Reviewed: Hyundai NZ’s Palisade Limited SUV
Priced from $99,990 to $119,990, the large Crossover comes as a seven or eight seater and comes in two variants, Elite and Limited.
Compact to medium SUVs are devouring the new vehicle market in New Zealand, Hyundai is banking on the American-based large Palisade to take back some of the sales.
Priced from $99,990 to $119,990 for the Limited Edition model, the Palisade comes in two variants, the Elite and Limited with the choice of a 3.8-litre diesel (147kW, 440Nm) two-wheel-drive or a 2.2-litre petrol (217kW and 355Nm) all-wheel-drive. Both models have an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Elite range has eight seats while the Limited has seven.
The Palisade shares the same platform as sister brand Kia’s Telluride but US styling.
Out of the lineup, Hyundai NZ says the favourite will be the diesel Limited with seven-seaters, and the second row with captain’s chairs that recline.
In the eight-seat segment, there are only three competitors: the Lexus LX, Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol, all of these are heavy-duty, chunky off-roaders more often found on farms. Instead, the Palisade shares the same platform as sister brand Kia’s Telluride but has distinct styling.
For a start, the Palisade’s name comes from the affluent California suburb, Pacific Palisade and it would fit right in there as a people mover.
The Hyundai Palisade has a similar feel inside to the new Santa Fe.
You’d think that it would be used by families here too. But according to Hyundai NZ’s general manager, Andy Sinclair, 67 percent of the customers are expected to be males with the majority aged under 30 with the 30-39 male segment the next biggest buyers. Why?
“Over half the customers are Hyundai Santa Fe owners stepping up. They don’t need it, they want the biggest Hyundai,” said Sinclair.
Created for the US market, the Palisade design has more smooth edges, starting with the all-new grille for Hyundai. The dominant cascading grille is flanked by high-tech, composite headlights and a vertically-connected forward lighting signature, to create a powerful and distinctive impression.
It has a cascading grille flanked by high-tech, composite headlights.
In profile, the extended bonnet develops Palisade’s strong road presence, while a bold C-pillar design and wide third-row daylight opening convey generous third-row spaciousness. The large wheel arches also dominate the look of the vehicle.
At the rear, Palisade emphasises a wide and stable stance through crisp and confident detailing incorporating a vertical LED tail-light design.
A cutaway roof complements the ample third-row glasshouse, enhancing the generous sense of spaciousness for rear occupants. The Limited models get twin sunroofs.
The Limited’s second row incorporates two captain seats.
Inside, the Palisade has a similar feel to the new Santa Fe, albeit on a slightly larger scale. And it is only slightly. The biggest Hyundai is 4980mm long while the Santa Fe is just 210mm shorter and they both have the same legroom at the front.
The Palisade 10.25 operation screen while it has a 7in instrument cluster.
The Palisade has similar operating and safety features as the Santa Fe; including the same Head-Up Display that is projected onto the windscreen to show vehicle speed, navigation commands, speed limits and traffic sign info, as well as alerts from active safety and driving assistance features.
The third row has three seats but is more suited to kids or tweens.
It also has the same Blind Spot Monitoring system as the Santa Fe thanks to two circles in the display cluster that correspond with the turn signal to support safe lane-change manoeuvres.
The Limited seven-seater has the addition of ventilated seats in the front and second row, with access to the third row via a corridor between the two second row captain’s chairs.
Like the Santa Fe, the Palisade has Driver Talk feature that uses a high-definition microphone and uses the audio system to let the driver speak to second- and third-row occupants without raising their voice, and you know they’ll be saying, “don’t make it stop this car”!
The Palisade has a clean layout that includes driving functions.
The system automatically compensates for road and wind noise as the vehicle’s speed rises, so the driver can always be heard clearly through the C-pillar speakers. Quiet Mode mutes the speakers in the rear, and sets the front speakers to seven or below, to allow rear occupants the hush needed to talk to each other or to get some sleep.
Palisade is among the first Hyundai models to benefit from a new chassis tuning approach, which has evolved as a development of the local tuning program deployed by Hyundai Australia’s engineering team for the last decade.
Hyundai Australia examined every element of the Palisade’s dynamic performance on local roads, from the tyres – checking NVH and grip levels — to roll response, body heave, body control, and all the minutiae of body movement. The process of evaluation and sign-off incorporated every possible road surface and road type, both in the city and country.
The Hyundai Palisade has a mud function for off-roading.
In the USA, the Palisade has won many awards including the best three-row vehicle, safest and even picked up a gong for ‘medium’ sized SUV of Texas at the Annual Texas Truck Rodeo. Yup, medium, cos everything is bigger in Texas so the Palisade is just a medium!
So, what is the Palisade Limited like as a daily drive? First thing to remember is its length at nearly five metres long so I had to be aware when navigating narrow inner-city roads or trying to maneuver in small car park spaces.
It’s an enjoyable SUV to drive thanks to its surefooted handling and well-cushioned ride quality
The forward lighting signature creates a powerful and distinctive impression.
The third row can technically fit three passengers, but like many third rows is suited to kids and tweens rather than lanky teens or adults. But the tweens and stroppy teens in the second row will be happy seven USB ports, four 12V sockets and up to 16 cup holders, including four in each of the second and third rows. Phew, keep those iPads and phones charged.
Hyundai Palisade is a big, comfortable, open-road vehicle though due to its size it’s no grand tourer that glides through corners. Instead, it's made for the open road, like in Texas! On the motorway it’s sure-footed for its weight and size and that large grille and LED lights make an impression.
The Palisade is nearly five metres long and dominates thanks to its exterior styling.
While other eight-seat SUVs are based on a heavy-duty four-wheel-drive 'ladder frame' chassis, the Palisade is built like a car so its centre of gravity is lower, and the responses of the steering and suspension are more car-like.
But it's just at ease off-road, when we headed to Parihoa for an evening shoot. I dialled the terrain setting to ‘mud’ and we navigated with ease across the farm.
My only concern about the Palisade is the price; Toyota’s seven-seater Highlander starts from $60,990 to $74,990 and has hybrid versions to help with fuel efficiency.
