2026 Hyundai Palisade Reviews, Pricing & Specs

While still unmistakably a Palisade, Hyundai made major changes to its flagship sport utility vehicle for the 2026 model year. The new Palisade is more upright than before, with a more squared-off profile when viewed from the front, the side or the rear. The second-generation Palisade’s standout styling flourish, however, is its front lighting. A series of rectangular slashes flank the massive grille, giving the Palisade a bold and distinctive appearance.

While the exterior takes on bold shapes and styles, Hyundai softened the 2026 Palisade’s interior, mimicking the flowing shapes and simple lines of Midcentury Modern furniture. There are no sharp edges anywhere in the new Palisade interior. Instead, an oval-shaped theme extends from the dash to the door panels and all the way back to the third row of seats. The 2026 Hyundai Palisade’s interior is refined and relaxing.

All of the interior bits and pieces of our top-spec Palisade Calligraphy model were of high quality, with enough texture variance to keep things interesting. The off-road-oriented Palisade XRT Pro that we also drove briefly doesn’t have the high-end finishings of the Calligraphy model, but it too is covered in high quality materials that are nice to the touch and feel durable.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade is 2.5 inches longer than the version it replaces, and the wheelbase has been stretched 2.7 inches. Depending on how a buyer orders the vehicle, the Palisade can seat seven or eight passengers.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine that sends 287 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Those figures compare favorably to the Palisade’s primary competition, which includes big sellers like the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot and Toyota Grand Highlander. Interestingly, though, the 2025 Palisade’s larger 3.8-liter V6 spun out 291 hp and 262 lb-ft, making this the rare instance when the new version of a popular car makes less power than the outgoing version. Unchanged is the eight-speed automatic transmission, with standard front-wheel drive (FWD) or optional all-wheel drive (AWD).

We wouldn’t call the 2026 Hyundai Palisade quick, but it is certainly sufficient and well suited to the task of moving a big SUV and its passengers around. The engine builds power as it revs, and the automatic transmission shifts with authority under power—almost imperceptibly in normal day-to-day driving scenarios. While competitors from Chevy, Ford, and Toyota have moved to turbocharged four-cylinder engines, the Palisade’s standard V6 feels quiet and refined by comparison.

In fact, refined is a good word for the 2026 Palisade’s driving experience as a whole. The ride is tuned on the comfortable side, but it’s never floaty. The Palisade’s suspension—which consists of struts up front with standard self-leveling shocks at the rear—offers a quiet ride, good isolation from small- and mid-size bumps, and doesn’t get flummoxed over big road irregularities and potholes. The brakes were upsized for the 2026 model year, so despite any weight gains, the new version stops with authority and in a shorter distance than before (127 feet as opposed to 131 feet from 62 mph).

A factory-installed tow hitch on XRT Pro, Limited, Calligraphy trim levels lets you take advantage of the Palisade’s 5,000-pound towing capacity. That’s sufficient for motorcycles, jet skis, snowmobiles, small boats, and even some campers.

Hyundai’s HTRAC AWD system only powers the front wheels under normal circumstances, but can divert power to the rear wheels when needed. A switch on the dash allows the driver to select from Eco, Sport, or a customizable My Drive setting, and Terrain Modes that include Mud, Sand and Snow. A dedicated Tow mode holds gears longer, improving towing performance.

New for 2026, the Palisade XRT Pro gets some nice upgrades to increase off-road capability, including chunky all-terrain tires, 8.4 inches of ground clearance (an inch more than other Palisade models), improved approach and departure angles, a standard electronic limited-slip rear differential and recovery hooks front and rear. Pitch-and-roll readouts and a compass readout for the dashboard display are added as well, along with a Ground View Monitoring front-camera angle to see what’s happening underneath the car. We put these features to the test on a makeshift off-road course and found the Palisade XRT Pro to be a capable performer in the mud and dirt, but certainly no Ford Bronco or Jeep Wrangler competitor.

Hyundai said a hybrid powertrain will be available toward the end of the 2025 calendar year. The Palisade Hybrid will feature a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 258 hp and 260 lb-ft, but two electric motors will also add power for a total system output of 329 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission will house those twin electric motors, and AWD will be optional.

Our test car was fitted with captain’s chairs in the middle row (a second-row bench seat is standard), and they were roomy and quite comfortable. While ingress and egress into the third row required our six-foot two-inch test driver to contort themself into some shapes that were less than flattering, once in place even the third row bucket seats in the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy are sized appropriately for occasional adult use.

Regardless of where a passenger is seated in the 2026 Palisade, they have access to USB-C charging ports and cupholders. A new center console, similar to the one in the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 9, helps accommodate all of this. There are also air vents for all passengers, and Hyundai increased the size of its climate-control system for 2026 to match its interior’s slight increase in size.

