2020 Hyundai Palisade

We’re just back from our annual trek south for winter testing in our 2020 Hyundai Palisade. That round trip put our 6 week driving total at just over 3,000 miles… so we’ve had plenty of time to get to know this 3-row utility along I-95.

While the 3.8-liter V6 is only rated at 291-horsepower, there is more than enough get up and go for effortless passing. Full throttle is the only time you hear the powertrain, which includes an 8-speed automatic. Shifts are nearly invisible too, but it does get confused once in a while during downshifts, if only for a moment.

The Palisade has a really nice, luxury-type ride, not too hard not too soft. And, it drives much smaller than it is. So, you actually do have to be careful not to get overly confident when switching lanes in heavy traffic.

Our Palisade also saw a dose of northeast winter while crossing a 2700-foot ridge in Pennsylvania during a snow storm. AWD traction was good on the steepest grades even with all-season tires. Our current 21 1/2 miles per gallon fuel economy is just under the EPA’s Combined rating of 22.

We’d barely put the log book in our 2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited before the weather turned sloppy. Wet snow, lots of rain and mud. Well welcome to a Mid-Atlantic winter.

Still a few things already stand out about this all-wheel drive Palisade. Upright styling makes it look huge. Yet overall length is about the same as the Honda Pilot 3-row crossover. And, like a proper crossover, it drives much like a car, in this case a very tidy one.

“Tight spot maneuverability is a clearly a Palisade strong suit. And, the highway ride is very European. Luxury smooth yet only once and a while to you feel any bumps and expansion joints.”

As for the interior, everything from the cushy and supportive front seats, to the numerous convenience and tech features, signals a modern yet posh environment. Now, it’s time for some long distance I-95 travel, as we head south to our winter testing grounds in the Hyundai Palisade.

Even as winter’s chill subsides, we’re in no rush to leave the plush cabin of our Hyundai Palisade. We are overall quite happy with the front seat comfort, although it would be nice to have a position memory function.

Backseat passengers are enjoying the views through the large panoramic sunroof and the power-folding third row is one of those features you don’t know you want until you have it.

A more disputed amenity is Lane Following Assist, which tends to hug the right side of the lane, but that’s safer than the alternative. After another two-thousand miles, the 3.8-Liter V6’s fuel economy has improved to a combined 22.2 MPG. We’ll see if the warming temperatures provide another boost over the next few weeks.

It seems like forever since we’ve updated you on our Hyundai Palisade 3-row crossover. It’s not the Palisade’s fault; things just came to a not so virtual halt here for a while.

But, if you’ve got to shelter in place automotive-style; there’s no better place to do it than in a Palisade, as front seat comfort is here in spades.

We’ve driven 6,800 smooth and relaxed miles so far, and the 291 horsepower 3.8-liter V6 has powered us through Winter’s worst, Spring’s showers, and on to Summer’s heat; returning 22.7 miles-per-gallon along the way, quite good for any large utility.

Lots of tech here to enjoy with Limited trim; from the 10-inch touchscreen, to the highly configurable digital instrument panel that temporarily brings up the side blind spot camera when a turn signal is activated.

Cool temperatures tell us winter is fast approaching our Mid-Atlantic home. Bad news for those that hate freezing weather; but good news for our 2020 Hyundai Palisade as it gets a second try at taming Old Man Winter.

Last winter’s few snow days and mild temps barely tested the Palisade’s automatic all-wheel drive and all-season tires. With us til spring, our Palisade just might face more of a challenge this time around.

John Davis: “One of the many first-class features of this Palisade Limited is a front view camera. Driver activated, at very low speeds it gives you both a forward and surround view for parking. It’s a great aid since the Palisade’s massive hood makes it hard to know exactly where the front is.”

No vehicle is perfect, but we’ve had only minor annoyances in the Palisade; like no matter what the settings, it never seems to unlock all of the doors when we put it in park.  However, we love the surround view camera for navigating tight parking spots, as well as the rear automatic braking for when we go off course.

Our Limited’s 3-row interior is very comfortable and quite luxurious for a family SUV. But Hyundai takes it upscale a notch with a new Calligraphy trim for 2021. After 11 months and 14,000-miles, our fuel economy average is up to an even 23.0 miles-per-gallon; excellent for such a big utility with 291 V6 horsepower.

Now finally topping 10,000-miles, our time with this 2020 Hyundai Palisade 3-row crossover continues to be mostly positive. That includes fuel economy from the 291-horsepower 3.8-liter V6. It continues its upward trend to a quite good 23.3 miles-per-gallon.  We saw as high as 28 on a recent round trip to the Green Mountain state of Vermont.

And it has been a pleasure accumulating those miles; both around town, since it handles like a smaller vehicle, and on the highway, with its composed fairly European ride.

However, it does prefer a smooth road; hit some poorly laid, wavy concrete interstate, and the freeway hop becomes annoying.

After 8-months, we can clearly see why Hyundai’s biggest utility has been such a huge success for the brand, as almost half of Palisade buyers have never before considered a Hyundai.

Time with our 2020 Hyundai Palisade is flying by, as we’re 9-months into our test, with the odometer creeping over eleven thousand miles.

It’s easy to fall in love with the luxurious nature of Hyundai’s biggest 3-row crossover; but there’s plenty of utility to go along with it, and this summer some steep Vermont dirt roads proved it’s quite capable when the going gets rough as well.

