Hyundai Palisade unveiled as new flagship SUV

Hyundai today introduced its new flagship premium three-row Palisade SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The new Palisade rides on an all-new SUV chassis which is claimed to offer exceptional second- and third-row roominess coupled with generous cargo area and reconfiguration flexibility.

Produced in Ulsan, South Korea in left-hand-drive format only, the Palisade will launch in the U.S. in mid 2019, with the rest of the LHD market to follow. Hyundai has no plans to build a right-hand-drive version, at least for now, which means Australia and other RHD markets will miss out on the flagship SUV.

Designed to compete in the full-size SUV market against models like the Toyota Highlander (Kluger), Honda Pilot and Nissan Pathfinder, the Palisade offers three-row seating for 7 or 8 people depending on configurations, and provides 510L of cargo capacity with its third row upright, or 1297L when it is stowed.

Motivating the Palisade is Hyundai’s direct-injected 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine that runs on the Atkinson cycle and produces 217kW of power at 6000rpm and 355Nm of torque at 5000rpm.

Drive is sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission and Hyundai’s HTrac all-wheel-drive system with active torque vectoring. Two-wheel drive variants will be introduced in certain markets.

“The new 2020 Hyundai Palisade clearly evokes design imagery worthy of Hyundai’s flagship SUV, with new levels of all-road, all-weather capability, technology, safety, roominess and efficiency, all packaged in cutting-edge design,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of Product, Corporate and Digital Planning, Hyundai Motor America.

“This new Hyundai SUV is the ultimate family vehicle for practical, comfortable daily use and memory-making road trips whenever the appeal of the open road should beckon.”

Hyundai Australia has expressed its interest in bringing a RHD Palisade to Australia, if one becomes available in the future.