Hyundai confirms that Palisade is the name of the new large crossover that will augment the automaker’s lineup. The name is not a surprise as it has been floating around for some time now thanks to a U.S. trademark application for the moniker filed earlier this year. Though Hyundai says the name refers to “a series of coastal cliffs,” it does hint that it had an affluent Southern California neighborhood called the Pacific Palisades in mind when it settled on what to call its latest crossover, which fits Hyundai and Kia’s pattern of naming vehicles after places.
The eight-passenger Palisade will replace the Santa Fe XL, which is essentially a carryover of the three-row 2018 Santa Fe sold alongside the new, smaller 2019 Santa Fe. The Santa Fe XL was too narrow for comfortable seven-passenger seating and struggled to compete in a segment with the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder, Mazda CX-9, and new entries such as the Volkswagen Atlas and Subaru Ascent.
We have been anticipating the Palisade since Hyundai showed the HDC-2 Grandmaster SUV concept earlier this year at South Korea’s Busan Motor Show.
The Palisade, designed largely for North America given its size, will make its global debut November 28 at the Los Angeles auto show. The Palisade is a counterpart to the Kia Telluride, also an eight-passenger crossover.
Palisade is one of two all-new vehicles Hyundai will add next year. Hyundai is not saying what the other new vehicle is. It is not expected to be the Santa Cruz pickup. While the automaker decided to proceed with the Santa Cruz car-based midsize lifestyle truck a few years ago, it was not a priority with so much other product development underway. Santa Cruz is still a work in progress for sale likely in 2020.
Hyundai has spent the past year overhauling its lineup with the launch of 10 vehicles. Some were completely new such as the Kona, Kona EV, and Nexo fuel cell vehicle. Some were new generations including the Veloster and new Veloster N, as well as the Accent and Santa Fe. Face-lifts were given to the Elantra, Tucson, and Sonata hybrid and plug-in hybrid.
Tags: 2020 Hyundai Palisade
