three row SUVs are more popular than ever before and the segment is more
competitive than ever before in the 2020 model year alone we're looking at three
new vehicles the all-new Kia telluride the fully redesigned Ford Explorer and
this the all-new Hyundai palisade though the palisade is the last of these three
to come to market I think that it is well worth the wait because much like to
Telluride with which it bears more than a passing resemblance it is very very
good now the two vehicles are kind of like other Hyundai Kia vehicles and that
they share a lot of components especially mechanically so underneath
the two have the exact same powertrain the same chassis a lot of the same body
structure but everything that you see in touch is different on the Palisades than
the Telluride so the exterior styling the interior materials and the dashboard
layout are all different and the palette also comes with a few unique features
which I think do give it a leg up on the Telluride we came to Idaho to put the
palisade through its paces driving it both on and off road to see if it can
stack up to the best that this segment has to offer so while the Telluride has
more kind of rugged styling inside and out of the palisade also we're kind of a
cleaner more modern look so starts up here with the dashboard this has the
optional 10.25 inch large multimedia touchscreen actually very well placed
sometimes these large touchscreens are hard to reach for the driver especially
on the far side but here in the palisade very easy to reach both sides I don't
have to like lean way forward to reach even the far side of the screen which is
something that I appreciate one way that the palisade differentiates itself
from the Telluride is this twelve point three inch fully digital display cluster
so this is standard on limited models like the one that we're in and it is a
very very good application of a digital gauge cluster sometimes these screens
can be overwhelming they can either feed you too much information or sometimes
they're too simple and don't feed you enough this one is kind of just right so
you can actually change out what shows up in the middle of the screen and it
will bump that information to the right side so let's say you want to see how
all your safety functions are working and will move your trip meter or how
much range you have left to the right side effectively using both spaces and
the palisade also comes with a very cool bit of technology so Honda introduced
Lane watch feature that when you turn on the right
turn signal they would actually show it what was in your right side blind spot
the palace it kind of takes that technology to the next level
so it works now whether you have the turn single to the left or to the right
and will actually take over part of the screen to show you actively what's in
the blind spot so you don't say you're merging to the left flip on the left
turn signal it'll show you temporarily on the left side of the screen where the
speedometer is what's in your left side blind spot flip it to the right it
doesn't on the right side where the tach is so when your highs will naturally go
when you kind of turn a turn signal that's the size they use in very high
resolution cameras very easy to see what's in those blind spots even though
this ability is pretty good all around the policy is cop big windows on all
sides this is still a very welcome feature for those who want to merge
safely another big difference between the two vehicles is the palisade doesn't
have a traditional gear shift so it actually goes to a push-button gear
selector which I don't like but what I do like is that Hyundai actually did
something with the space so by going from a traditional gear selector to
these buttons here they've opened up the space in the center console you have a
nicely sized bin that has a wireless charging pad right here but what you
really gain is this underneath storage space where Hyundai has also put another
USB port in a 12-volt charging port as well
driving the palisade is pretty similar to driving to Telluride and that is a
good comparison under the hood the same 3.8 liter v6 making 291 horsepower and
it comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission the palisade rides and
drives very confidently there's enough power from the engine that it doesn't
feel super taxed in getting the palestine' up to speed which is
impressive for such a large vehicle as this so whether you're going from 0 to
20 or trying to get up to speed to pass someone on a highway we're able to do
both things very quickly and with a lot of confidence especially when you're in
sport mode which kind of heightens the throttle response the palisade doesn't
necessarily feel quick but it does give you enough confidence that you're gonna
be able to make it up and on ramp or pass someone in the time that you need
to this is the limited model so 20 inch optional wheels and sometimes with
larger wheels vehicles don't ride as well as you think this car still rides
very well it can't get a touch nosy over rough roads and there's a decent
wind noise but those are both things that you can say about to Telluride and
they didn't prevent me from having conversations with people in the cabin
without having to raise my voice for folks who do need to reach the third row
with their voice there is a kind of like a mic projector so you just turn
something on in the multimedia screen and then your voice actually gets
broadcast over the speakers so if you need to yell down some unruly children
there's an easy way to do that that's the other way in which the
palisade differentiates itself from the Telluride it actually has a powered
third row so there's this helpful array of buttons here in the cargo area and
they allow you to raise all over the third row in the second row even without
any more effort than pressing a button so both separate switches for both the
left and the right side and from here you can actually lower all the seats
down to open up a nice large cargo area I also put the palisade through what I
like to call the three Brian's tests so my online dating profile it might say
that I'm 6 feet tall but in real life I'd say I'm more like 511 okay like 510
and a half and what I do is I set up the front seat to where I like to drive and
then go to the second row set that up to a comfortable place behind the front
seat and then climb through the third row to see if you can actually fit three
adult passengers front to back in the SUV the palisade does pass the Brian
test but barely so you can definitely fit adult passengers back there I had
enough legroom and Headroom however there's not enough back support in the
seat in the floors kind of highest your knees do rest off of the seat which
means that it won't be comfortable sitting back there for longer trips so I
would say you could put someone back there for like an hour and they'd be
alright but for three or four hours and they might mutiny Hyundai also did a
very good job much like Kia did of putting a lot of amenities in the second
and third row so second row passengers here actually get heated and ventilated
captains chairs and in the third row you have power tilt and recline as well as
two USB ports so plenty of charging options all around and plenty of
amenities for first second and third row passengers with all those extra features
on board you might think that the palisade cost more than the Telluride
but actually fully loaded it comes in at about 300 dollars west the vehicle
behind me is right around forty-seven thousand dollars and that gives a
palisade excellent value in this segment where other vehicles such as the
Explorer can top out near sixty thousand dollars so with this vehicle you're
looking at a lot of value some great features and a really thoughtful
interior that I appreciate now the difference between the palace in the
Telluride even with that slight difference in price I think that you
could choose either one without giving up too much it's really gonna kind of
come down to styling so if you want something that looks
we're rugged you might lean to us to Telluride if you want something that
looks more modern and urban the palisade might be for you either way you can't
really go wrong both are excellent vehicles and they give Hyundai and Kia
an excellent one-two punch in this very popular segment