Hyundai has taken the wraps off its all-new Palisade flagship SUV. The brand has revealed the first set of details and images of the SUV for the Korean market, though the global reveal is slated to take place early next year, we had reported a few months ago.
- Next-gen Palisade powered by Theta 3 petrol-hybrid engine
- Looks more upmarket than the outgoing model
- Hyundai will bring petrol-hybrid models to India by 2027
New Palisade global debut brought forward
Hyundai has advanced the global debut of the Palisade as demand for petrol-hybrid vehicles has soared in many international markets. This has led Hyundai to bring forward the start of production for the new Palisade, which gets the new Theta 3 hybrid powertrain.
New Palisade exterior highlights
The all-new Palisade take the game much higher than the outgoing model in terms of design and upmarket feel. It gets a mix of boxy looks with rounded corners and an ample dose of chorme on the exterior. At the front, there’s a tall grille with five horizontal slats, and the large Hyundai logo sits right above the grille. The headlamps are placed vertically on either side of the grille and get a slatted design, with the bottom-most light bar being wider than the ones above it. The front bumper gets two horizontal slats and a U-shaped chin, which seems to be finished in brushed aluminum. The clamshell bonnet has a unique look that gets a rectangular-shaped indent.
Moving to the sides, the new Palisade gets angular looks with a large glasshouse, flared wheel arches and a turbine-like design for the large 21-inch alloy wheels. The D-pillar and the area above the doors are painted silver – something we've seen on the Creta in India before – and the roofline slopes subtly towards the rear, ending at the angular rear glass and upright tailgate.
The tail-lamps are vertically positioned and get six light slats, with the top-most and bottom-most ones extending further onto the sides. When seen from the rear three-fourth, the new Palisade seems to resemble the Range Rover to some extent. The rear bumper and tailgate get a simple design with large Hyundai branding, a centrally-mounted license place housing, and some chorme bits.
New Palisade interior highlights
The interior of the new Palisade has moved upmarket too. Going by the images released by Hyundai, the beige-themed cabin seems to have a lot of premium materials. The double-layered dashboard gets two horizontally-positioned screens for infotainment and instrumentation. The steering wheel, again, resembles the Range Rover's, and it comes with multiple controls and a wood finish. The AC vents are oval-shapedwith two being placed on either corner of the dash, while the centre vents are positioned amobe the climate control system, among other functions and buttons. The centre console gets a large armrest with two separate openings, and an additional cubby hole along with a wireless charging slot. The center console can be also moved upwards and converted to a middle seat for the front row making the SUV a nine-seater for some markets.
Hyundai hasn’t revealed pictures of the second and the third row, nor has it released any features list as such. However, from what we can see in the images, the SUV comes with a 360-degree camera, ADAS, heated and cooled seats, wireless charging and a panoramic sunroof, among others.
New Palisade hybrid powertrain
Hyundai will introduce its all-new Theta series of petrol-hybrid engines with the new Palisade. The first of many powerplants will be a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol unit that is coupled with an electric motor. This new powertrain will replace the pure-petrol Lambda series of engines that powers the outgoing Palisade.
Do note that the details revealed so far are only for the Palisade that will go on sale in Hyundai's home market of South Korea. Expect the Korean brand to reveal more details about its flagships SUV in the coming months, when the version for global markets is revealed.
Hyundai hybrids in the works for India
Due to the increasing shift towards hybrids, we expect Hyundai to introduce more of these models globally going forward. As we reported recently, the carmaker has plans to start offering hybrid powertrains for its SUVs and sedans by 2027 in India, including the Creta, Alcazar, Verna and Tucson.
The current-gen Palisade was under evaluation for an India launch; however, it never made it to our shores. It remains to be seen whether Hyundai decides to introduce the new Palisade in India.
Also see:
Hyundai readying new hybrid SUV above Alcazar