The Hyundai Palisade is Hyundai’s flagship SUV in the global market.

It is the big daddy of the fleet and the Palisade does make quite a splash with its entry into Nepal. As you might already know, Nepal is a country where big luxury SUVs from the likes of Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi are in high demand. There is something that draws the people of Nepal to massive, burly SUVs, although ironic considering the tiny roads we often come across in the cities. Nevertheless, today we drive the Palisade and see if it can rekindle the competition and hold a candle to its rivals.

The Palisade is big

and it’s a theme we’ll be sticking to throughout this review. There’s no getting away from it, the Palisade is a massive car… and naturally, it turns heads on the road. Right ahead there is a massive front fascia that contains unique elements that seem to blend in rather harmoniously.

You get a wide bonnet with twin creases adding muscularity to the design. A pair of large inverted C-shaped LED DRLs flank each corner as they swoop down from the bonnet line and encase the headlight array that houses your low-beam, high-beam, and fog lamps; all of which are LEDs.

The centerpiece is a large signature cascading grille finished in this silver chrome material that is noticeably shiny but looks refined. The grill on the Palisade is the best Hyundai grill we have seen in the country. Under the grill is the air dam and skid plate finished in silver.

The side profile isn’t as dramatic as the front. Some may even find it a little boring in comparison to the grandeur of the front fascia. But, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The side profile is a traditional boxy SUV shape governed by straight lines and light creases that asserts a lot of heft into the vehicle. You get large windows and equally large rear quarter glass; pair that with ample overhangs and the Palisade looks commodious. The profile is where the Palisade makes you go, “okay this is a huge car”.

All this sits on a 245/50 set of rubber with 20-inch beautiful diamond-cut alloy wheels.

The rear of the Palisade is where the interest picks back up again. You get a shark fin antenna, roof-integrated spoiler with brake lamp, and a wide Palisade lettering on the center of the tailgate.

The all-LED taillamps are next to silver inserts that mimic the DRLs upfront and the reflectors at the bottom receive similar treatment as well. Finally, you get a large silver-finished skid plate at the bottom, and completing the puzzle is an actual dual exhaust tip finished in chrome that looks amazing.

The interior of the Palisade is exquisite.

As soon as you open the door you are greeted by an electronic seat finished in red Nappa leather. The driver’s seat slides out of the way making getting into it easier and slides back to its original position once you’ve sat your bum and closed the door.

Look around once you are in and you’ll find that the choice of materials inside the Palisade is top-notch. Everything you touch is soft in varying degrees. The interior is finished in black and giving it some much-needed contrast is the beautiful red from the seats. Furthermore, the space inside the cabin is supplied by the massive dual-pane sunroof that lets in a lot of light. This car oozes plushness, even the headliner and the pillars are draped in leather.

The seats are ventilated, heated, and come with loads of electrical adjustment to give you that perfect driving position. The seats themselves are adequately bolstered and cushion your body just right so it doesn’t become overly bouncy or overly firm. The rear seats can easily house three passengers in comfort and while the third row is more suited to kids, even adults would be able to go on a short journey without any complaints. To further up the comfort inside the Palisade passengers can set their own temperature for air-conditioning as this car gets three-zone automatic climate control, now the driver can finally stay chilled while everyone else can stay toasty.

In-cabin entertainment is also taken care of, you get a 10-inch touchscreen that comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Palisade also gets a 7-inch Supervision Cluster for the driver-oriented information.

The infotainment unit comes with the Infinity Sound System that consists of a front/rear tweeter, amplifier, surround sound system with front-centered speakers. It sounds loud and crisp and should certainly make your road trips entertaining. The Palisade also comes big in terms of luggage space, open the powered tailgate and you are greeted with 509 liters of boot space with the third row folded which should be more than enough for a week’s worth of stuff for five passengers. Flip down the second row and you get 1297 liters, you can accommodate a month’s worth of stuff in here for a journey for two. Overall, the interior of the Palisade is one of the best and most practical in the segment.

Performance

The sheer volume and the presence of the Palisade will make you go, “this car has to be powered by a V8, or at least a V6” and you’d be right. Globally the Palisade comes in those powertrains. However, here in Nepal the Palisade is powered by a four-cylinder engine…Now, is that enough to move such a burly SUV?

The answer is, a resounding “Yes!”. Get inside, close the door, put on your seatbelt, push the start button and prepare to be impressed. The Palisade is powered by a 2.2-Liter 4-cylinder diesel engine that makes 193 PS of power and 441 Nm of peak torque. All this power is sent to an HTRAC All-Wheel-Drive system through an 8-speed automatic transmission operated via a Shift by Wire system unique to Hyundai that is housed in a bridge-type high console. This system eliminates the need for a gear lever and the high console frees up ample space underneath to store all of your knick-knacks.

Right, let’s get to driving. Just start the engine and press on D and you are off. The Palisade picks up speed fast. Well, fast enough to be a fun drive but not violently fast. Think of it like oil being poured into a container: silky smooth. You’ll find yourself doing triple digits quickly. The All-Wheel-Drive helps put the power down faster and the transmission is so buttery smooth that you’ll find it difficult to notice gear changes. We especially love the fact that while the Palisade looks big, it doesn’t feel big while driving at all. It almost feels like driving a car with the dimensions of a Santa Fe.

The sheer size of the Palisade only becomes apparent when you are overtaking on the highway and have to slot yourself back into your lane and on the corners where you are reminded that this is a large car through body roll. Suspension on the Palisade is a great balance of firm and soft, you’ll rarely feel the bumps on the road, and the body roll you get on the corners is greatly controlled as well. Stopping power too has been well thought out, the Palisade gets discs on all four wheels that make it easy to stop on a dime. Overall, on the tarmac, the Palisade places itself to be a fast and relaxed cruising machine and we quite love that.

Now we wouldn’t advise you to get such premium machinery dirty; but, if you do, then the Palisade has you covered. The SUV comes with HTRAC All-Wheel-Drive with a Multi-Terrain Control system that is designed to get out of specific terrain conditions like mud, snow, sand, or rocks. So even if you encounter a bad patch on your journey, you should be able to drive over it easily.

The Palisade comes loaded to the brim with safety features. Apart from all the industry must-have safety kits the Palisade also brings Blind spot warning and monitor, Rear Self leveler (this lifts the rear end of the vehicle up to spread out the weight more evenly. This puts the weight back onto the front end of the vehicle, which lets the brakes do their job more effectively), and Safe exit, and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning. All this provides extra safety for you and your family.

Now that we’ve established that the engine on the Palisade is more than enough to move a car of this weight class with such gusto. The 2.2-Liter brings certain advantages over higher displacement engines. The engine on the Palisade will incur less yearly tax and also gives more mileage, all that makes the Palisade not only fast but also sensible.

At the end of the day

The Hyundai Palisade places itself as the only car you or your family needs. It is big, spacious and practical. In our opinion, it is the most beautiful-looking Hyundai in the Nepalese market at the moment. It comes with a luxury interior and brings all creature comforts and convenience features. It drives surprisingly well and even becomes lighter on the pocket as you clock in more kilometers. The car is jam-packed on safety and comes with a price tag of just a little under Rs. 2.26 crores. While that price may cause your jaw to drop, when you look at all of its rivals with similar or even heavier price tags, the Palisade then becomes a rational choice (but, not for everyone).