Hyundai Palisade: A luxury three-row SUV without the price tag you'd expect

Years ago, Hyundai hosted a Palisade drive program for journalists consisting mostly of driving on a gravel road for a few hours. It was weird, and many a journalist told them so. It may not be a direct reaction to that feedback, but on a recent drive program of the new 2026 Palisade, Hyundai made sure that we drove the well-equipped SUV on regular, albeit twisty roads in the Napa region of Northern California. The automaker also took us off-road again. This time, with boulders.

Hyundai's Palisade has long found itself in the shadow of Kia's Telluride. Built on the same platform, design-wise, the Kia always tended to turn more heads. With the 2026 upgrade, the Palisade is coming into its own looks-wise, while being outfitted with upgrades that keep the SUV punching above its weight class.