Hyundai Palisade gets the same 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine as the Kia Telluride, and is priced from $31,775 in the United States
Hyundai’s India division appears to be evaluating new premium models that have the potential to rival the Innova Crysta and Fortuner in the coming years. Considering the latter case, the Palisade could fit the bill as it is the flagship SUV from the brand right now. The Palisade is the biggest Hyundai SUV on sale in the United States market, and can be had with either a 7-seat layout, or even an 8-seat version.
The car shares its underpinnings with the Kia Telluride, although it does have its own identity, both inside and outside. On the outside, the Palisade makes use of Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness design language. Owing to that, the SUV gets a large cascading grille up front with a thick chrome strip outlining it. The Palisade features a split headlamp design, with integrated LED DRLs.
The side profile of the car is pretty long, and even the 20-inch alloy wheels (optional) on offer look like they could be upsized without messing up with the proportions of the car. At the rear, the Palisade gets vertically stacked L-shaped LED tail lamps along with white strips that is mostly visible on the darker shades of the SUV, and look like the reverse lights, but actually aren’t. The car gets a rear skid plate as well, along with a dual-tip exhaust.
Inside the cabin, the car gets a 10.25-inch centrally stacked touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, multiple smartphone connections, BlueLink connected-car tech features, Harman Kardon sound system, a 12.3-inch fully digital LCD instrument cluster, leather seats, 8-way power-adjustable front seats, power-folding and reclining third-row seats, powered tailgate and more.
It also gets a dual automatic sunroof, USB charging for all three rows, rear side sunshades, bi-LED headlamps and an auto-levelling rear suspension. On the safety front, the Palisade comes equipped with a blind view monitor, Hyundai Drive-Assist with Level 2 Autonomy, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic warning, lane-keeping assist, driver attention warning system, safe exit assist, 9 airbags, and an adaptive cruise control system.
The Palisade draws power from a sole 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine that belts out 291 hp of maximum power and 355 Nm of peak torque. The engine can only be coupled with an 8-speed automatic transmission, and an all-wheel drive configuration is also standard across the range.
Hyundai retails the Palisade in the United States at a starting price of $31,775, which converts to about Rs 24.16 lakh in Indian currency. It competes against the likes of Kia Telluride, Chevrolet Traverse, Volkswagen Atlas, Honda Pilot and the Ford Explorer as well and it could be launched in India in next 2-3 years as Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour & Skoda Kodiaq rival.
