Hyundai Palisade ANCAP safety rating bumped up from four to five stars for 2023 model

August 3: 2023 Palisade scores five-star ranking for facelift

The facelifted 2023 Hyundai Palisade has received a five-star safety rating – bettering its predecessor’s four-star offering.

All petrol and diesel variants of the Palisade made since May and sold from this month onwards in Australia and New Zealand are covered by the new ranking awarded by crash-testing authority ANCAP, while any cars manufactured prior to that retain the four stars.

The previous model, introduced locally in 2020, was slapped with the four-star result due to less than favourable results in the adult occupant protection and safety assist categories – posting 79 per cent and 63 per cent pass rates respectively. To get five stars the Palisade would’ve had to hit 84 per cent and 70 per cent.

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Lack of a centre airbag and less sophisticated autonomous emergency braking (AEB) were said to be to blame for the previous four stars, but the new model now has both a centre airbag and improved AEB performance.

Other improvements also include a speed limit information system and multi-collision braking.

This time around, the large SUV did achieve the 84 per cent needed in the adult category, 88 per cent for child protection, 62 per cent for vulnerable road users, and 83 per cent for the safety assist.

“It’s great to see Hyundai introduce these safety-related upgrades, which now elevate the facelift Palisade to five stars, and we encourage all vehicle brands to continually look for opportunities to improve the safety specification of models as part of their model facelifts,” said ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg.

“Consumers, fleets and mobility service providers prioritise the purchase and use of five-star ANCAP-rated vehicles, and this upgrade now sees the Palisade becoming a purchasing contender for these buyers.”

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The story to here

June 3: 2022 Hyundai Palisade diesel given four-star rating

The Hyundai Palisade has been hit with a four-star crash safety rating in a new round of Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) testing, two years on from the big SUV’s local market launch.

According to data released today, the Palisade achieved scores of 79 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), 88 per cent for Child Occupant Protection (COP), 63 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 63 per cent for its Safety Assist systems.

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ANCAP says it was largely the Palisade’s AOP and Safety Assist scores that blocked its chance for a five-star result, with respective scores of at least 80 per cent and 70 per cent required.

In its report, ANCAP said the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keep assistance “lack the sophistication of systems fitted to peer vehicles assessed to the same criteria”. The report also notes that ‘AEB Junction’ functionality, designed to help avoid collisions at intersections when another vehicle crosses the equipped vehicle’s path, is not available. Also not available is multi-collision braking and a speed limit information system (speed sign recognition).

Another missing feature, already expected to compromise the Palisade’s test results, is the increasingly popular centre airbag. ANCAP notes this is not a required feature for a five-star rating, but it could have at least improved the Palisade’s 79-per-cent Adult Occupant Protection score.

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Responding to contact from Wheels today, Hyundai’s Australian arm declined to comment on the Palisade’s four-star result.

The sub-optimal score makes the Palisade one of the few new passenger vehicles – and the only top-10 model in the ‘Large SUV under $70,000’ VFACTS segment – to achieve less than five stars in ANCAP safety assessments, although a number of other relatively new models have fared worse.

Among recently tested cars, the Kia Cerato, Citroen C4, Hyundai Venue and Citroen C5 Aircross all carry four-star ratings, while the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, Suzuki Jimny, LDV G10 people mover all landed three-star results.

Indeed, a number of new and older current-generation passenger cars remain unrated, including the BMW X7 and X6, Kia Sportage, GWM Haval Jolion, MG 3, Nissan Patrol, Porsche Cayenne and Macan, Ram 1500, Range Rover Sport, SsangYong Rexton, Suzuki Baleno and Ignis, and the Maserati Levante, among others.

A number of the above models are popular with Australian buyers, suggesting that while many will prioritise safety, many others still will take a "safe enough" view in choosing the car that suits their budget, needs and tastes.

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Depending on the brand and the model’s price and popularity, examples will either be donated for testing or purchased by ANCAP, while others – if suitably equipped – will have scores carried over from the Euro NCAP program, which now has aligned testing criteria. In the case of the Palisade, a number of vehicles were purchased by ANCAP for multiple tests.

Diplomatically, ANCAP rounded out its report by acknowledging Hyundai’s success with other models: “35 of the 37 new models rated by ANCAP to our current 2020-2022 criteria – including the Hyundai Staria, Staria-Load, Tucson and Ioniq 5 - have achieved five-star ANCAP safety ratings, and this highlights the great work Hyundai and other vehicle manufacturers are doing to prioritise safety and provide their customers with the safest vehicles they can.”

A facelifted and upgraded Palisade was revealed in April, and while full Australian details are still to be announced, it is likely that Hyundai will aim to improve on its current safety score.

Hyundai has sold 1489 Palisades year-to-date in 2022, while 2021 accounted for 3720 sales in total.

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A new-look and upgraded Palisade will arrive in Australia later this year