2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander review

Hyundai’s Palisade is still, relatively speaking, a new kid on the block. It’s only been on sale in Australia for a couple of years, yet there is already a facelift on the market with slightly sharper front and rear styling plus additional safety gear, a glitzier interior, and upgraded tech.

Sitting above the seven-seater Santa Fe and starting from a tad under $66,000 before on-road costs, this seven- or eight-seat large SUV aims to deliver a premium experience for not-crazy money, and is a challenger to monocoque-based rivals such as the Mazda CX-9.

It also sits in the same segment as more off-road-focused, body-on-frame SUVs such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X.

Here we have the top-flight Highlander with all the bells and whistles, testing it out as a family hauler and spending most of its time with us in the eastern Melbourne suburbs.

Pricing and features

For 2023, there are two grades of the Palisade only – Elite and Highlander – and they carry across from the previous model.

Both grades are available with a choice of front-wheel-drive petrol or all-wheel-drive diesel powertrains and interiors configured with either seven or eight seats.

Excluding on-road costs, the Elite petrol 2WD costs $65,900 and the higher-spec Highlander 2WD costs $75,900. Meanwhile, the Elite diesel AWD costs $69,900, rising to $79,900 for the Highlander (which is what we had here). Premium paint is available for all variants, which adds $695. Our Palisade was dressed in the optional, and very classy, moonlight blue.

The differences for MY23 are tech and safety focused – headlined by the debut of Hyundai’s Bluelink smartphone connectivity system in Australia. Unfortunately, as you need a subscription as an owner, we weren’t able to test this during our time with the car.

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Alongside Bluelink, other new features for the facelifted Palisade include ventilated seats in the second row of eight-seat variants for the first time, a revised head-up display, USB ports upgraded from type A to C, a more powerful wireless phone charging pad, and an infotainment screen and digital instrument cluster that have both grown considerably to 12.3 inches.

The central screen is simple to use and we liked the combination of touchscreen and hard buttons in the Hyundai as opposed to the haptic dual-purpose climate/media version found in recent Kias.

Apple Carplay and Android Auto are both present, but, as with all top-spec models in the Hyundai and Kia lines, they are both wired rather than wireless. This remains an ongoing supply issue for both brands, with only the lower-spec variants equipped with wireless phone mirroring.

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Also making its Hyundai debut in Australia, the digital rear-view mirror uses a camera mounted to the Palisade's rear spoiler. Its 44-degree viewing angle gives the driver a better look at what’s behind them than a conventional 20-degree unit.

This is a nifty little feature, and the quality is crystal clear, but we didn’t end up having that much use for it aside from that final check of the kindy car park to make sure there weren’t any little ones passing behind the car.

Aesthetic changes to the MY23 Palisade include Hyundai’s new parametric grille design – in soft chrome for the Highlander – with vertically-stacked LED headlights, a four-spoke steering wheel and fresh 20-inch alloy wheel designs.

The Highlander also gains new skidplate designs, a full-width high-mounted LED stop light, and revised tail-light design.

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All 2023 Palisades have a five-star ANCAP safety rating after Hyundai addressed the pre-facelift version's lack of a centre airbag and its less sophisticated autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system.

Other improvements also include an intelligent speed limit information system (though unfortunately this will drive you crazy and is our biggest gripe with this car – it never shuts up, sounding an alarm four times at just 1km/h over the limit) and multi-collision braking.

As well as the upgrade to seven airbags, the 2023 Palisade has a full suite of Hyundai SmartSense safety technologies – many of which are new or revised for this update – including blind-spot collision avoidance assist and blind-spot view monitor (Highlander only), forward collision-avoidance assist, lane following and lane-keep assist, parking collision avoidance assist, surround-view monitor and more.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Australian pricing

All pricing is before on-road costs.

Premium paint for all variants costs $695.

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Comfort and space

Although both Palisade trim levels feel pretty posh inside, the Highlander takes the level of refinement up a notch to seriously rival the most impressive offerings in its segment with warm grey Nappa leather (dark khaki is also available) and wood-look trim. Though we liked the soft grey colouring of the seats, the wood effect looks more reminiscent of an Ikea coffee table than high-end veneer.

All materials feel very high quality, and the seats, front and back, are incredibly comfortable. An optimal driving position can easily be found thanks to the electrically adjustable toggles on the side of the seat – which the front passenger of a Highlander can also make use of – with memory function too.

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Whereas the Elite has heated front-row seats, the Highlander we tested had heated and ventilated in both the front and second rows (and we did use both depending on the changeable Melbourne spring weather). Second-row passengers have a manual seat sliding mechanism to adjust legroom too.

In seven-seat versions like our test vehicle, the second row comprises two captain’s chairs, offering more space to spread out for rear passengers – a rare luxury for our three-year-old who felt very fancy occupying such a special seat.

Throughout the entire cabin there are plenty of creature comforts to be found, showing this is a vehicle made with the whole family in mind. There are USB-C ports for every row (yes, even the very back), digital climate controls in the second row and a total of 16 cup holders.

