2023 Hyundai Palisade Reviews, Pricing & Specs

As Hyundai’s largest SUV, the Palisade was already hard to miss on the road, and it now has an even more commanding presence following the styling update for 2023. The bolder strokes of the new front fascia frame new headlights and give the SUV a stronger look. LED accents, daytime running lights, and headlights are standard across the lineup and LED taillights are now standard on SEL and up, but it’s the straightened lines of the new, squared-off grille that really change the face of the Palisade and allow it to loom rather than lurk.

Body-color mirrors are standard across the lineup and packed with features of their own: All 2023 Palisades get heated, powered mirrors that also now include standard auto-dimming.

The top Calligraphy trim is distinguished by premium rear accent lighting, body-color bumpers, a unique grille of glossy black and chrome, and a wider, body-color rear spoiler. The new XRT trim gets a dark grille and roof cross rails, bodycolor door handles, special accents on the bumpers and skid plates, and black 20-inch wheels.

18-inch alloy wheels are standard on SE and SEL models, while 20-inch wheels are optional for SEL and standard above. The new multi-spoke alloy wheel design that comes with the Calligraphy trim may not be as visually interesting as the old Calligraphy wheels, but they convey a premium feel fit for an expensive vehicle that would look right at home in an Uber Black fleet. They won’t win you any points with the tastemakers, but they also won’t offend.

A new color, Robust Emerald, is available for Calligraphy models in 2023, replacing Rainforest. This is the latest in a line of smoky, ambiguous colors we’ve seen from the Hyundai-Genesis family recently, and it’s dark enough that it does not appear in most lights to constitute a departure from the grayscale. We would call it “subtle” or “elegant” before we’d come up with “robust.”

The interior of our Calligraphy-trim tester was attractive and stylish, and even with the dark seats, it was brightened up by the dual-pane sunroof. (A single sunroof is available on SEL and standard on XRT models.) The horizontal quilting and dash lines seemed to take a page out of Mercedes-Benz’s book. Materials were nice: Premium Nappa leather is standard in the Calligraphy we drove. The base SE model comes with cloth seats, including a six-way power-adjustable chair for the driver. All other trims have heated, eight-way power-adjustable driver and front passenger seats; they’re covered in leatherette for SEL and XRT and are leather-trimmed in Limited. Limited and Calligraphy models get heated and ventilated seats in the first and second rows, and heated third-row seats.

Second-row seats come in a bench configuration for SE models. Bench seats are an option for SEL but are unavailable in the top three trims, which all get second-row captains chairs (tricked out with new wing-out headrests in Calligraphy). This means that if you need your Palisade to accommodate eight passengers, you’ll have to opt for one of the two lower trims. Fortunately, the available Premium package for SEL models will prevent your having to forgo many of the higher-end features.

As was true of its predecessor, the 2023 Hyundai Palisade comes with a single powertrain option: a 3.8-liter V6 which makes 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This is competitive for the class and makes the Palisade substantially more powerful than the Mazda CX-9 and Volkswagen Atlas, a touch more so than the Honda Pilot and Nissan Pathfinder, and just a bit less so than the gas-powered Toyota Highlander and the Ford Explorer. The eight-speed automatic transmission can be manipulated with the standard paddle shifters. Power is routed to the front wheels by default, but all-wheel drive (AWD) is a $1,900 option that can be added on any trim. We got to see the HTRAC all-wheel drive system in action on a muddy off-road course in Asheville, NC and found it capable when the vehicle started to slide.

Light off-roading aside, the Palisade does not have the clearance for rock-crawling, but it does offer a comfortable ride that will likely be of far more value to the vast majority of its target audience. Its capability is competitve for its class, particularly when it comes to towing: The 2023 Palisade can haul up to 5,000 pounds behind it, and AWD-equipped models now come with a dedicated Tow Mode, which optimizes shifting to hold gears longer. In terms of fuel economy, Front-wheel-drive (FWD) Palisades get 19 mpg city, 27 highway, and 22 combined. With AWD, the Palisade gets 19 city, 25 highway, and 21 combined.

The midsize Palisade is plenty large enough to comfortably seat seven or eight. It offers 44.1 inches of legroom in the front row, 42.4 in the second, and 31.4 in the third—more than the Toyota Highlander—and passenger volume measures 155.3 cubic feet. Second-row seating easily gives way to facilitate access to the third row, thanks to the standard one-touch seat slide, and the ingress/egress handles make it pretty easy to climb into the back. 60/40-split seats are standard for the third row and for second-row bench seats, and they fold completely flat—manually in lower trims, or with a power switch in Limited and Calligraphy. Cargo space totals 18 cubic feet with all seats in place, 45.8 behind the second row, and 86.4 with all but the front-row seats folded flat. A hands-free smart liftgate is standard on all but the base SE trim.

Eager to play the gracious host to all of your passengers, the Palisade has HVAC vents in all three rows and provides two cupholders per person, no matter which second-row configuration you have. The center console includes a phone holder in addition to the two cupholders and also leaves space to stow a bag on the shelf below. The very welcome physical buttons and knobs are laid out in a compact and fairly intuitive manner, and automatic dual-zone climate control is standard in SEL and up.

