Hyundai Palisade 2022: facelifted SUV to be released in Australia in Q3 to fight Kluger, Pathfinder

---

The updated 2023 Hyundai Palisade has been revealed this evening with a range of upgrades to safety and convenience technology – including the adoption of a new 12-inch touchscreen.

The facelifted Palisade will be released in Australia in the third quarter of this year – between July and October – and is expected to resume a familiar line-up of three grades: base, Elite, and Highlander.

Announced this evening at the 2022 New York Auto Show, the update is the first facelift for the Palisade that was first released globally in 2018 before making its way to Australia in 2020.

The Palisade remains a unique buy in the Australian market thanks to its availability of both seven- and eight-seat configurations, while large SUV rivals such as the Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9 and Kia Sorento can only be fitted with up to seven seats.

Bigger, bolder design with a 12-inch touchscreen

As previewed in the leak earlier this week, designers have massaged the front facia of the Palisade with narrow daytime running lights positioned either side of the enlarged grille which adopts a more rectangular shape.

But it’s on the inside of the Palisade where the update is more noticeable, largely thanks to the adoption of a 12.0-inch touchscreen in place of the outgoing car’s 10.25-inch display.

While there is no mention of a wireless connection function for the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (which required a cable), Hyundai has upgraded the wireless charger from five watts to 15 meaning that phones should recharge much faster.

Hyundai has made a series of incremental changes around the cabin by offering buyers the ability to option heated seats in the third row, added a new steering wheel design and replaced the materials on the seats and other touchpoints.

New to the Australian market is the addition of Bluelink which allows buyers to control vehicle functions such as engine start-up or climate control from their phone.

In the event of an accident, Bluelink will automatically make contact with an operator who will dispatch an ambulance or other services to provide assistance if required.

AEB to gain reversing functionality

Hyundai has upgraded the safety suite of the Palisade to bring it into line with modern rivals thanks to the inclusion with more advanced AEB that now functions in reverse and has the ability to detect on-coming traffic when entering an intersection.

The Palisade also includes features such as blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control that works with the navigation system to work more efficiently.

An array of nine airbags are fitted as standard and parents making full use of the seats should take comfort in the fact that the side airbags stretch all three rows.

AWD models now feature a tow mode

The Australian specification for the updated Palisade is yet to be released, but American buyers now receive a dedicated tow mode for all-wheel-drive equipped models.

Unlike Australia, the United States market receives the Palisade only with petrol power – in the form of the same 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 seen in Australian showrooms. Producing 214kW of power and 355Nm of torque, the Palisade V6 is available in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations in America, but is FWD only due to packaging constraints locally.

An AWD driveline is, however, offered in Australia in combination with the 147kW/440Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, so the specific towing drive mode could make an appearance in the Australian market on diesel AWD cars.

The current Palisade can tow 2200kg braked in the diesel model with no changes mentioned for this figure in the update.

More information on pricing and the exact specification will be released closer to the release date in the third quarter of 2022.