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While stretchy map pockets, a dual sunroof and heaps of legroom are great for family-focused buyers, the door cards could do with a little more space – proving useful only for a regular-sized drinks bottle with no extra nooks and crannies for toys.

The second row at least has two cup holders on each door’s armrest, as well as further down, which makes drinks more accessible for the small ones.

Rounding out the family functionality are three sets of ISOFIX anchor points, two in the second row and one in the third, and two top tether points for the middle bench (three if an eight-seater) plus another two at the very back.

With just one child in the rear rows though the Palisade does feel a little unnecessary for smaller families, being better put to use by those with two or more children.

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Boot space is inevitably restricted with all three rows in place but, rated at 311 litres, the Palisade can fit more than your average seven-seater behind the last-row seats - such as six bags for the week’s food shop.

If, most of the time, you only need four or five seats and had the third row down then you’re in business, as that boot space number is bumped up to 704L and has generous room for baby or child kit on a daily basis or even for a holiday. Lose the second row as well and you’ve got 1297L.

We also loved the space beneath the centre console, which is perfect for storing a small handbag or wallet – rather than having to dump it on the passenger seat or footwell – and the cavernous cubby bin which is so deep you could lose half your arm in it.

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On the road

The basics

The Palisade range is available with the same choice of 3.8-litre petrol V6 with front-wheel drive or 2.2-litre turbo-diesel with all-wheel drive as previously, both teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Here we had the diesel.

Hyundai has made a number of small revisions to improve the Palisade’s driving experience, though the big SUV in pre-facelift form had already impressed as a Finalist in our 2022 Car of the Year.

The transmission has been tweaked to produce smoother, and more refined, gearshifts – making the torque converter unit feel like a good match for either engine – as has the chassis structure to improve body rigidity and safety.

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The suspension has also been retuned with Hyundai’s third-gen Selective Damping Control technology plus revised spring rates to enhance ride and handling, the multi-terrain mode controls have been adjusted and there's more insulation and thicker glass to reduce noise in the cabin.

Wind noise is now only intrusive in gusty weather and road rumble is kept to a hushed minimum but this does make you focus more on the diesel engine, which can be especially vocal around town and feels a bit at odds with the rest of the otherwise calm driving environment.

Capable of delivering 147kW of power and 440Nm of torque, the diesel is definitely no slouch, though, and is a good all-rounder for load-lugging torque and decent fuel economy.

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Considering its size, the Palisade’s claimed consumption of 7.3L/100km on the combined cycle for the diesel is pretty respectable.

We largely used Eco mode for town driving, where we achieved 7.1L/100km at best.

It also offers prompt off-the-mark acceleration and brisk performance for overtaking considering the Palisade’s size. However, the diesel feels slightly more stunted in the mid-range where you’d usually expect its sweet spot to be – only demonstrating more oomph under 60km/h or over 90km/h.

Braking meanwhile is solid and dependable, with no need to apply too much pressure in the wet or dry, and there’s plenty of traction from the AWD system.

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Befitting its premium aspirations, the Palisade's ride stands out as incredibly smooth thanks to well set-up front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link arrangements, which have been specifically tuned for Australian roads and hide the big SUV’s 2200kg weight and size well. It’s composed over almost all surfaces with the exception of the worst potholes, yet never feels unsettled or bouncy.

Steering is smooth too, not requiring too many turns lock to lock to get it around a tight bend despite its size, nor are there any apparent dead spots – any flick of the hand in either direction and the Palisade is alert and ready to respond.

We opted to use Normal mode for the most part as it gave the nicest feedback. Sport firms things up without being too resistant if that’s your thing – otherwise stick with Normal or Smart mode (the latter interprets your driving style and adjusts accordingly).

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Ownership

Hyundai Australia offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, complimentary roadside assistance for 12 months and lifetime capped-price servicing at intervals of 12 months/15,000km.

Pricing for each service is $399 for the 3.8-litre V6 petrol or $489 for the 2.2-litre diesel over the first five years.

To entice customers to service their Palisade at Hyundai dealerships, each service for the first 10 years comes with a 12-month extension to roadside assistance and sat-nav map update.

VERDICT

While there are only some minor differences on the exterior of the 2023 Hyundai Palisade to set it apart from the first version that came out in 2020, it’s a sharp-looking refresh, and the inside is full of luxuries normally found on cars beyond even this vehicle’s top asking price of $80K.

If you’ve got the money and need a large SUV for hauling lots of people then it’s hard to argue with what this car has to offer for the asking price – and that’s only considering the Highlander we had on test here.

The Elite represents even more bang for your buck for marginally fewer frills such as missing out on greater paint choices, different wheels, a head-up display, remote smart parking and blind-spot view monitor to set it apart.

While it doesn’t quite offer the ruggedness of some of its more off-road-focused competitors, it brings a greater degree of on-road refinement and manners to the daily drive.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander specifications