Reviewing and answering the internet’s top-searched questions about this strong 3-row
Below, I’m going to share my key impressions after 1,700 kilometres in the 2023 Hyundai Palisade, covering central- to northern Ontario via smooth scenic highways, as well as a few hundred kilometres of shake-rattle-and-roll testing on the bashed-up backroads surrounding my locale. If you’re gearing up to pull the trigger on a fully loaded 2023 Hyundai Palisade Ultimate Calligraphy like this one, read on: we’re about to go deep into the Palisade’s drive and learn a whole bunch of cool stuff about it.
What’s new for 2023 Hyundai Palisade update?
A significant overhaul for 2023 brings the Palisade new front- and rear ends, new headlights, new wheels, new seats, a new cluster and dash, heated third-row seating (you read that right!), safety and infotainment upgrades, and more. This is a heavy refresh of the model Hyundai recently used to enter the three-row midsize segment with force.
Pricing starts from $50,504, with standard eight-passenger seating in the Preferred trim grade. The mid-range Palisade Urban opens from $55,704, and the Palisade Ultimate Calligraphy stickers for $59,304. My tester’s $250 Steel Graphite paint upgrade makes it about $59,550 for the unit seen here.
Included are Hyundai’s HTRAC AWD (more on that later) and an eight-speed automatic transmission. You get second-row captains chairs, and a 291-horsepower V6 under the hood. Drivers are backed by a long list of the latest safety tech must-haves including blind-spot collision avoidance, safe-exit assist, driver-attention warning, remote-controlled parking, and more.
What are the 2023 Hyundai Palisade’s key competitors?
Key competitors include the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Subaru Ascent, Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Mazda CX-9, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Volvo XC90, Acura MDX, Honda Pilot, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and GMC Acadia.
How’s the 2023 Palisade’s new interior?
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The cabin is one area where you’ll see some of the Palisade’s best work, specifically by combining numerous modern and upscale touches with generous use of soft-touch materials, solid graphics, and a convincingly dense and well-crafted feel to just about everything you can click, slide, push or twist.
Dark and formal from a glance, the cockpit lets plenty of tech shine through the scenery with expert use of gloss, texture, metallics, flowing shapes, and upscale control surfaces. The sculpted, metallic-trimmed steering wheel and textured metal central command console take centre stage, with a push-button shifter, climate control, and drive-mode selector dial on the console. Above, a full-screen digital instrument cluster is positioned just below the head-up display projection that hovers in the lower part of the windshield.
Illuminated controls and displays are sharp and easy to read, and touch-screen interfaces are enhanced by multiple nearby hard buttons for easy manipulation of common functions, often without need to work the touch screen. If you like a mix of touch-screen and hard-buttons to control your SUV, you’ll like what’s going on here.
Don’t miss the curvaceous centre console trimmed in a textured metallic finish and gracefully draped around the opening to the bin, which includes wireless Smartphone charging and some spring-loaded cupholder flippies that pop into action with a button’s press.
Nearby, you’ll find controls for infotainment, climate control, and the heated and ventilated seats (as well as the heated steering wheel), meaning that the bulk of the Palisade’s common functions are operated from a single zone that’s great to look at and easy to navigate.
A pushbutton shifter and drive selector let drivers switch into gear and define their ideal drive mode or terrain setting using a single button-dial interface. Selections are repeated in the instrument cluster display. Just a tap and a twist sets the Palisade up in one of four drive modes (SNOW, ECO, SMART or COMFORT), as well as specialized AWD drive modes for SAND, MUD and SNOW.
Among other things, these settings control the response of the throttle, transmission, and traction control, as well as when and how hard that HTRAC AWD power coupler clutch clamps up, sending more torque to the rear axle, which it’s not shy about doing if you’re using the right drive mode for the situation — I prefer SPORT mode in the snowy backroads with a good set of winter rubber — Continental Viking Contact in this case. More on that later.
Speaking of winter, neither the infotainment or climate control touchscreen work with leather gloves on, and the small steering wheel buttons can be fiddly at best if you’re wearing a set of wooly mitts.
