The Palisade has been a hit for Hyundai since it first went on sale for the 2020 model year, and for 2026 it's getting a pretty huge update that gives it hybrid power, revised styling inside and out and even a new XRT off-road-focused trim.
To make room for the now-larger Santa Fe crossover, Hyundai decided to make the Palisade 2.6 inches longer for 2026 (and a 2.7-inch increase in wheelbase) The outside is a massive departure from the car it replaces with a bolder, more upright front end featuring vertical daytime running lights and a lightbar that spans the length of the grille. Along the sides, we get larger, 21-inch wheels, a silver strake that runs the length of the roofline down to the D-pillar and different body creases that make the car look more substantial. Out back, that D-pillar is sloped a bit more than it was before, and under that is a pair of stacked horizontal taillights. It sort of looks like what we thought the future would be like in 1980. It looks great if you ask me.
Inside, the changes are nearly as substantial. Thanks to that increased wheelbase, Hyundai has made it easier for second- and third-row passengers to get in and out of the car. Other than the embiggening of the interior, there are all sorts of other lovely updates coming to the car for 2026 — including better materials, a redesigned center stack with two 12.3-inch displays working as your gauge cluster and infotainment center, a wireless charging pad, updated seats and an available 14-speaker Bose sound system. The 2026 Palisade comes with eight-passenger seating as standard with an available power-folding third row.
It also comes with a plethora of new safety tech like a two-camera dash cam, a UV-C sterilization compartment, a rearview camera in the mirror and a rear occupant alert system that'll remind the driver they left their kids in the rear seats. If it detects movement after the driver gets out of the car, it'll sound the horn and send an alert to the driver's smartphone. Like most modern cars, the 2026 Paliside is capable of over-the-air updates so drivers have all the latest software installed on their cars.
Aside from the styling and tech upgrades, the 2026 Palisade gets revised internal combustion engine options. There's a standard naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 that pumps out 286 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. The previous car could only be optioned with a 3.8-liter NA V6 with 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. It's available with either front-wheel drive or Hyundai's HTRAC all-wheel-drive system, and it can tow up to 5,000 pounds.
There's also a new hybrid motor option for the new Palisade. It's a 2.5-liter turbocharged I4 unit that puts out 258 horsepower. It teams up with two electric motors mounted in the car's six-speed automatic transmission that add up to 90 horsepower for a combined system output of 329 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque. Even with that big power jump over the standard car, Hyundai says it'll still get over 30 mpg and will have a highway driving range of 619 miles. It'll even be able to tow up to 4,000 pounds. To me, this is the motor to have unless you really need that extra 1,000 pounds of towing.
To go along with the big changes for the Paliside, there are also new XRT and XRT Pro models joining the lineup for 2026 — in a similar vein to what Hyundai has done with the Ioniq 5 XRT and Santa Fe XRT, tho XRT Pro takes it a step further. That gives the Palisde even more off-road-focused hardware and some software changes. To make the car stand out, the Pro comes with a more muscular-looking front end with a different grille design and bright-red recovery hooks. It's also got 18-inch alloy wheels, a whole bunch of XRT badges and some other goodies as standard (like a heated steering wheel, the Bose audio system and a power moonroof).
You also get an XRT Pro-exclusive electronic rear limited-slip diff and 8.4 inches of ground clearance (regular XRTs get 7.4 inches). The Pro also comes with 20.5 degrees of approach angle and a 22.4-degree departure angle. It's fitted with 255/60R18 all-terrain tires, pitch and roll, compass and election displays and standard AWD. It also comes with new terrain modes for Mud, Sand and Snow, downhill brake control and a tow mode.
It's easy to see that the 2026 Palisde is going to be a hit for Hyundai. When you combine how much people loved the old car with a new hybrid powertrain and an off-road-focused trim level, Hyundai almost certainly has a winner on its hands.