Hyundai Palisade with new features and big grille now on sale

The Hyundai Palisade is a big and heavy-looking MPV. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel altogether cumbersome to drive when I took it on a 3,000km round trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town a few years ago.

Now the flagship SUV has received updates that aim to sweeten it further for 2023 onwards. 

Much of the old car is still there but now headlined by an imposingly large and black cascading grille. The new look works and creates more of that American gangster SUV charm we loved in the previous model.  

The choice to have seven or eight seats for the same price is still there, and the living quarters have been enhanced with a one-touch movement for the second-row seats to move out of the way for easy access into the third-row seats. There’s also a wide-angle interior rear-view mirror and seven USB ports with mini-pockets available, though the ports have changed to the USB-C type and a single conventional port and 12V socket are located inside the deep central storage bin which also acts as a hand rest.

A new diffuser vent design provides quieter rear air conditioning airflow. It’s now controlled through the eight-inch touchscreen main display. A two-piece sunroof is standard while the driver gets a seven-inch digital information binnacle and the graphics from this screen turn into side-view images of the car fed by outside cameras when the turn signals are activated.  

Audio streaming is through a new Infinity sound system and includes the ability to connect two Bluetooth devices at once, with one for telephone conversations and the other for audio streaming. There’s also a wireless charging pod and you can also listen to integrated relaxing sounds of nature, or speak to rear passengers through the sound system.

More digital technology includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a Rear Seat Quiet Mode system that mutes the musical company to the second- and third-row audio speakers to avoid disturbing sleeping passengers in the rear.  

The Palisade is notably quiet and wafts on the roads. The two-car range is powered by a 2.2l four-cylinder diesel engine that’s linked to an eight-speed automatic transmission with drive-by-wire technology, and a self-throttle and brake cruise control. It outputs 142kW and 440Nm, and it’s no slouch. Hyundai claims the average combined fuel consumption is the same 8.2l/100km as the old car.  

It’s perched on 245/50 R20 wheels and the high profile of the tyres avoids them being easy meat for potholes, and they are quite robust for gravel tracks and regular off-road situations you may encounter.

As standard the Palisade comes equipped with Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel-drive (AWD) system. It automatically switches torque distribution between the two axles depending on throttle inputs and surface conditions.  

It’s got Smart, Eco, Comfort and Sport modes and a Terrain selector with Sand, Mud and Snow modes, with special traction tuning for individual conditions. An AWD locking-differential function is availed.  

Safety systems are plentiful and include blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, safe exit assist, and rear occupant alert should you forget a small child in the field of seats behind. A safe exit assist system is also on hand to detect cars approaching from the rear, cautioning passengers through visual and acoustic warnings. It has six airbags and a tyre pressure monitor.

The new Palisade that is available in Shimmering Silver, Moonlight Blue, Graphite Gray, White Cream and Abyss black colour choices, and is sold with a seven-year/200,000km warranty and seven-year/105,000km service plan.

PRICING

Hyundai Palisade R2.2 7-seater Elite (auto) — R1,099,000  

Hyundai Palisade R2.2 8-seater Elite (auto) — R1,099,000