s safer to enter from the kerb side.
With a 72-litre tank it takes regular unleaded and has a range of more than 1000km.
After 1120km we were averaging 7.3L/100km, sometimes even lower than this figure.
It’s self-charging and the 1.65 kWh battery seems to hover around the 60 per cent mark.
No range anxiety to be found here.
Oh, and Palisade has a braked towing capacity of only 2000kg, way down on the benchmark
3500kg.
SUMMING UP
If you need to put bums on seats, the Kia Carnival is a no brainer. But if you want an SUV
with the option of seating seven or eight (and can afford the ticket), then the Palisade could
fit the bill.
However, the regular doors and slow-moving power-operated rear seats make entry to the
third row tedious for adults, while the Carnival with its sliding rear doors makes short work of
the process.
One other point to keep in mind. If you need to seat three in the back the eight-seater is a
better option as a third passenger in the six-seat version alienates valuable luggage space.
RATINGS:
Looks: 7.5
Performance: 7.5
Safety: 8
Thirst: 7
Practicality: 7.5
Comfort: 7.5
Tech: 8
Value: 8
Overall: 7.6
AT A GLANCE
MODEL LINE-UP
Palisade Elite: $76,500
Palisade Calligraphy 8-seat: $89,900
Palisade Calligraphy 7-seat: $90,900
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local
Hyundai dealer for drive-away prices.
SPECIFICATIONS (Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy 2.5-litre hybrid, 7-seat, SUV)
HYBRID POWERTRAIN
Petrol engine: 2.5-litre, four cylinders inline, turbocharged
Maximum power: 192 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum torque: 353 kW @ 1650 rpm
Electric motor: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Maximum power: 54 kW
Maximum torque: 264 Nm
Combined power: 245 kW
Combined torque: 460 Nm
Fuel type: Petrol 91 RON
Combined fuel cycle: (ADR 81/02) 6.8 L/100km
Battery: Lithium Ion 1.65 kWh
CO2 emissions 145 g/km
DRIVELINE: Six-speed automatic, AWD
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 5060 mm
Wheelbase: 2970 mm
Width: 1980 mm
Height: 1805 mm
Turning Circle: 11.8 m
Kerb Mass: 2294 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 72 l
BRAKES:
Front: Ventilated disc
Rear: Ventilated disc
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Seven years / unlimited kilometres
