Zander Drives Cars

In the late 2010s, out of seemingly nowhere, everybody and their mom released a midsized, three row, seven seat “crossover,” in the US. This market had previously been cornered by longstanding nameplates like the Chevy Tahoe and Toyota Highlander, but as sales for these offerings only increased, it naturally seemed like the right time for everyone else to get in on the party.

So, out came the Subaru Ascent, VW Atlas, Kia Telluride, and it’s brother, the Hyundai Palisade. Now, while the Atlas and Ascent have has sales over around the 30-50k unit mark since COVID, the Palisade (and by extension the Telluride) have both been reliably shipping six figures a year making the South Korean auto giant something like a kabillion dollars. But, the Palisade is now six years old, and given how Hyundai/Kia have been rapidly changing the way their portfolio looks since the last midterm election, a new Palisade was destined to show up.

And guess what? Now it’s here.

The Exterior

Like all new Hyundai models apart from the IONIQ 6, this thing is boxy. But, as they demonstrated with the launch of the current generation Santa Fe, boxy sells. The biggest “thing” about the new Palisade from the looks department is the front. Six bars of light make up each headlight unit, and a grille the size of Texas really try to assert a sense of both opulence and dominance, even if the car is, at it’s origin, still a Hyundai. The Calligraphy model that Hyundai brought on stage comes with some more tasteful 21 inch rims that don’t completely overwhelm the wheels, which comapred to what Mercedes and Cadillac is doing, is quite refreshing. Nice green, by the way.

The Interior

I know I used the word “Jetsons” in another article today, but the design of the Palisade is very future-retro, if that make sense. Take the center console, it looks like a turbine engine from the DeHavilland Comet. Sweet stuff.

Again, because this is the Calligraphy trim, everything in here feels very nice, the seats are nice and leathery, the dashboard has a nice soft touch feel to it which is the hallmark of an almost-premium car. Speaking of almost-premium, heated and ventilated first AND second row seats. On a Hyundai? What? Where are we right now? It gets better, though: a heated third row is optional if you like being claustrophobic and hot.

The Specs

The all new Hyundai Palisade comes with either a 2.5l 4-cylinder hybrid making 329 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque, or a 3.6l V6 making a less impressive 287 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. No 0-60 time was stated but estimate it in the low 7s for the hybrid and low 8s for the V6. MPG for the hybrid powertrain re particularly impressive as Hyundai claims it’ll do 34 MPG combined, that’s higher than any car in it’s class, supposedly.

The Verdict

Well, look, would I personally buy a Palisade? No. Maybe it’s because I’m not in the market for a high(ish) end 3-row crossover. But, I have to be honest, and objective, for once, and my personal statement of the day is that, in a sea of mediocrity, Hyundai is trying to rise above, and having seen how much effort they’ve put into one of their top sellers in an uber competitive market, I can’t say anything other than it might be worth a second look.