Elsewhere, it’s glossy pin-striped accenting, plenty of stitching and a clean, flush integration of switches and buttons within their surroundings helping to add a high-tech flair throughout. Strong display graphics and a quality feel to the switchgear round out the package. If you’re dropping $60,000 on one of these, I think you’ll find you’re getting your money’s worth from the cabin’s looks and feel.
2023 Hyundai Palisade Functionality and Features
At 5’10 and 200 pounds, your writer found no issue with boarding or exiting through either set of the Palisade’s doors. Up front, entering the driver’s seat is little trickier than sliding over and slightly downwards into your seat. There’s no climbing up or plopping down required, just a lateral butt-slide. In my comfortable seated driving position, I noted no issues with leg, knee or hip room, and found headroom to be especially generous with the sunroof overhead.
Nearby, covered storage bins, cupholders, and charging ports are abundant and easy to find and use. Rear seats are similarly easy to access, but occupants any taller than me will need to pay attention to clearance over their heads as they pass through the rear door opening, with a slight duck advised for taller occupants.
Once seated, second-row passengers get first-class treatment with their own climate-control console, storage pouches on the seatbacks ahead of them, additional storage pouches on the sides of their seat, and multiple charging ports within easy reach. Each rear door also has two cupholders.
I found second-row headroom adequate to tall, with second-row legroom the most generous dimension on my watch. Occupants of my size will have enough room to spread out and stretch or cross their legs if desired, and seats can slide and recline, too. A flat rear floor further expands the sense of space on board in the second row.
To recap, that’s two comfortable and spacious seating rows in the front and middle, each surrounding its occupants with plenty of charging, headroom, storage, comfort, and cupholders.
Third-row seats are inviting and easy to access, providing you reserve them for your smallest passengers. The second-row seats tilt and slide fully forward on their own, opening up a walk-through into the third row with a single button press.
I was able to make my way into the third seating row with minimal fuss, though once seated, headroom proves tighter than the first and second, and legroom for an adult of my size is only adequate if the second-row seat remains pushed somewhat forward.
In this configuration you could seat three rows of adults on board if you had to, or two rows of adults and a final row of kids in comfort.
I preferred the Palisade with its rear seating power-folded flat. Set up this way, it works as a four-person rolling lounge with plenty of cargo space, and generous room for four adults to stretch out and chill.
The power-folding rear seats disappear flatly into the floor when needed, giving canine passengers plenty of room to ride with space to spare. Be conscious of the canine jump-in height, however: larger dogs will likely have no issue, but my senior golden retriever, Ghost, was a bit apprehensive about making the leap. He preferred to board and exit with an assist ramp instead, just to be safe.
Elsewhere, expect a wide range of clever little features and touches that intend to make life easier. You’ll say ‘well, that’s handy’ fairly often in the day-to-day with this machine. Specifically, wiper- and light selections are repeated with on-screen graphics so there’s no need to second guess the position of the control stalks; the parking camera system switches from forward to reverse cameras as you shift from drive to reverse, so finessing the perfect parking job is faster and easier; the tailgate auto-opens for you if you simply stand still directly behind it for a moment; and remote-controlled parking can make a variety of situations easier by allowing you to park or pull your Palisade from its space using the remote before you get in, or after you get out.
2023 Hyundai Palisade: how does it drive?
After nearly 2,000 kilometres at the wheel, the first thing that grabbed my attention about the Palisade was the way it rides. It’s an attribute high on my list of surprises for the year.
Specifically, it’s a lovely highway cruiser with a smooth and dense feel beneath the driver, and a suspension that masterfully soaks up and mitigates bumps and noises from the drive. On smooth highways at speed, expect a planted, dialled-in and secure feel that stands up very nicely to rougher surfaces, both on ride comfort and noise levels.
Even rolling on a set of 20-inch wheels (which rarely do ride quality any favours), my tester proved an excellent highway travel partner that was keen to keep the drive comfortable, quiet, and as tranquil as possible.
On rougher secondary highways in northern Ontario, the ride quality stands up well to increased abuse from the road surface. Suspension and tire noise increase but are kept nicely in check, and the stiff body structure helps reduce flexing over bumps which improves comfort and reduces the noise pumped into the cabin by rough roads. Even on choppy surfaces and pothole-covered stretches with crumbling shoulders, the Palisade’s suspension manages to maintain its dense, soft composure even when taking fire. Further, I didn’t detect any interior-panel rattles or trim clicks on these surfaces — not something I can say about various big-dollar Wagoneers, Audis, and Teslas I’ve driven there lately.
