Spotted: a Hyundai Palisade

The spotted specimen

Here in Europe, the Hyundai Santa Fe has always been the brand’s largest model. It was the same in other continents for a long time, until the 2019 Hyundai Palisade appeared. That model was never delivered in Europe, yet we came across one in the Dutch town of Wassenaar. You often see unusual import models there, as many embassy staff live there.

That story also holds true for this Palisade. The car has BN license plates. These are license plates for non-diplomatic embassy personnel or persons of comparable status. Such a BN license plate cannot be checked at the RDW, so we don’t know any more about this particular example than can be seen in the pictures. However, we can tell a bit more about the Palisade in general.

The Hyundai Palisade

The Hyundai Palisade was unveiled in late 2018 and entered the market during 2019 (for model year 2020). The car is primarily intended for North America, but will also ship in some other markets, including Australia, Russia and some Asian countries. The Palisade is primarily an addition at the top end of Hyundai’s SUV lineup, as well as a successor to the extended version of the third-generation Santa Fe. By the way, a “palisade” is a wall of often wooden defensive posts, or a name for high cliffs on the coast.

Oceans of space

Depending on what you tick on the options list, the Hyundai Palisade offers seating for up to eight occupants. If seven seats are enough, then the back seat of the second row of seats is replaced by two separate captain’s chairs. Because the car is just short of five meters, even with the third row of seats in use, there is still a generous 595 liters of luggage space left. With both rear seats folded down, no less than 2,464 liters fit in the rear.

engines

Because of the sidemarkers on the front fenders, we assume for a moment that the spotted example is American in origin. In that case, the 3.8-liter V6 gasoline engine with 217 kW (295 hp) is under the hood anyway. In other markets, a 3.5-liter V6 (183 or 204 kW (249 or 277 hp)) gasoline engine and a 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel with 147 kW (200 hp) are also available. All engines are combined with an eight-speed automatic transmission. However, there is still a choice of front- or all-wheel drive.

Innovations for the Hyundai Palisade

For model year 2023 it was already time for a facelift, but major changes were not necessary. Visually, the facelift model can be recognized mainly by the somewhat tighter grille. Inside, a few upgrades were made as usual. Coincidentally, the all-new second-generation Hyundai Palisade was unveiled earlier this month. That model will hit the market next year (but for model year 2026) and features a striking, very sleek design.

Hyundai Palisade (no longer) the largest

Despite the fact that the new generation Hyundai Palisade, with a length of almost exactly five meters, is again just a bit longer than the first model, the Palisade will soon have to relinquish its title as the largest Hyundai model. The Hyundai Ioniq 9, which will also be on the market for the 2026 model year, including in the Netherlands, is in fact even slightly larger with a length of 5.06 meters.