Today, Hyundai’s all-new Palisade Hybrid has been named to Car and Driver’s prestigious 10Best Trucks and SUVs list for 2026. Car and Driver’s annual 10Best list 10Best recognizes the industry’s best trucks and SUVs for the year. This new 10Best honor adds to an already lengthy list of awards and accolades won by Hyundai SUVs. 2026 marks the fourth-consecutive year that a Hyundai model has been honored with a position on the list.
“A potent powertrain and a top-tier interior put the new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid on the board in its debut year,” said Car and Driver Editor-in-Chief Tony Quiroga.
“For us, the Palisade Hybrid making Car and Driver’s 10Best Trucks and SUVs list is more than a win; it’s a marker of where the market is moving. Families want no-compromise capability, adult-ready third-row seating, and intuitive technology that makes daily life simpler,” said Olabisi Boyle, senior vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America. “The team is designing for the full curve of customers, and that strategy enables resilience across all market environments, where consumer preferences and economic pressures rarely shift in sync. We are truly grateful for the inclusion on this list.”
The Palisade’s all-new design is bold yet refined, encapsulating a more-refined platform that delivers improved space for people and cargo. The newly available hybrid powertrain delivers increased power, fuel efficiency, and driving range, ensuring that Palisade is ready to meet the needs of more families than ever before. It’s not just Palisade’s additional space and rugged ability that impresses; its infotainment, convenience, and advanced safety-system upgrades ensure that this new model is more capable in every dimension.
Bold, premium SUV design
The new Palisade displays a commanding, premium aura thanks to design worthy of a flagship SUV. The front presents a distinctive vertical LED daytime running light graphic and a horizontal center positioning light signature, conveying a wider stance while highlighting the bold grille, with active airflow shutters integrated into the lower fascia for improved efficiency. A horizontal hood line couples with a more upright A-pillar for a strong side profile. Even with this bold, upright appearance, a remarkable 0.31 Cd has been achieved, one of the lowest in the segment.
From the side, proportions are larger overall, with a shorter front overhang (-1.6 in.), longer overall length (+2.5 in.) and wheelbase (+2.7 in.), and a lengthened rear cabin to yield a substantial, premium silhouette. Large alloy wheels – up to 21 inches — generously fill the wheel openings, readily conveying the commanding, planted road presence befitting of a range-topping SUV. Bold, forward-raked D-pillars, and larger, panoramic side glass flood Palisade’s more spacious third row with light and improved visibility.
From the rear, a prominent, upper high-mounted wide stop lamp is visually balanced with a lower fascia element for ideal design harmony. The greenhouse’s more upright tumblehome and higher shoulder lines create a stronger on-road presence while enhancing interior spaciousness. The bold D-pillar form connects seamlessly with the vertical rear lamp signature and integrated roof rails.
Intuitive interior design elements
The new Palisade is larger in every key dimension: the body spans 2.5 inches longer and the wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than the previous generation, allowing for easier passenger ingress and egress. Available in both seven- and eight-seat configurations, the expanded interior employs a horizontal dashboard layout with soft-touch materials, sophisticated finishes, and a differentiated luxury ambience.
The center console is shaped to enhance seat roominess, enveloped by premium materials inspired by luxury home furnishings. The center console and armrest have not only been designed for comfort, but also to enhance ergonomic stability when reaching for vehicle controls. Palisade offers a double-door center stack with an open tray in the lower part of the console coupled with conveniently placed physical switchgear. A wireless charging pad with an integrated device-cooling fan is ideally located in the center console. The pad provides a generous 15 watts for fast device charging, making for the perfect companion to Palisade’s standard wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ integration. An available Bose® 14-speaker surround audio system ties the entire premium cabin experience together, enveloping all three rows in rich, lifelike sound. In addition, a panoramic, curved digital instrument cluster and navigation system with dual 12.3-inch displays provides key information in easy view of the driver.
2026 Palisade now offers innovative Relaxation seats for front- and second-row passengers, providing generous additional degrees of recline and deployable upper-leg supports to help reduce fatigue during extended seating periods. The interior’s design and capacious dimensions invite serenity and a sense of occasion. Eight-passenger seating is standard for family adventures. Available captain’s chairs include one-touch second-row tilt-and-slide functionality for effortless operation, facilitating easy third-row access. For more convenience, the third-row seats are available with power-folding, sliding, and power-reclining mechanisms, along with heating. Second-row power-adjustable seats offer heating and ventilation for extra comfort. Available second- and third-row seat articulation functions can also be controlled from the driver’s seat or cargo area for extra convenience whenever picking up passengers and their cargo. Cup holders and 100-watt-capable USB-C ports are readily accessible in each row, ensuring every occupant and every device remain juiced up for the entire journey.
Advanced technology looks out for you and your family’s safety and wellbeing at every turn
In addition to Hyundai’s SmartSense suite of active- and passive safety features, the 2026 Palisade protects families in a myriad of unique ways – while driving, or even when you’re parked. In a first for Hyundai, the built-in, two-camera Dash Cam can provide continuous recording while driving. It can also work with various vehicle sensors to automatically record nearby movements while parked.
The 2026 Palisade supports the latest version of Hyundai Digital Key 2.0 Premium2 which allows owners to leave their key fob at home and use a supported smartphone or smartwatch to lock, unlock, and start their vehicle. Palisade also offers Wi-Fi hotspot3 capability with Alexa Built-in Voice Assistant capability.14 Vehicles with cellular connectivity will be able to provide a hotspot that allows others to browse the internet, stream videos or music and more – just like at home.
Speaking of connectivity, the new Palisade comes standard with wireless Over-The-Air (OTA)4 update capability. This technology ensures that the vehicle’s major controls remain up to date, also clearing the way for software additions and new features to be added remotely. After it leaves the factory, the new Palisade is only going to get smarter.
New, powerful, and efficient hybrid powertrain
The 2026 Palisade offers a new hybrid powertrain for the first time. It features a 2.5-liter turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine putting out up to 258 horsepower. Two electric motors mounted in the six-speed automatic transmission’s case create a combined total system output of up to 329 horsepower and up to 339 pound-feet of torque. Palisade HEV’s high-efficiency powertrain offers an EPA-estimated 35 mpg on the highway for the FWD model, yielding an internally targeted range of up to 619 miles1. The hybrid powertrain also offers an estimated 4,000 lbs. of maximum towing capacity5, all of which combine for supreme driver confidence and flexibility out on the open road. Specific features have been added to the hybrid to provide a more EV-like ownership experience, including a new Stay Mode function that monitors the battery system when parked to allow for extended use of the infotainment and HVAC functions.
The 2026 Palisade also offers a gasoline-only 3.5-liter V6 that delivers an estimated 287 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, with towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds5.
New safety and driver convenience technologies
Hyundai knows today’s SUV owners shouldn’t have to compromise when it comes to protecting their passengers, so the 2026 Palisade delivers a full complement of SmartSense active safety technologies. The new model’s generous suite of Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) includes many key features, including Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist6, Blind-Spot Collision Warning7, Safe Exit Assist8, Forward Attention Warning9, High Beam Assist, Navigation-Based Smart Cruise Control10, Lane Following Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist11, Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist-Reverse12, and Remote Smart Parking Assist13.
Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, while supporting Hyundai Motor Company’s Progress for Humanity vision. Hyundai has significant operations in the U.S., including its North American headquarters in California, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembly plant, the all-new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, and several cutting-edge R&D facilities. These operations, combined with those of Hyundai’s 850 independent dealers, contribute $20.1 billion annually and 190,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, according to a published economic impact report.