Hyundai has managed to up the ante on the technology front. For the 2023 model year, the Palisade becomes the first Hyundai to offer WiFi hotspot capability, and it’s standard on every trim. A new 12.3-inch color touchscreen infotainment system is also standard. It features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, HD Radio, SiriusXM, and Bluetooth connectivity. A premium 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system is available in SEL models and standard in Limited and Calligraphy. Up to two devices can be connected via Bluetooth at any one time in any 2023 Palisade, and up to seven can charge using USB ports located in the first and second rows, as well as the third in higher trims. A wireless charger is standard on all but the base trim.

Palisade drivers enjoy a 4.2-inch color driver info display, or a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster if you buy a Limited or Calligraphy model or opt to add it on SEL. Drivers in Limited and Calligraphy also get a standard color head-up display.

An in-car intercom that lets front-row occupants communicate more easily with those in the back is an optional upgrade for SEL trims and standard in Limited and Calligraphy. (It’s unavailable in the more rugged XRT.) Rear-seat quiet mode is standard in all models.

Perhaps most impressive are the Palisade’s remote accessibility and management features. Hyundai’s Bluelink connected vehicle system is now standard on all Palisade trims, and it comes with enhancements for 2023. The app lets you view detailed vehicle information such as fuel level and window and door status remotely. If your Palisade has heated or cooled seats, you can now turn those on remotely using the app, and can include them in one or more of your four remote start presets.

The Palisade is also the first vehicle to get Digital Key 2 Touch, standard on SEL models and up. Hyundai’s Digital Key 1 was only compatible with Android devices, meaning iPhone users had to use the included NFC card if they needed an alternative to the physical smart key. Digital Key 2 works with the Apple ecosystem as well, allowing owners to use a compatible iPhone, Apple Watch, or Samsung device to unlock, start, and drive the car. It’s also possible to share the key with someone else through iMessage or Samsung Pass. Shared keys can be customized with varying permissions levels and can be revoked at any time.

The 2022 Hyundai Palisade earned a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The 2023 model has not been rated as of this writing, but all indications are that the Palisade’s safety has only been improved, with new active and passive safety features, including second-row side-impact airbags.

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade comes with Hyundai’s Smart Sense suite of safety features standard. Highlights include forward collision avoidance, driver attention warning, high beam assist, and lane-keeping and lane-following assist. Blind-spot collision avoidance and rear cross-traffic collision avoidance are newly standard on all Palisades. All trims also have navigation-based Smart Cruise Control with stop and go and curve control functions, as well as intelligent speed limit assist. Hyundai’s Highway Driving Assist I, which helps maintain a safe following distance and keep the vehicle centered in the lane, is standard in SE, SEL, and XRT models. Highway Driving Assist II, which also helps with lane changes, is available with the SEL trim and standard in Limited and Calligraphy. A full-display digital rearview mirror is now available, and it worked quite well on our tester.

Safe exit warning is now standard on all Palisades, and the rear seat occupant alert is now standard on all but the SE trim. It uses an ultrasonic sensor to monitor the back seats, and if system detects movement after the vehicle is parked and locked, the Palisade will honk its horn, flash its lights, and alert the driver via text.

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade starts at $34,950 for the base SE trim with FWD. SEL models start at $37,950, XRT at $40,250, Limited at $46,500, and the loaded Calligraphy trim starts at $48,900. Opting for AWD on any trim bumps the price up by $1,900. The Palisade Calligraphy AWD we tested came to $52,310 once the $1,295 destination fee and the $215 carpeted floor mats were factored in.

The Premium package available on SEL trims adds many of the popular features that are standard on Limited and Calligraphy trims, including heated and ventilated first- and second-row and heated third-row seats. For an additional $4,950, this is the best way to get maximum seating capacity and luxury in one Palisade package.

Hyundai has earned its reputation for class-leading purchase protection, and the automaker continues to deliver with the Palisade. Like the 2022 model, the 2023 Palisade is covered by a five-year/60,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty, matched in its class only by its corporate cousin, the Kia Telluride. By contrast, other three-row SUVs like the 2023 Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Subaru Ascent, and Mazda CX-9 all come with a three-year/36,000-mile basic and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. The Palisade also comes with three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance and five years of roadside assistance with no mileage limitations.

The Palisade SE is comparable in price to the base Ford Explorer and Subaru Ascent, and packed with standard safety and tech features. However, Hyundai informs us that 70 percent of current Palisade owners spent more than $45,000, and if history is anything to go by, this indicates that most purchasers of the 2023 Palisade will also tend to opt for the higher trims. Handsome and well-equipped, the pricier Palisades have plenty to recommend them, and the Calligraphy model might even lure shoppers away from the likes of the Infiniti QX60. It may not be ready to go after the German luxury midsize SUVs yet, but the Palisade can certainly play with even the more premium of its Japanese counterparts.