Sitting above the Santa Fe SUV, the new Hyundai Palisade has been revealed at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Developed for the North American market, the eight-seat Palisade competes with cars such as the Volkswagen Atlas (not sold in Australia), Mazda CX-9 and GMC/Holden Acadia.
Featuring a 3.8-litre petrol V6 developing 217kW of power and 355Nm of torque and matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Palisade competes well in its class for powertrains. Launched as the flagship of the Hyundai brand, the Palisade will only be made in left-hand drive and therefore will not be launched in Australia for the time being.
“Hyundai Palisade’s exterior and interior design clearly reflect its unique flagship identity with a premium, distinctive and bold road presence,” said SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai’s Design Centre.
“As the lead for Palisade design, it was a pleasure to work with our global design teams throughout its development and ultimately present this phenomenal product before you today.”
Featuring very American styling, the Palisade takes Hyundai design to a wider audience. Using a boxier and more brutish style than the current Santa Fe or Kona SUVs, the Palisade uses the same stacked headlight design as its smaller brothers, though pairs it to a much larger and bolder front grille. The side profile is reminiscent of the huge Cadillac Escalade, with square windows and lashings of chrome, while the rear end looks unlike any Hyundai before – it’s tall and features slim tailights.
Measuring 4,981mm long, 1,976mm wide and 1,750mm tall, the Palisade is larger than the Toyota Kluger, though still smaller than the massive CX-9. Unlike the Mazda, the Palisade offers seating for up to eight people, and its interior appears to be a big step up for the brand and takes cues from the Nexo fuel-cell electric vehicle.
The interior of the Palisade is much more luxurious than any Hyundai product before, and could be a good fit for the Genesis brand. Using a simple and mostly horizontal dashboard, the Palisade uses many unique parts not shared with other Hyundai products. A new dashboard design takes much from the Nexo with a push-button transmission selector, and a huge 10.25-inch central infotainment screen with the next generation of Hyundai Kia software. Nappa leather features on high-end models, a first for the Hyundai brand.
Moving rearwards, the second and third row of seating appear huge in pictures, with electric operation for the rearmost row adding to convenience. Eight seats are standard equipment, though the seven-seat layout with captain’s chairs in the second row are available as an option. There are up to seven USB ports in the car, as well as proper ventilation for all three rows of seating.
Being Hyundai’s flagship product, the Palisade offers new technology not seen in the brand’s current products. A fully digital 12.3-inch driver’s instrument cluster will be available, as will a Honda LaneWatch-style blind-spot camera, and the full range of Hyundai’s SmartSense active safety kit, which includes autonomous emergency braking with forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, automatic high beam, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality and driver attention monitoring.
A colour heads-up display from the Santa Fe will also be available, while an intercom system for the driver to communicate with both second and third row passengers is new. The petrol V6 features hybrid-style Atkinson Cycle technology for better fuel economy, and the brand’s HTRAC all-wheel drive system – which will be optional – offers selectable drive modes, including a snow mode and a differential lock.
Imported from the same Ulsan factory where many Australian-spec Hyundais are built, the Hyundai Palisade goes on sale in North America in June of 2019. Its left-hand drive only status means that it’s off limits for Australian sales currently, though that could change in the future.
Stay tuned to Chasing Cars for more news from the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.