HOLLY, MI – With more space and features than the outgoing model, and a price point that undercuts many of its competitors, Hyundai is expecting to see increased sales of its redesigned Palisade, as well as have an opportunity to take greater market share.
“The first generation was successful in itself (and) we wanted this one to be even more successful,” Rex Tokeshi-Torres, assistant manager-product planning for Hyundai Motor America, tells media here during a 2026 Palisade event.
Adding more features, especially those targeting buyers with families – a perennially popular purchase group for 3-row crossovers – is one way he says Hyundai has improved upon the first-generation Palisade, which was a 2023 Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX winner.
Specifically, Torres notes Hyundai fulfilled first-gen owners’ desires for a dash camera, adding one as integrated feature to the second generation, with not only a front camera but also three rear cameras and a standard 64 GB of storage for footage, upgradable to 512 GB.
Making it easier to enter and exit the third row, and boosting comfort for those seated back there, also was a goal from first- to second-gen Palisade. Hyundai increased the vehicle’s overall length and wheelbase length, as well as made the third-row seats power slide, to adjust for more legroom when occupied by adults or larger children – or more cargo room if unoccupied or smaller children are seated.
Overall, Hyundai is claiming class-leading interior volume in the segment of 181 cu.-ft. (5,125 L).
Another change for the second-gen Palisade is the addition of a new off-roading XRT Pro grade, with a limited-slip differential enabling true maneuverability on rocky surfaces, Torres says.
Additionally, a new, more fuel-efficient 287-hp 3.5L V-6 engine replaces a 291-hp 3.8L V-6, and there’s an all-new hybrid variant set to debut this fall for those buyers wanting even better fuel economy.
But perhaps Hyundai’s biggest advantage in the competitive 3-row family CUV sector will be pricing.
While the brand in late August raised prices on the new Palisade from numbers announced just two months ago, it still undercuts most competitors. The base SE grade now starts at $39,435 vs. $38,935 in July, but that is below the base Chevrolet Traverse (starting at $40,800) and entry-level Toyota Grand Highlander (beginning at $41,360).
Omdia Automotive data shows the Grand Highlander is the Large CUV segment leader in the U.S. for first-half 2025, with its sales volume of 65,419 good for 12.5% share of the segment, closely followed by the Honda Pilot at 12.4% and Traverse at 12.3%, also with January-June volume around 65,000.
The Palisade’s first-half deliveries of 57,197 equate to 10.9% share, placing it fifth in share just behind sister-brand Kia’s Telluride which holds 11.7% of Large CUV sales in H1 2025 in the U.S.
The 2026 Hyundai Palisade, assembled in South Korea, is on sale now in the U.S., with Torres noting inventory in the U.S. is about half the new model and half the outgoing 2025 model. The 329-hp Palisade Hybrid is due to arrive this fall.
Buyers Still Want ICE
Despite an estimated 30 mpg (7.8L/100 km) projected for highway fuel economy in the Palisade Hybrid, compared with 24 or 25 mpg (9.8 or 9.4 L/100 km) highway in the non-hybrid models, Hyundai isn’t at the point where it would go hybrid-only for its large CUV.
Torres tells WardsAuto that, while hybrids are great, they come with cons as well as pros, and there’s a subset of buyers who still want a traditional V-6. “People still demand that V-6 and for Hyundai…we need to listen to our customers.”
While large CUV-segment leader Toyota hasn’t gone hybrid-only yet in the Highlander and Grand Highlander, their hybrid variants, per Toyota data, accounted for roughly half of each model’s first-half 2025 U.S. sales volume, leading some industry watchers to believe they soon will. Toyota’s large SUVs, as well as the Sienna minivan, Crown Signia CUV, Crown sedan and Camry sedan, and the upcoming 2026 RAV4, are available with only hybrid powertrains in the U.S.