We’re seeing more and more of them on the pavement too; and the sleek style has a way of standing out, but not standing out too much.  It really is a great looking utility.

John Davis: I’ve taken several day long trips in the Palisade. And I am most impressed by how solid it is at interstate speeds. There is also plenty of tech on board to both protect and entertain the family. Right out of the box, the Palisade is proving to be fully competitive with 3-row benchmarks Highlander and Pilot.

With an 11,000-mile highway-city mix, fuel economy is settling in to a good 22.9 miles-per-gallon. Power from the 291-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 continues to be more than ample.

One thing, even after so much time we still feel the infotainment system could be more intuitive; but at least there are lots of redundant manual controls.

We like to think this 2020 Hyundai Palisade has been a treat for all of the senses, but apparently that’s not the case for everyone; as Hyundai has been getting complaints from some buyers that on hot summer days, the interior smells like garlic.

Now, it may just be our love of Italian food, but we’ve noticed no such smell; though it should be noted: we’ve also had no vampire sightings in the cabin either. So take that as you will.

And after 10-months of trouble-free driving, the Palisade remains a luxurious family transporter from dusk ‘til dawn.

With a recent trip to the Northeast, we were able to tack on another 1,500–miles, bringing our total to over 12,000; as well as maintain our fuel-economy average, which remains right at 22.9 miles-per-gallon. More than acceptable for a vehicle this big with 3.8-liter V6 power.

More to come on the Palisade as we head into prime leaf peeping season here in the Mid-Atlantic.

We’ve reached the 16,000–mile marker on our journey with this 2020 Hyundai Palisade 3-row crossover.

It’s hard to think of a better long-distance road trip vehicle available right now; though one way to make it even better would be some wider door pockets for all those items that we seem to accumulate on the voyage. But, the large, two level center console goes a long way to make up for it.

John Davis: “When friends first see this Palisade, they almost always think it’s from a luxury brand and are very surprised to find out it’s a Hyundai. They really like the upscale interior. And I have to admit the embossed door trim and seat panels really do say high style.”

As for fuel economy, we’re averaging 23.0 miles-per-gallon; and that’s been fairly consistent through the 12-months we’ve taken up residence in this palatial 3-row utility.

As we keep trucking on into another winter with the Palisade, we’re pretty confident it can handle whatever Mother Nature has in store.

Time now to check in on our 2020 Hyundai Palisade, and update you on a previously mentioned item. That garlicky smell that many owners have complained about has been traced to the headrests, specifically to the faux leather that covers them.  So, if you’ve experienced the problem; your local dealer should be able to alleviate it by removing the coverings and applying some odor neutralizer.

As for less olfactory matters, not much holiday travel for the Palisade this year, due to the current virus situation. So, we’ve added mostly around town miles since the last report; now totaling 16,500 over 13–months, with an average fuel economy of 21.7 miles-per-gallon. And, so far, the Palisade has had no mechanical issues.

Speaking of mechanical things, while we do miss the traditional hand shifter, we appreciate the storage options freed up in the console by the push-button setup. Indeed, console mounted shift levers are slowly going the way of ashtrays and cassette decks.

Into the heart of winter we go; and our 2020 Hyundai Palisade has shown no signs of slowing down; adding another 2,000–miles since our last report. Current mileage sits at 19,000; with only two months remaining in our COVID-extended time with the Palisade.

Hyundai’s optional HTRAC all-wheel-drive system has made getting through winter’s worst here in the Mid-Atlantic a relatively stress free affair, despite being limited by the 20–inch all-season tires. Just pop it into Snow mode, and not only does power get redirected to where it’s most needed, but slip control and transmission shift patterns are also reconfigured. And there’s even a locking differential if you find yourself in the deep stuff.

As we head towards warmer weather, we’re averaging 21.7 miles-per-gallon; and reminded that this large 3-row crossover is one fantastic family SUV.

Compromise. It can leave a bad taste in your mouth, and even be a dirty word to some, including many politicians.  But, it also makes for a great crossover.

From the newest, to a long-time long-termer; this 2020 Hyundai Palisade has been in our possession for 15-months now, and we’ve managed to rack up 19,500 miles with it, averaging 21.4 miles-per-gallon.

The front seats haven’t softened up any, but they remain all-day supportive.  Having gotten us through our snowy winter with impressive traction, our Palisade now turns its attention to running errands for spring cleaning, and picking up supplies for all of those projects around the house that seem to arrive with warmer weather.

Thus, its 2^nd and 3^rd rows of seats remain folded most of the time, turning the Palisade into one classy cargo hauler.

All good things come to an end, and while this 2020 Hyundai Palisade hasn’t met some kind of untimely demise, it has ended its time with us.

Total mileage accumulated was 22,144 miles covering much of the east coast during its 15-month stay with us.  The 291–horsepower 3.8–liter V6 and 8-speed transmission combo averaged 22.0 miles-per-gallon; working flawlessly the whole time. In fact, the more miles we tacked on, the smoother things seemed to run.

JOHN DAVIS: After living with the Hyundai Palisade for over 15 months, we’ve validated our original road-test conclusion about it delivering an amazing amount of luxury, practicality, and comfort in a highly desirable package that remains quite affordable. It is a hands down delightful long-distance cruiser. Yet, around town, tight spot agility is also a palisade strong point. Yes, some of the electronic aids like lane following assist do tug at the wheel from time to time, but we got used to it. so much so, it’s mighty hard to say so-long to our Hyundai Palisade.