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The 2023 Hyundai Palisade is available as an eight-seater with bench seats in both the second and third rows or as a seven-seater with captains chairs in the second row and a bench seat in the third row. This week we have the seven-seat top-spec Highlander diesel model in our garage so let's dive in and see how it stacks up as a BabyDrive…

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BabyDrive Verdict

The 2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander is a very spacious, large SUV. It looks great on the outside and the inside has some luxuries like a camel coloured suede ceiling in the Highlander model I tested.

New to the Palisade is the BlueLink system in the media system, this allows you to control and monitor a lot of things about the car remotely on your phone through a phone app. One really handy feature is being able to send your sat-nav directions to your car from your phone (rather than try concentrating to program it when the kids are causing mayhem in the back) and it will then continue the navigation from wherever you park the car to your destination on foot, through your phone!

2023 Hyundai Palisade Bluelink app

There are aircon vents in all three rows of seats in the Palisade, in the rear two rows they are round vents in the ceiling which is excellent for little passengers in the back, so you can keep them at a comfortable temperature while you are driving along. Parents can control the rear climate from the front which is very handy.

Seating and legroom is something the 2023 Hyundai Palisade really excels in. The third-row bench seat will seat three passengers comfortably with very good legroom, headroom and kick room for taller passengers and your lanky teenagers will fit back there comfortably.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander with two child seats installed in the third row

There are top tether anchorages in the central and far side third-row seats and ISOFix in the far side seat too. I found I could only fit one Infasecure child seat, I installed the Infasecure Aspire More, in the third row as there is not enough room to put two child seats next to each other using the top tether anchorages. You can put an Infasecure Versatile Folding Booster Seat in the other outer seat as it does not require a top tether anchor strap.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander has top tether child seat anchorages in the third row

In the second-row captains chairs of this seven-seat Palisade there are ISOFix and top tether anchorages in both seats.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander space between two child seats installed in the second row

Two Infasecure child seats fit really nicely in the second row, we installed the Infasecure Attain More behind the driver and the Infasecure Achieve More on the passenger side.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander top tether child seat anchorages in the second row

We found legroom to be fantastic in the Hyundai Palisade Highlander and we could fit a 182cm passenger in the third row with a forward-facing child seat in the second row and a 184cm+ driver in front. Or with a rear-facing child seat on the passenger side, a 180cm passenger in the third row and a 182cm passenger can sit in the front.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander space between two child seats installed in the second row

The captains chairs create a lovely walk through to the third-row or the can slide forward individually, giving a small gap to get through. The rear doors open really nice and wide which helps a lot when installing child seats and getting in and out of the back of the Palisade. The 2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander has a double sunroof so the rear passengers get a great view of the sky as you are driving along, my kids loved this at night time!

Storage is well thought out throughout the Hyundai Palisade. There are a few that stand out like the central console bridge that is large enough for an iPad or great for storing your handbag.

The second-row doors have a small bottle holder and two cup holders in them that are great for kids to easily reach their drinks while driving along, so you are not having to pass things back and forth.

There are map pockets on the back of both front seats which will hold and conceal an iPad and each has a phone net. There are USB sockets on the side of both front seats here for rear passengers as well as USB sockets in the third-row too and cup holders.

There are phone nets on the side of both the captains chairs in the second row too.

In the front, the central console is well-appointed with two cup holders and a wireless phone charging pad and a large central console box.

Both the glove box and door bins offer a large amount of storage and have room for iPads and wallets.

The rear doors have built-in window blinds in the Palisade Highlander model, which are fantastic for keeping the rear of the car cool and protecting little rear passengers from the sun, without worrying about any aftermarket products falling off while driving along. Also to protect your rear passengers there are curtain head airbags that extend to all three rows of seats which gives us parents some peace of mind.

 

 

Boot space in the 2023 Hyundai Palisade is very good when using only the second row of seats. It will hold 22 shopping bags, which is the same as the new Nissan Pathfinder, three more than the Toyota Kluger, and five more than the Mazda CX-9 but still four bags less than the Kia Carnival which holds 26 shopping bags.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander boot space for dogs with two rows of seats in use

There is a carpet you can put down in the back of the Palisade Highlander when you are only using the first two rows of seats, so you can transport a very large family dog or a few smaller fur babies very comfortably in the back.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander boot space for shopping with all three rows in use

When using all three rows of seats, the new 2023 Hyundai Palisade will hold eight shopping bags, which is the same as the new Nissan Pathfinder and the Toyota Kluger that both hold eight shopping bags too. The Mazda CX-9 will hold six shopping bags and the Kia Carnival will hold ten shopping bags.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander boot space for shopping with two rows of seats in use

A double, twin, tandem or single pram will each fit in the Palisade's boot when using all three rows of seats with a few bags of shopping, which is so practical for large families. For more detailed boot storage information see the expandable section ‘storage' below.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander boot space for twin side by side stroller pram and shopping with all three rows in use

The media system in the new 2023 Hyundai Palisade has lovely big touch screen, it is modern, clear and simple to navigate and use. There is built-in sat-nav which is simple to use and works with the Bluelink app.

One of the features I particularly like using with my kids is Passenger Talk, this amplifies your voice when driving from the front through to the third row so you don't have to shout. My big girl likes us to play with that while driving.

There is also Quiet Mode which brings the speaker volume to the front, which is great when your little ones fall asleep in the back.

The Palisade has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which is great for little passengers listening to some of the apps like ABC Kids Listen etc while driving as well as easily accessing your messaging, calendar and navigation apps.

The camera images are really crisp and clear and you can view the car in 3D or 2D…

…and from all different angles.

The Hyundai Palisade has indicator camera images that come up in the driver's screen which allow you great visibility down the side of the car and confidence when turning or changing lanes.

You can turn the parking sensors off with a button in the central console. And there is an easily visible seatbelt removal visual beside the media screen.

Overall the seven-seat 2023 Hyundai Palisade Highlander is a very spacious family SUV. It is definitely a contender to the new 2023 Nissan Pathfinder, Kia Carnival and Mazda CX-9.

The Hyundai Palisade Highlander is an enjoyable car to drive, it feels luxurious and is cocooned from external road noise. Its turning circle is practical but does not compete with that of the Kia Carnival. so it is a little more cumbersome in school and supermarket car parks. The Palisade Highlander, in particular, is packed FULL of family-friendly features and either the seven or eight-seat version has a very large and practical boot space for families when using all three rows and has great legroom throughout.

The new 2023 Hyundai Palisade has been given a five-star ANCAP safety rating which is better than the old version's four stars and comes with seven airbags; dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard. A centre airbag to prevent occupant-to-occupant interaction is standard.

 

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BabyDrive Indepth

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Tace Clifford
About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.

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