Hyundai Australia has detailed the updated Palisade range ahead of its launch during the third quarter of 2022.
The revised line-up will only come in two trim levels, familiarly called Elite and Highlander, with the base variant to be discontinued. This means, almost certainly, increases to the price of entry.
The Palisade range (currently three variants) actually launched in late 2020 with two grades, these being the base and the Highlander. The mid-level Elite trim was added later.
The range will continue to be available with either front-wheel drive and a petrol V6 engine or all-wheel drive with a turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine.
Pricing has yet to be announced, while only US-market images are available for now.
MORE: Hyundai Bluelink: App connectivity debuting on 2023 Palisade
There’s a range of new active safety and driver assist features, updated styling, and the local debut of Hyundai’s Bluelink service.
Bluelink allows you to use a smartphone app to check your vehicle’s location and adjust the climate control, among other actions.
Hyundai is also fitting a centre airbag to the Palisade, and has said it’ll submit the 2023 Palisade to ANCAP for testing following the safety authority’s recent report on the current model that saw it receive a four-star rating.
The Elite will feature 20-inch alloy wheels with a similar design to the 2022 Highlander, while the Highlander adopts 20-inch wheels with a turbine style.
The Highlander receives a range of unique styling tweaks to differentiate it from the Elite, including a chrome grille (instead of black) that features “hidden” daytime running lights, like the Tucson, as well as slightly different tail lights.
It’ll continue to feature body-coloured bumpers, wheel arches and side skirts.
Hyundai says more details of the Highlander’s cosmetic differentiation will be revealed closer to launch.
In addition to a revised front-end, all models have a new full-width high-mounted LED stop light, revised skid plates, and squared-off exhaust outlets.
The revised styling has seen the Palisade grow in length by 15mm, though all other exterior dimensions are unchanged.
Inside, all models get a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster plus a new four-spoke steering wheel design.
The Palisade receives a raft of features previously introduced on other Hyundai, Genesis and Kia products, such as Remote Smart Parking Assist and backup light guides for the Highlander.
The flagship variant also gets a digital rear-view mirror.
New safety features for all Palisades include safe exit assist, a junction-turning function for the autonomous emergency braking, Multi-Collision Braking, and intelligent speed limit assist, with the Highlander also receiving reverse AEB.
The second-row bench in eight-seater Highlanders is now heated and ventilated. Previously, it was heated, and ventilated second-row seats were only available in seven-seater models with the captain’s chairs.
There are also now winged headrests for the second row.
The Elite is available only with a black leather interior, while the Highlander will offer three different interior colourways: two-tone grey, two-tone Dark Khaki, and black. Nappa leather upholstery is standard.
The outgoing Highlander is offered with a choice of black, beige or burgundy Nappa leather.
Standard Equipment
The Elite will come standard with the following equipment:
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (NEW)
- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Bluelink (NEW)
- Satellite navigation with telematics (NEW)
- Voice recognition (NEW)
- USB-C charging ports (excluding multimedia port) (NEW)
- 15W wireless charger (NEW, up from 5W)
- Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
- 12-speaker Infinity sound system
- Driver Talk function
- Quiet Mode function
- Single-pane sunroof
- Tri-zone climate control
- Power driver’s seat
- Leather upholstery
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Hands-free power tailgate
- Electrochromatic rear-view mirror
- 16 cupholders
- Seven airbags, including curtain airbags for all three rows
- Front-row centre airbag (NEW)
- Blind-spot assist
- Driver attention warning
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Junction-turning assist (NEW)
- Intelligent speed limit assist (NEW)
- Multi-Collision Braking (NEW)
- Safe exit assist (NEW)
- Automatic high-beam
- Lane-keep assist
- Lane Following Assist (lane centring)
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Rear occupant alert
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- 20-inch alloy wheels with full-sized spare
- LED headlights
The Highlander adds:
- Reversing Parking Collision Avoidance Assist (NEW)
- Remote Smart Parking Assist (NEW)
- Backup light guide (NEW)
- Digital rear-view mirror (NEW)
- Blind Spot View Monitor
- Surround-view camera
- Dual sunroofs
- Highlander-exclusive grille with “hidden” daytime running lights (NEW)
- Highlander-exclusive skid plates (NEW)
- Body-coloured cladding and bumpers
- Head-up display
- Nappa leather upholstery
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- Heated and ventilated second-row seats
- Driver’s seat memory
- Power-adjustable front passenger lumbar (NEW)
- Automatic defog (NEW)
- Second row wing-out headrest (NEW)
- Suede headliner
- Rear door blinds
- Four-spoke, two-tone leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Heated steering wheel
- Rain-sensing wipers
Colours
Creamy White Mica is the standard paint colour, with the following finishes optional:
- Shimmering Silver metallic
- Graphite Grey metallic
- Abyss Black mica
- Sierra Burgundy mica
- Moonlight Blue mica
- Robust Emerald mica
- Gaia Brown mica (Highlander only)
- Olivine Grey metallic (Highlander only)
While all colours are available on Highlanders with the black interior, Hyundai is restricting the availability of certain colours with the other interior themes.
Models with the Dark Khaki interior are available only in Creamy White, Abyss Black or Robust Emerald, while those with the Warm Grey interior can be had only in Graphite Grey, Gaia Brown and Moonlight Blue.
