CROSSOVER IS LARGE BUT NOT UNWIELDY
Stylish family hauler put to the test in the height of hockey season
Is it wrong to confess how brilliant I am for picking my longterm test vehicle? Hockey season is in full swing, and between my son’s experiment with the goalie position, and my coaching his team and playing in beer-league games, the Hyundai Palisade is the large crossover I never knew I wanted.
Despite being large and accommodating in terms of passenger and cargo space, it doesn’t feel large to drive. The seating position is high and commanding, but the turning circle is tight and the steering is linear and quick. Best of all is that the excellent outward visibility, 360-degree cameras and parking sensors make parking easy and stress free. Even with the third row up, there’s room for a couple of kids’ hockey bags and my coaching gear, so it’s carpool friendly — even for hockey excursions.
After enjoying the Palisade myself for a few weeks, I sent resident crank David Booth off with the Palisade for the weekend and the most criticism he could come up with was: “The engine is not as smooth or as powerful as I expected. When hauling, there’s more noise than expected and not as much fury as the cacophony promises.” This criticism isn’t even unanimous — my wife and I find the power level is entirely reasonable, and the throttle appropriately responsive in every mode.
For example, even in Eco, which I use frequently on my commute, there is good jump off the line when you plant the throttle, while in ordinary situations it prioritizes smooth, tepid acceleration. Comfort and Smart both provide mildly different balances, and Sport is always ready with quicker throttle tip-in, holding gears longer and quicker downshifts when getting on the go-pedal at most speeds.
Booth did agree on that point: “I like the modes. There seems to be more differentiation between modes than in most vehicles.”
The transmission has also been nearly flawless, and only the most severe changes from cruising to braking and then acceleration have generated any hiccups. It doesn’t hurt that the 3.8-litre V-6 makes up to 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. And between the eight-speed automatic transmission and the throttle tuning, I don’t think it struggles at all.
Booth had many more positives to list from his short time with the Palisade.
“I find this the best push-button control for an automatic transmission yet. Intuitive and easily deciphered, even without looking, the separate park function works well.”
Here we’re in agreement, and even when making seven-point parking manoeuvres (yes, I’m a bit parking challenged), the Reverse button on top and Drive button on the bottom have become second nature.
We had a few questions about the Palisade on our Driving Youtube channel, which I’ll share here.
“How is the comfort and the cabin noise compared to MDX or GLE? Just curious.” Another person was also interested in the noise level: “Have read comments about some wind noise at front pillar and window, any thoughts?”
I can confirm there is some wind noise from the front A-pillars, and as Booth points out, the sound of the engine is unrefined, but the comfort is just right, absorbing rough bumps without being soft and wallowing in turns. It is interesting to see that people are comparing the Hyundai to well established luxury brands such as Acura and Mercedes-benz. The Mercedes GLE starts at $64,000, while the Palisade tops out at $53,999 for this fully loaded Ultimate. The base Acura MDX, which starts at $54,390, is a fairer comparison, but you’re trading brand reputation (and likely some refinement) for features that include the 360-degree camera system, perforated leather seats that are cooled and heated (if you have the second row captain’s chairs, those are also ventilated), and various driving aids such as blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert. And the MDX doesn’t offer head-up display in any trim — though it does counter with a built-in widescreen in the top trim to keep the kids zoned out on long trips.
The next question we had was about the technology: “How customizable is the digital display? How does the ACC and lane centre work compared to others?”
I have used adaptive cruise control quite a bit, and it’s been very good at maintaining the pace of traffic and smoothing changes of speed without leaving huge gaps or lurching forward when a car moves out of the way. Lane-keep assist has also been good, but it does sometimes react a bit late and give a bit of a jerky tug rather than smoothly getting the Palisade back to centre.
The digital instrument cluster’s customization is a little disappointing, as I was hoping it would offer something like Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, but it’s little more than an advanced trip computer that can be displayed in the available slots and different skins, but in the same setup of speedo on the left and tach on the right.