Expect a consistently comfortable ride that impresses primarily for its ability to maintain a composed, finely tuned feel even when the going gets rough. Or, even, very rough.
The consistent ride comfort extended even to my ‘worst-case scenario’ testing surface, a particularly craggy section of beaten-up backroads that I use to torture suspensions and see which handle the abuse with grace. The Palisade performed very well here, on a surface where few SUVs do. Even when taking maximum abuse from the road surface at elevated speeds, noise, vibration, and harshness levels were surprisingly low; the vehicle remained easy to control; and there wasn’t a click or pop of interior trim or panel to be heard. It feels and sounds solid.
Other favourites on this testing surface include the Nissan Pathfinder, Land Rover Discovery, Porsche Macan, Buick Envision Avenir, and Cadillac XT6.
Elsewhere on the Palisade’s drive, you’ll notice steering that’s widely variable: it’s firm at speed to clamp the machine to its selected line on the highway, and precise enough to easily place the machine between the lines on winding two-lane highways with minimal need to second-guess or readjust.
Slow things down when entering a parking lot or congested space, and the steering lightens to make it easier to maneuver. The turning circle is smaller than expected, and a full arsenal of cameras and radar parking assists add confidence for you or anyone borrowing your Palisade when it’s time to park.
Like the steering, the Palisade’s braking feels that little extra bit fine-tuned as well. The pedal is more responsive and precise to light-pressure inputs than I usually expect in a crossover at this price, with eager initial bite and easy modulation of braking force with the tips of your toes if you like. Enthusiast drivers will likely appreciate a steering and braking feel that’s slightly more athletic and tuned than the norm, adding driver confidence and increasing the driver-to-car connection.
The AWD system is mostly invisible and even stands up well to spirited driving, with lots of power ready to send to the rear axle on command. Some situations see torque steer or a little more front wheelspin than some drivers will like, though making sure you’re in SNOW or SPORT mode on slippery surfaces can reduce this effect and get power flowing more evenly to both axles off the line.
For most drivers most of the time, just leave the drive selector in SMART mode and let the machine call the shots.
These impressions come from a tester rolling on a set of Viking Contact tires, and this is my third or fourth go-around with them. On my watch in the Palisade, I noted a strong initial braking bite that worked well with the machine’s brake pedal feel for confidence-inspiring stops on hard-packed snow, but left my test the most impressed with how little road noise was present from the tires on bare, cold pavement. If you’re looking for a set of winter tires for your Palisade, I think you’ll find these a good choice.
Is the Hyundai Palisade a hybrid?
No, the Hyundai Palisade is not a hybrid.
More than this, the engine is the feature I missed the least when I returned this vehicle.
The Palisade uses a free-breathing 3.8-litre V6 in a segment where many competitors offer turbocharging and hybrid tech, both of which improve performance and reduce fuel consumption.
With neither of those technologies applied, the engine is a bit old-school: smooth and relatively quiet with the revs kept down, but lacking the low-RPM punch familiar among competitors’ turbo and hybrid engines. Heavier-footed drivers will need more revs (and noise and shifting) from the powertrain to satisfy the hunger for low-speed response, which slightly eats away at refinement. Further, the AutoStop system is smooth but feels slow and sludgy compared to other competitors which can restart their engines and pull away from a green light more quickly.
So, the Palisade’s engine gets the job done, but it’s neither your smoothest, quietest, most powerful, nor your most fuel-efficient option for the money.
Elsewhere on gripes, I consistently wished for a stronger-performing windshield sprayer system at speed, and I missed having a backup camera washer system like what’s in numerous competitor products for similar money, and which makes it easier to keep exterior cameras clean and functional at all times. Finally, the push-button shifter is easy to use, but when you’ve got four identical buttons to select gears, you’ve always got to look down to make sure you’ve hit the right one. It’s just a breath more work than it needs to be.
2023 Hyundai Palisade lighting impressions
If you’re not a fan of driving in the dark, the Palisade’s LED headlights might just change your mind. First, the lighting colour and spread is excellent, thanks to clean white light that reaches widely in front of the vehicle for plenty of reach into the roadside.
