Hyundai Palisade 2026 Review

Technically, the 2026 Hyundai Palisade isn’t the brand’s most expensive local offering – that honour belongs to the electric Ioniq 9 – but at $89,900 plus on-road costs, it’s certainly the dearest petrol-powered triple-row people lugger on the fleet.

For the money, though, it’s very well equipped out of the box.

Powered by Hyundai’s latest hybrid petrol-electric powertrain (245kW/460Nm) that generates more than enough hustle to move the big rig easily, the Palisade marks a departure from diesel power, which we’re told won’t make a return to the line-up.

Based around a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor and a single electric motor adding to motive force, the Palisade also offers mechanical all-wheel drive (read: there’s a driveshaft connecting the two axles rather than a wire), a conventional six-speed automatic and multiple drive modes.

On the outside, it’s impossible to miss the huge LED headlight and taillight arrays, the 21-inch alloys and the dual sunroofs, all encapsulated in a design that deliberately takes its lead from the first-generation Palisade, which launched locally in late 2020.

Inside, the Palisade offers eight Nappa leather-swaddled seats as standard, with three seats across both the second and third rows, though the rearmost middle seat is tiny. There’s an option to spec a pair of captain’s chairs in the second row, which adds $1000 to the tally and reduces the seat count to seven overall.

Those seats are pretty special, too, with heating and power operation across all three rows, plus massage and air support functions in the fronts and electric tilt on the second row.

The tech list on offer in the Palisade is pretty impressive, too. Highlights include a head-up display, a digital key that can be loaded onto a smartphone, six high-powered USB ports, a cooled induction charging plate for your phone, a 14-speaker Bose stereo, wireless smartphone mirroring and much more – including Bluelink with OTA updates, sat-nav and even a V2L or vehicle to load system. This allows occupants to run small appliances or charge laptops.

Balancing all that tech is a brace of physical buttons that reside underneath the pair of 12.3-inch digital screens, allowing for manual control of functions like climate and media.

There’s a huge centre console bin as well, thanks to the shift-by wire gear selector that’s been relocated to the right of the steering wheel – similar to the latest Hyundai Santa Fe.

Other than the seven-seat option, the only thing left to pay for is premium paint at $750 and some of the eight exterior hues allow for more interior colour options. But is has to be said, the exterior paint jobs are fairly conservative.

Safety systems are above average with eight airbags fitted as standard: front, front side, side curtain (extending to the third row), driver's knee, and front centre. It comes with all the advanced semi-autonomous safety systems you can shake an advanced sensor package at (AEB, lane assist, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control etc).

Although ANCAP testing hasn't been completed yet, Hyundai expects a five-star safety rating.

Competitor-wise, the Palisade sits below lower-end Euros like the entry-level Audi Q7 45 TFSI at around $108,000 plus on-roads, or above cars like Mazda’s top-spec CX-80 Azami SP at $79,400 plus on-roads. The range-topping Toyota Kluger Grande comes in at $85,135 before on-roads.

Seven year’s warranty is available when the Palisade is serviced within Hyundai dealer network, with relatively short 10,000km/12-month service intervals suggested.

It’s a lot of car, the Hyundai Palisade. Measuring 5060mm long and 1980mm wide it has plenty of road presence and the huge bluff grille adds to that perception of size and mass. For some buyers, size matters, and the 2026 Hyundai Palisade is hard to top in this respect.

Climbing aboard is easy enough, with wide door apertures all round and simple access to the third row if required. The Palisade also rewards with a truly stupendous boot; it’s almost as roomy as a Hyundai i30 hatch even with the third row in place.

You get 348 litres with all three seat rows in use, rising to 729 litres with the third seating row folded away. Throw all the seats down and it turns into a leather-lined panel van.

Hyundai has reined in the exterior design a bit, too; not everyone finds the confronting boxiness of its smaller Santa Fe appealing and visually tying the second-gen car back to the first-generation vehicle is a nice touch.

The brand’s latest HEV or plugless hybrid system doesn’t make its presence felt on start-up or when pulling away. In fact, the Palisade feels like it’s powered by a much bigger motor than it is.

Hyundai has worked hard to ensure the Palisade offers a luxurious vibe, adding (among other things) acoustic glass all round and thicker sound deadening under the carpet to ensure a near-silent ride. The 21-inch tyres even have foam-lining to reduce tyre noise. It’s a premium setup.

Thanks largely to that handy 460Nm torque figure, the Palisade simply wafts along with a comfortable, stable ride that has been tuned for Aussie conditions. This suspension tune has also been rolled out to other right-hand drive markets, we’re told).

The engine only makes itself heard if an extra turn of speed is required – which isn’t often, given the nature of the car.

Other things to note; a big thumbs-up for the full-sized spare wheel lashed under the rear end and the 16-speaker Bose stereo is a banger.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade’s autonomous driver assistance systems (ADAS) – or electronic safety nannies – are on par with the rest of the industry in terms of being equal parts functional and irritating.

Even though the relevant screen to quiet things down can be mapped to a shortcut button on the steering wheel, having to shut down warnings every single time the car is started could get very tedious.

ADAS elements are a bit hit and miss as well. Its automatic lane change function was pernickety, refusing to play along for no obvious reason despite having worked perfectly for the previous lane change.

If you’re thinking that the hybrid system aboard the Palisade will help you drive in EV mode or indeed save you a lot of fuel, you’re not quite on the money – though the claimed 6.8L/100km combined fuel economy figure isn’t wide of the mark.

After a stout morning of driving, we managed 7.3L/100km. With its 72-litre tank, it’ll get close to 1000km of range on its best day, but 750km is probably more realistic. Either way, that’s a very impressive cruising range and more than any EV will offer today.

It should also be noted that its maximum braked towing capacity is 2000kg for the hybrid powertrain, compared to 2200kg for outgoing models.

I also felt that the steering effort was unnaturally hefty, given how comfortable and cruisy the rest of the drive experience was. I’m old enough to remember when Hyundais came with adjustable steering feel buttons on the steering wheel itself, and I found myself diving through menu screens to see if I could lighten the steering effort.

If you need to carry five or more people in sumptuous comfort on the regular, and you need a bit of space for their stuff, then the 2026 Hyundai Palisade is definitely worth a closer look.

It’s a big chunk of change, sure, but the value equation in terms of included gear, the execution of the second-generation hybrid system and the fact that it’s been tuned for our conditions definitely count in its favour.

2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Hybrid at a glance:
Price: 89,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric plugless hybrid
Combined output: 245kW/460Nm
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Fuel: 6.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 154g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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