We sure hope you like your Hyundais boxy, because if these spy photos are anything to go by, the next-generation Palisade will be losing its soft, curvaceous exterior in favor of straight lines and a great big grille. We expect the updated car to debut later this year or early next in advance of an on-sale date by the end of 2025, and judging by the advanced state of this prototype, Hyundai appears to be right on schedule.
This is not the first time we’ve seen Hyundai’s new three-row, but it’s the only look we’ve gotten without heavy camouflage. The disguise was comprehensive enough to cloak the Palisade’s broader strokes. This time around, it’s wearing nothing but a vinyl wrap, revealing its (more or less) final shape. In a word, it’s boxy. Here’s the prototype alongside a production Palisade for comparison purposes:
When it was last spotted in February, we got a glimpse at its new interior. Unlike the angular body, the interior appears to be leaning in the direction of the new Kona and Hyundai’s battery-electric offerings, which embrace a less hard-edged aesthetic. There are elements hidden by the vinyl that may add some definition to the fenders. Then there’s the grille, which looks almost comically wide on this test car. Hopefully the final body work will de-emphasize that a bit. As it stands, that blows right by “a bit much” and straight into “yikes” territory.
Hyundai likely won’t go too aggro with the new Palisade; that’s really more the Kia Teluride‘s gig. It’s the big Hyundai’s sportier twin, after all. That said, we’ve seen some of Hyundai’s new SUV styling direction already in the form of the 2024 Santa Fe. If that’s anything to go by, the look we’re seeing on the Palisade is probably close to production. We shouldn’t have to wait too long to find out for sure.
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