It’s always a dangerous game to mess with a successful formula. From Sean Connery to Roger Moore (with a brief appearance from George Lazenby in between) in 1973; to Coca-Cola to New Coke in 1985 (and then back again, thankfully); to Garth Brooks’ transformation into Chris Gaines in 1999, the remaking of a class-leader into something different can be fraught with disaster.
Hyundai has a bona fide hit on its hands in the form of the Palisade three-row SUV. From 2020 through 2023, The Hyundai Palisade’s market share in its segment hovered right around 5.5 percent. In 2024, it catapulted all the way to 7 percent, and so far in 2025, it’s managed to retain that growing momentum. Considering the popularity of the three-row crossover segment – second only to the smaller compact crossover in overall sales in America of all mainstream segments – Hyundai is playing a dangerous game by refreshing its popular Palisade.
(Full disclosure: Hyundai flew me to Sonoma County, gave me a place to sleep overnight, fed me tasty food and even kept my glass filled with fine wine from the region so that I could drive the 2026 Palisade. Unfortunately I carried my bags with me on the plane so I couldn’t take a bottle home with me.)
Gone are the flowing lines that have defined the Palisade since its launch for the 2020 model year. In their place are bold, aggressive shapes with plenty of sharp edges and well-defined lines. The headlight clusters are especially noteworthy, taking the form of a series of stacked and extended rectangles that flank a newly squared-off grille. Chunky cut lines over the wheel arches further push the Palisade’s look from soft-road people mover to something edgier and more rugged-looking.
The 2026 Hyundai Palisade’s interior is similarly removed from its predecessor, and interestingly stands in contrast to the harsher exterior design. All of the new Palisade’s surface shapes and textures are softened compared to the outgoing model, with a general Mid-Century Modern ethos. The dash is made up of an expansive oval shape with deeply inset digital screens for both the gauge cluster (excepting the base SE model and its small 4.2-inch screen) and infotainment system. Fortunately, buttons have been incorporated into the center stack and console, making the most often used controls easy to find without digging through digital menus.
The Palisade has grown a bit for 2026, with a couple of inches added to the wheelbase that helps the SUV feel roomy inside. The second and third rows of seats can slide fore and aft to give more legroom or cargo room, depending on the need. Only the Toyota Grand Highlander offers more interior space in this segment, so if your hauling needs require a more cavernous car, you may have to consider a full-sizer like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, or Toyota Sequoia.
The Palisade still uses a V6 engine, but it has been downsized from 3.8 to 3.5 liters for the 2026 model year. Power is down slightly, with 287 horsepower (down by four ponies) and 260 lb-ft of torque (minus two lb-ft) on tap, but the minor reduction in grunt is not felt from the seat of your pants out on the road. An eight-speed automatic transmission sends power to either the front or optionally all four wheels. The transmission’s seamless shifts combine with the effortless thrust of the naturally aspirated engine to provide a serene driving experience from behind the wheel.
Fuel economy isn’t quite as good as some of the Palisade’s peers, coming in at 19 miles per gallon in the city, 25 mpg on the highway and 21 combined. Those figures all fall by one mpg for all-wheel-drive Palisade models. Competitors like the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, and Toyota Grand Highlander use turbocharged four-cylinder engines and deliver an extra mpg or two in the combined rating, on paper at least, but often feel harsher and less refined than a more traditional V6.
Pretty much all of the expected active safety equipment is standard on all Palisade models, including lane-keeping assist and land-following assist, though some things like forward collision-avoidance assist with car/pedestrian/cyclist detection and evasive steering assist only come on top-trim models. Similarly, Hyundai’s base highway-driving assist I Level 2 advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) is standard on all but the top-trim Calligraphy, which gets its ADAS upgraded to HDA II, gaining a lane-change assistance function.
The 2026 Palisade’s ride errs on the side of comfort, and that’s appropriate for a family mover of this ilk. The steering is smooth and direct, and changing between driving modes like Eco and Sport make noticeable differences to the car’s overall demeanor. Palisade models with Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive get Mud, Sand and Snow Terrain Mode settings that are optimized to put power down to the ground on various low-traction surfaces.
We also took the new-for-2026 XRT Pro model for a spin on a makeshift off-road course. There wasn’t any mud, but there was plenty of dirt, sand, and rocks. With 8.4 inches of ground clearance (that’s a full inch more than other Palisades), chunkier 18-inch all-terrain tires and an electronically locking rear differential, the XRT Pro is more than a mere appearance package. We went up some slopes and back down the other sides that would make most drivers look for another route, and while the rock course we drove across wouldn’t cause a Bronco or Wrangler any trouble, the fact that the ultra comfortable three-row Palisade XRT Pro made it across – albeit sometimes with only three wheels on the ground – was an impressive feat. If the XRT Pro does get stuck, its front and rear recovery hooks are fully functional and capable of handling the full weight of the vehicle in the event an extraction is required.
The 2026 Palisade lineup starts with the SE for less than $40,000. We’d suggest buyers at least bump up to the Palisade SEL for $42,935 (including a reasonable $1,495 destination charge) in either seven- or eight-passenger form in order to get the improved digital gauge package along with a sunroof, roof rails, a hands-free tailgate, leatherette seating surfaces with power functions and heat for the front row, wireless device charging, and more.
For all the goodies, the $55,555 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy feels like a legitimate luxury crossover, with Nappa leather, heated and ventilated seats for the first two rows (the third is still heated), full power seats for all three rows, and even a built-in dashcam that records what’s happening both in front and behind the vehicle and stores the footage on a memory card.
If you want the off-road XRT Pro model, you’re looking at an MSRP of $50,865 with standard all-wheel drive. Powering all four wheels adds an extra $2,000 to every other trim level. A little later this year, Hyundai will begin selling a Palisade Hybrid that couples a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine with a pair of electric motors. Combined output will be 329 hp, and Hyundai is targeting 34 mpg combined from the hybrid SUV.
The V6-powered Palisade excels in lots of areas, with a smooth powertrain, comfortable ride, spacious cabin with room for adults in all three rows, and a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds. We don’t think it’s going to turn into a marketplace failure like New Coke, and it’s certainly not as baffling as a country star’s alter ego. Like Connery and Moore, the old Palisade and new Palisade are different, but both versions fulfill their missions in convincing fashion.
[Images © 2025 Jeremy Korzeniewski/TTAC.com]
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