By Malusi Msomi

The Hyundai Palisade was introduced to the South African market back in September 2021. It lacked some features which other market had the pleasure of having. Fast forward to 2023 and the Palisade has received a facelift and has way more features than the pre-facelift.

Bold exterior styling

The fresher exterior features a new and wider cascading grille, new LED headlights and DRL’s, new wheel design as well as a lower front skid plate element. The side remains largely unchanged, whilst the rear bumper gets a new design. We have to admit, it looks like it could part of the president’s motorcade, it looks so executive. The Palisade is available in 5 exterior colours: Shimmering Silver, Moonlight Blue, Graphite Gray, White Cream and Abyss Black.

Refreshed interior

Available in an 8 or 7-seater options, the updated Palisade receives a new multifunction steering wheel, new slim horizontal air vents, new ambient lighting themes, a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger 12.3-inch touch display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also features a new Infinity 12 Speaker Sound System. When it comes to practicality and convenience the Palisade is very well-equipped. There’s plenty of head and leg room, plenty of USB ports and plenty cup-holders. The standard double sunroof adds some ambience to the large cabin. With generous under-hood insulation, special sound-deadening carpets, the Palisade has commendable on-road quietness. Overall, it’s a good place to be in with Hyundai implementing a lot of soft-touch points around the cabin.

Powertrain

Powering the Palisade is a 2.2-litre diesel engine producing 142 kW and 440 Nm and sends its power to all wheels via the automaker’s AWD system and a shift-by-wire 8-speed automatic transmission. For its size and weight, The Palisade handles both quite well. It rides beautifully on different road surfaces and Its quite quick of the line thanks to its HTRAC all-wheel-drive system. Hyundai claims a combined fuel-consumption of 8.2l/100 km and during our drive at the launch, we managed a decent 8.8 L/100km.

New safety and convenience features

Hyundai has expanded its safety technologies in the new Palisade. Its generous suite of advanced driver assistance systems includes Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist; Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist; Safe Exit Assist, Driver Fatigue Detection and Driver Attention Warning; High Beam Assist; Smart Cruise Control; Lane Departure Warning and Lane Following Assist; Highway Driving Assist; Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist; and Reverse Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist.

Pricing

Both the 7-seater and 8-seater models are priced at R1 099 900 which includes Hyundai’s 7-year/200 000 km warranty (consisting of the 5-year/150 000 km manufacturer’s warranty, with a 2-year/50 000 km powertrain warranty extension); Roadside assistance for 7 years or 150 000 km; and a 7-year or 105 000 km service plan (service interval is 15 000 km).