Low beams provide a wide spread of useful and consistent illumination with a vivid white colour that’s easy on the eyes. I did wish for a touch more low-beam output in the mid-distance range just in front of the vehicle at times, the brights fill in that gap and add more peripheral lighting farther away, as well as impressive reach to reflective signs and surfaces up the road.
Best of all, the automatic high beams are totally on the ball: just set it and forget it. After 400 kilometres of driving in the dark, my tester hadn’t accidentally beamed even one oncoming motorist, and none had flashed me back either.
This is a high-performing lighting system I think drivers can quickly take a lot of confidence in, especially during lengthy after-dark drives where eye fatigue is kept at bay.
How does the Hyundai Palisade’s fuel economy compare?
According to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the Hyundai Palisade’s 3.8-litre, 291-horsepower V6 will drink 12.3 litres of gasoline for every 100 kilometres of driving in the city, 9.6 L/100 km on the highway, and 11.1 L/100km combined.
Assuming fuel costs of $1.50 per litre and a distance driven of 25,000 kilometres per year, your annual fuel cost would be about $4,162.
To compare, a Ford Explorer’s base engine is a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with more power and torque than the Palisade’s larger V6. In the city, this engine uses 11.7 L/100 km, with highway consumption landing at 8.6 L/100 km towards an overall figure of 10.3 L/100 km. This makes for an annual fuel cost of $3,862. That’s a savings of about $300 per year versus the Palisade, despite higher output figures.
The extended-length, three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6-litre V6 uses 13 L/100 km in the city, 9.4 L/100 km on the highway, and 11.3 L/100 km overall — good for a $4,238 annual fuel bill in this example, a similar fuel bill from two engines with highly similar output.
If you’re after a three-row with more guts and towing capacity, the Hemi V8 in the Grand Cherokee L turns out 357 horsepower but sees the fuel bill climb to about $5,288 per year, roughly a $1,000 penalty for the V8 engine but an additional 2,200 lb of towing capacity over the Palisade.
Shoppers after a larger SUV, like the Ford Expedition or the new Wagoneer, will see an annual fuel cost increase of between $900 and $1,200 over the Palisade, given these examples.
On the other side of the equation, there’s the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which uses about 6.7 L/100 km in both the city and on the highway. Moving to this machine means a loss of power and torque, but the fuel bill drops to $2,550 — an annual savings of about $1,600 versus the Palisade, and about half the fuel cost of a Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee L.
Final thoughts on the 2023 Hyundai Palisade
To recap, we’ve got a high-end family SUV that hits hardest for its cabin, features, and perhaps especially ride comfort, with generous seating space inside. Though performance, fuel mileage, and powertrain refinement are outgunned by competitor products using turbocharging or hybrid tech, a slick interior, generous feature content, and numerous handy touches will more than compensate for many shoppers. It’s not your best pick for performance or fuel efficiency, but if ride comfort and high-tech are on the top of your wish-list, get yourself a test drive of one of these.
Answering the internet’s top questions about the 2023 Hyundai Palisade:
Is Palisade a Hybrid?
Nope, all Palisade models run a 3.8-litre, non-hybrid V6 engine with 291 horsepower.
Can a Palisade pull a camper? What can it tow?
The Palisade’s maximum towing capacity is 5,000 pounds.
Which Palisade has a panoramic sunroof?
Actually, the Palisade has a single tilt / slide power sunroof on the Preferred and Urban trim grades, and the Ultimate Calligraphy adds an additional wide-panel fixed sunroof over the second seating row.
Where is the Hyundai Palisade made?
The Hyundai Palisade is made in Ulsan, South Korea.
Which Hyundai Palisade has leather seats?
You’ll find vinyl ‘Leatherette’ seating surfaces on the Urban trim, and Nappa Leather on the Ultimate Calligraphy like my tester, while the Preferred trim gets stain-resistant cloth seats.
Which Hyundai Palisade has 8 seats?
With the 2023 Hyundai Palisade, eight-passenger seating capacity is standard on the Preferred and Urban trim grades, while seven-passenger capacity with the second-row captains chairs is optional on the Urban trim and standard with the Ultimate Calligraphy.
