2020 Hyundai Palisade: Is It A Better Buy Than The Kia Telluride?

There are a few major differences

Is the Palisade better value over its cousin?

The 2020 Hyundai Palisade takes the torch from the departed Santa Fe XL as the brand’s three-row SUV offering. It’s set to take on the likes of the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Ford Explorer. However, it also faces some competition from its own, equally large cousin, the 2020 Kia Telluride. Is the Hyundai Palisade just more of the same? Not exactly — these are the features that set it apart from Kia’s large SUV.

2020 Hyundai Palisade

The exterior styling is the first major difference between the two. Hyundai takes a “chess piece” approach when it comes to their design. The overall language is familiar to other crossovers like the Santa Fe and the Kona. That’s particularly true with the separate daytime running light and headlight assemblies. However, you don’t experience the same sort of nesting doll effect that you get with, say, German luxury crossovers.

2020 Hyundai Palisade

Unlike the 2020 Kia Telluride, the Hyundai Palisade also has power-folding rear seats. Controls to fold the third and second row are available from the cargo area. While we’re on the subject of cargo, the Hyundai Palisade also has a fairly quick power liftgate (that is also available on the Telluride), that makes it easier to access when you have your arms full of groceries or children. With the third row in place, you can still fit a cooler in the back, which makes the 2020 Hyundai Palisade a practical proposition. With the seats folded, the Palisade has 86.4 cubic feet of cargo space — slightly less than the Telluride’s 87.0 cubic feet.

The sheer number of cupholders in the 2020 Hyundai Palisade also beggar belief. Including the front storage area, the doors and the third row, there are no less than 14 cupholders on board. Hyundai also made sure every passenger had their own USB port for charging their devices, and there are also two 12V power ports.

Powertrain

Under the hood, you get the same 3.8-liter naturally-aspirated V6 that you get in the Kia Telluride. Like that car, the 2020 Hyundai Palisade makes 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. Power makes its way to either the front or all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Unlike the Kia Telluride, you access that transmission in the Palisade by way of four buttons, rather than a traditional gear lever.

Also unlike the Kia Telluride, you can get a front-wheel drive variant on the higher trim levels of the Palisade. That makes the overall investment for the fully-loaded option a bit cheaper than it would be if you went for the Kia. Prices for the 2020 Hyundai Palisade also start at $32,595 including $995 destination. That is slightly cheaper than the Kia Telluride, and that remains the case all the way up through the Palisade’s Limited trim level.

At the end of the day, the 2020 Hyundai Palisade is more value-oriented than its cousin. On the other hand, the Kia Telluride is a more rugged-looking family hauler, and one that has already been selling well in its first few months on sale.

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