Hyundai allows Palisade owners to prioritize passenger space or cargo space with second- and third-row seats mounted on sliding rails. SEL Premium, Limited and Calligraphy models get heated and ventilated second-row seats, and in Limited and Calligraphy models, even the third row of seats are heated. In Calligraphy models, the front passenger seat and second-row seats can also be fitted with Relaxation Mode, which reclines the seats in a sort of Lazy Boy approximation.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade offers a solid amount of cargo space. With the third row scooted forward, there is 20.2 cubic feet of space available (or 19.1 cubic feet without sliding the seats), which is an improvement over the previous version of the Palisade, but still a bit behind the class-leading Toyota Grand Highlander's 20.6 cubic feet. Max space with the third-row seats folded flat stands at 46.3 cubic feet, again better than the outgoing Palisade but behind the Honda Pilot (48.5 cubic feet) and Toyota (57.9 cubic feet). The Palisade’s maximum of 86.7 cubic feet behind the front seats is better than the Ford Explorer but again a bit behind the Pilot (87 cubic feet) and Grand Highlander (97.5 cubic feet).

Hyundai Palisade Family Guide

Learn more about the 2026 Hyundai Palisade's space for passengers and cargo including LATCH systems and seating configurations.

All models but the base Palisade SE have a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that looks beautiful from behind the wheel. The SE has a much smaller 4.2-inch display that we haven’t been able to lay our eyes on. Because the digital cluster is set well into the dashboard, the thickly padded dash surround shields the display from glare, making it easy to see at all times.

A second 12.3-inch color touchscreen is mounted front and center in the dashboard, and it serves as the infotainment system hub. Onboard navigation is standard, as are wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (the old Palisade required a wired connection). The Palisade Calligraphy also offers a 12-inch color head-up display that displays information directly in front of the driver so they don’t have to take their eyes off the road.

SEL Premium, XRT Pro, Limited and Calligraphy models get a Surround View Monitor camera system with an overhead view. New for 2026 are integrated front and rear dashcams for Calligraphy models that store their video feeds internally. While it’s not possible to tap into their feeds from a remote device, the fact that the feeds are stored on in-car memory cards means they can’t be accessed from nefarious sources, either.

An in-car intercom is standard across the range, helping passengers seated far from each other communicate on road trips, along with Rear Seat Quiet Mode. Another interesting and uncommon bit of tech Hyundai offers in the 2026 Palisade is a UV-light cleaning system mounted in the front console that is supposed to kill germs on items placed inside. Not being microbiologists ourselves, we couldn’t test the effectiveness of the system, but we did check to make sure the lights turned on. They did, so at least that’s something.

Our test car’s Bose audio system was excellent, with noticeably good sound isolation from side to side and front to rear. We tested the system with several audio inputs and found that it provided strong results in all of our testing scenarios. The Bose system is standard on XRT Pro, Limited and Calligraphy models.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade hadn’t received safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) at press time. The previous version of the Palisade performed very well, though.

The 2026 Palisade offers a comprehensive suite of driver-assist features, and while many come standard, additional packages are required for some. Blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning (with car, pedestrian, and cyclist detection), automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane following assist, driver attention monitoring, forward attention warning, safe exit assist, and front and rear parking sensors are all standard equipment.

The mid-level SEL Premium trim adds side parking sensors, while the Calligraphy adds evasive steering assist. Hyundai’s base Highway Driving Assist I is standard on all but the top Calligraphy, which gets an upgraded Highway Driving Assist II system that adds a lane-change assistance function.

In our own testing, we came across more than one cyclist on the road in front of us, and had a 50/50 success rate with the Calligraphy’s system picking up the biker. Put simply, while modern active safety tech is welcome and appreciated, it’s still the driver’s responsibility to keep tabs on what’s happening on the road around them.

Hyundai Palisade Safety Guide

Learn more about the 2026 Hyundai Palisade's family safety features including SmartSense, airbags, and child-specific safety technologies.

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade starts at $38,935 (add a reasonable $1,495 destination charge to all MSRPs) in base SE trim with FWD. The SEL starts at $41,440; the SEL MSRP sits at $42,870; the SEL Premium starts at $44,800; the Limited’s MSRP is $49,270 and the top-spec Calligraphy starts at $54,060. Adding AWD adds $2,000 to the sticker price. The 2026 Hyundai Palisade XRT Pro is only offered with AWD and starts at $49,370.

The Nissan Pathfinder offers the lowest starting price among comparably-sized three-row SUVs, but the Palisade undercuts the rest of its top-selling rivals. At the peak of the market, the Palisade Calligraphy is priced evenly with the Honda Pilot and Toyota Grand Highlander, but the Hyundai feels more luxurious inside than any of its rivals. Further, Hyundai’s generous new-car warranty of five years or 60,000 miles and powertrain warranty of 10 years and 100,000 miles for the powertrain are added benefit. The Kia Telluride shares both that warranty and a platform with the Palisade, but at press time Kia hadn’t detailed what updates are on the way for 2026.

Palisade models with FWD have EPA-estimated fuel economy of 19 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined. Estimated fuel efficiency drops by one mpg for AWD Palisade models. Fuel economy ratings for the upcoming Palisade Hybrid have not yet been announced, but Hyundai is targeting 34 mpg combined. Though the 2026 Palisade has a slightly smaller engine and is down a negligible number of horsepower, the 2025 version did get slightly superior fuel economy with ratings of 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined with FWD.

Competitors like the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder, and Toyota Grand Highlander all perform better than the new Palisade, but only by an mpg or two in the combined rating. And considering how silky smooth the Palisade’s standard V6 engine feels, the slight mpg reduction may not be a dealbreaker for families who value premium materials, standout styling, and thoughtful interior detailing. Those elements help the Palisade stand out from the midsize three-row SUV offerings from other automakers.