Upgraded Hyundai Palisade gains five-star safety rating

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has officially awarded all variants in the upgraded 2023 Hyundai Palisade range with its maximum five-star safety rating.

That’s good news for buyers of Hyundai’s flagship SUV, which was slapped with a sub-par four-star ANCAP rating back in June, when the big eight-seater failed to impress in more areas than one.

On sale this week, the facelifted 2023 Hyundai Palisade brings a raft of improvements, including new safety gear, improved technologies and refreshed design.

Where the previous Hyundai Palisade (diesel variants only) fell down in ANCAP’s increasingly stringent testing criteria was in the safety assist and vulnerable road user (pedestrians and cyclists) protection categories, scoring just 63 per cent in each.

It also fell short in terms of adult occupant protection, where ANCAP noted a ‘marginal’ result during the oblique pole test, in which chest protection of the driver was poor compared to other vehicles in the large SUV segment.

To remedy this, Hyundai says the upgraded Palisade comes with an updated and reinforced chassis structure to improve rigidity and crash performance.

“Collision performance is improved through the reinforcement of the side impact structure in key areas such as the side sill, floor and B-pillar. By reinforcing the side and floor structures, occupants are better protected in the event of a collision,” said Hyundai.

Speaking at this week’s launch of the MY23 Palisade, Hyundai Australia’s general manager for planning and future business Andrew Tuitahi told media that the Korean car-maker had expected a four-star ANCAP rating for the original Palisade first launched here in December 2020, following the introduction of a stricter ANCAP scoring regime from 2020.

“We were aware coming into the launch of the car that it would likely score four stars, because it was designed to be released globally around 2018/2019, before the 2020 protocols,” he said.

“Knowing that, we had to make a decision around whether we thought four-star would impact the car, what kind of safety it actually offered and whether we thought customers would make a decision to purchase, wait or buy something else.

“Ultimately, we launched the car, we’re happy with the volume that we’ve achieved and we had positive customer feedback, but that said it was always our intention to seek the enhanced safety features to enable a five-star rating.”

ANCAP says the improvements – including the fitment of a speed limit information system, centre airbag and multi-collision braking functionality – now bolster the facelifted Palisade’s safety credentials.

“It’s great to see Hyundai introduce these safety-related upgrades which now elevate the Palisade to five stars, and we encourage all vehicle brands to continually look for opportunities to improve the safety specification of models as part of their model facelifts,” said ANCAP boss Carla Hoorweg.

“Consumers, fleets and mobility service providers prioritise the purchase and use of five star ANCAP rated vehicles, and this upgrade now sees the Palisade become a purchasing contender for these buyers”.

The additions now see the Palisade score an impressive 88 per cent when it comes to child occupant protection, 83 per cent for safety assist (up from just 63 per cent) and 84 per cent for adult occupant protection (previously 79).  

However, while the new Palisade has improved in almost every area of safety, it strangely scored even worse than before when it comes to vulnerable road user protection, with a new score of just 62 per cent.

Smarter than the outgoing Palisade, the incoming version of Hyundai’s biggest SUV debuts Hyundai Bluelink connected services, bringing new features such as automatic collision notification, an SOS emergency call function, natural language server-based Voice Control and server-based Connected Routing Navigation.

The new Bluelink tech also means owners will be able to operate vehicle functions remotely, including lock/unlock their car, adjust the climate control settings and even send a planned route to the navigation system before getting in.

Remote start also becomes standard, while top-spec Highlander grades now get access to the brand’s cool remote smart parking assist tech.

Further to that, the 2023 Palisade brings a front centre airbag for the first time, providing an inflated barrier between the driver and passenger to prevent head clash in the event of a side impact, as well as a digital rear-view mirror (top-spec Highlander only).

Autonomous emergency braking with junction turning function is another new feature for the MY23 Hyundai Palisade, while a pair of larger 12.3-inch digital screens now also come standard.

“2023 Palisade builds on its family SUV credentials with additional safety, luxury, convenience and connectivity features, including the first application of Hyundai Bluelink connected car technology, to create an immensely appealing package,” said Hyundai Australia CEO Ted Lee.

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