Weird things happen in the automotive business. Take the Hyundai Palisade. It is essentially the same vehicle as the Kia Telluride. There are styling differences inside and out---but that's it. Purely superficial stuff.
And yet, for the first five years the Palisade and Telluride were on the market, the Kia sold better. Not in landslide numbers, but a significant gap. It's only been in this sixth year that the Palisade has started selling at roughly the same rate as the Telluride.
One thing that might be helping is that the Palisade now has an answer to the Telluride's X-Line package. The Palisade XRT brings black trim, roof rails and cross bars, 20-inch alloy wheels, a power sunroof and black leatherette seating.
Under the hood is the same 3.8-liter, 291 horsepower V6, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and HTRAC all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 in 6.8 seconds and an EPA fuel economy estimate of 21 mpg combined city/highway.
There's 18 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row of seats.
Fold that row and you have 46 cubic feet. For really big loads, fold the second row and capacity jumps to 84 cubic feet.
The third row is a kids-only zone with 31.4 inches of legroom.
Things improve dramatically for folks in the second row, who get limousine-like legroom---42.4 inches.
The base price of the 2024 Hyundai Palisade XRT AWD is $44,885 including destination. Standard at that price, not counting what we've already discussed, are a comprehensive suite of active safety features, dual automatic temperature control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, proximity key with pushbutton start, power heated front seats, second-row captain's chairs, manual rear door window sunshades, hands-free liftgate with auto open, USB ports in the front and second rows, a 12.3-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charger, a 90-day trial subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio and a wi-fi hotspot.
There were only two extra-cost options on our tester---the Hyper White paint ($450) and carpeted floor mats ($215), so the bottom line on the window sticker reads $45,550.
That price stands as a remarkably good value in a seven-seat SUV.
This Palisade isn't as loaded as the last Telluride I drove, but it's also $8,990 less expensive. If I were playing with my own money, I'd choose a bit less luxury in essentially the same vehicle with almost nine grand left over every single time.
