Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Hybrid Pre-production 2026 Review

We drove a pre-production version of the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Hybrid on a private test road in Sydney (the HART facility at St Ives), with much of the finer detail such as confirmed pricing still to be locked in.

However, Hyundai has said that it estimates a price of around $90,00 (plus on-road costs) for the new model. While new Palisade will be covered by Hyundai’s new seven-year warranty, other aftersales provision details such as capped price service pricing is yet to be locked in.

The new Palisade will arrive only in top Calligraphy trim (to begin with, at least) primarily because 83 per cent of buyers preferred it over the Elite in the outgoing range.

The headline equipment new to the Palisade includes dual tilt/slide sunroofs, Digital Key 2.0, Fingerprint recognition, Hybrid V2L, Hybrid stay mode, 16-way power adjustable driver’s seat (12-way for front passenger), Premium relaxation seats in the front (and relaxation seats for second row in the seven-seater model), winged outboard headrests in the second row, heated front, centre and rear outboard seats  and auto-folding third-row seats.

This is on top of carry-over features such as privacy glass, roof rails, alloy wheels (21-inch), keyless entry/start, Nappa leather interior with suede headlining, heated steering wheel, ventilated front and rear seats. New for the infotainment system is the 14-speaker Bose audio and USB ports in all three rows, while there’s also a 12.3-inch infotainment screen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, Bluelink with OTA updates, sat-nav and wireless charging.

Active safety is well rounded, with improvements over the outgoing model including In Cabin Camera (driver monitoring), Highway Driving Assist 2 and visual rear door opening.

Other features we’ve seen before include Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, Lane Following Assist 2, Lane Keeping Assist, Manual Speed Limit Assist, Rear Occupant Alert with sensor, Rear Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance; Smart Cruise Control 2; with Stop & Go and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.

There are eight airbags, front, front side, side curtain - extending to the third row, driver’s knee and front centre. The new Palisade has yet to be ANCAP tested but Hyundai believes that a five-star result is on the cards.

The new hybrid powertrain consists of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and six-speed automatic linked to dual electric motors, with total combined output of 245kW and 460Nm (up from 147kW and 440Nm for the outgoing 2.2 diesel). One 13kW motor generates power, while the other 54kW motor drives the wheels. With a transversely mounted powertrain, the Palisade employs an on-demand AWD system.

Our drive of the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Hybrid on the HART training centre private road (meant to replicate a section of the Old Pacific Highway) was relatively short, with several loops totalling about 20km. So, while these impressions are nowhere near definitive, it allowed some good insights to the new Palisade.

First off, the cabin ambience was lush and large. No lack of space in the first two rows, and even the third row is roomy enough for most adults. The dash and infotainment systems were large and simple to operate, but we wonder if items such as the speed recognition system might prove an issue like other Hyundais (and many other makes) when out on public roads.

The new Palisade received unique local suspension damper tuning, which appears to have paid off – the vehicle displayed very good body control at 80km/h over a sharp drop-down on one of the track’s straights. Steering is not all that direct, but it was easy to place the wheels on the twisty sections. This isn’t a sports car, but the sense was that it would acquit itself well on lumpy, curved 100km/h secondary roads.

While the performance wasn’t enough to pin you to the seat, it was strong and pulled the 2.2 tonnes of Palisade along easily.

The narrow, winding sections of our loop drew attention to how wide and long the new Palisade is (it’s 1980mm wide and 5060mm long), making it a little difficult to place on those tight sections.

When exploring the performance, fuel consumption was rising up to around 16.0L/100km. A reset of the trip computer and more gentle driving saw 11.0L/100km, but still nowhere near the 6.8L/100km claimed average (or the outgoing 2.2 diesel’s 7.3L/100km average). More time with the Palisade will tell what a realistic figure is, but indications are that it is perhaps not going to be distinctly more economical than that of the outgoing 2.2-litre diesel.

While the $90,000 estimated price might seem like a mere drop in the ocean for some people, it hasn’t exactly made the new model more accessible to families on a budget. Don’t forget that the entry point to the outgoing Palisade, the Elite V6 is ‘just’ $66,800 (plus ORCs), even if only 17 per cent of buyers went for the Elite. The difference of $24,000 would buy the kids a lifetime of ice creams. Hyundai’s point is, go buy a Santa Fe if you need or want to spend less; if you want more space and more luxury, spend up big with a Palisade, as most Palisade buyers are already doing.

I can imagine that the 2026 Hyundai Palisade would be an excellent choice for a large, well-heeled family living in a rural area where the additional overtaking power and (theoretical, at least) fuel consumption gains and better interior space over the old model would all be positives, as would the well-contained suspension.

However, the new larger body won’t make life any easier in the inner city, and the jury’s out on fuel economy gains until we get some more time with the new Hyundai.

2025 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Hybrid at a glance:
Price: $90,000 (estimated)
Available: October 2025
Powertrain: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric
Combined output: 245kW/460Nm
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: n/a
Safety rating: Not tested

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