Total fuel: 1839km a day trip recently to visit a 200-million-year-old rainforest. Return to index Part 3: Precipitation Station This model hasn’t enjoyed local tuning of suspension or steering, yet the ride, body control and precision through the wheel all have real finesse. Second pleasant surprise is how dynamically sorted the Palisade feels. Still way louder and more coarse than the petrol alternative, but hey, that’s the trade-off for the torque and lower consumption. This is the older iron-block version of the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four used by Hyundai and Kia, yet it’s marginally quieter and less vibey at idle that the all-aluminium unit in the Kia Sorento I ran most recently. In terms of the driving experience, two things have come as pleasant surprises. Having attempted to fold myself into the third row in the name of science, I’m a bit unconvinced of the Palisade’s ‘eight-seater’ ability. ![]() She rides tethered to one of the ISO-fix hooks of the reclined middle-row backrest, and seems to relish her self-appointed role of both navigator and emergency alert officer when she spots another dog out for a walk. Thankfully this remains an entirely hypothetical scenario for me, leaving me free to keep both the third- and second rows folded, and use the massive load space for all my beach and barbeque gear, as well as a palatial transportation pod for my small dog. Yes, there are three seatbelts back there, but I would have thought that kids small enough to fit three-abreast would surely need booster seats, of which you’re only going to be able to fit two. In terms of price, there’s a fairly hefty premium attached to the extra size and additional rear seat of the Palisade.īut having recently attempted to fold myself into the third row in the name of science – imagine a raw sausage being squeezed into a matchbox – I’m a bit unconvinced of the Palisade’s ‘eight-seater’ ability. There’s also an under-console storage space which will probably end up as the receptacle for my partner’s handbag, or my handbag if I go back to the cross-dressing thing. Up front, the lidded centre console box is appropriately XL-sized, while ahead of this is a generous storage space that can be configured to hold two water bottles, or allows the bottle retainers to be retracted, leaving the space clear for more of your personal stuff. The full-length compartment is also the ideal stash spot for an umbrella and picnic rug (if you’re me or Mary Poppins), or maybe a sawn-off shotgun (if you’re Roger Rogerson.) As I open the sub-floor storage compartment that houses the cargo blind, I see it also contains a rolled-up tailored floor mat that neatly unfurls to line the boot floor when the third-row seats are folded, stopping any boot debris from dropping through the gaps. ![]() Neither is a big deal for me, and ample compensation comes with some of the other neat details I find. Straight away, I see the Palisade is missing a few features that are fitted to the Sorento, like a customisable digital dash, and controls for the front-passenger seat on the right-hand bolster. This range-topper, finished in Steel Graphite, is $75,000, so about $10K more expensive than the (same engine, and also AWD) Hyundai Santa Fe from the segment below, and about $13K dearer than the (again, same engine, AWD) Kia Sorento GT-Line I just vacated.Īnd no, you don’t get more equipment for your money in the Palisade. ![]() ![]() In terms of price, there’s a fairly hefty premium attached to the extra size and additional rear seat of the Palisade. No, the two are not eye-to-eye segment rivals due to the Palisade being slightly larger and featuring a three-seat third row (versus two in the third row for the Kia), but the model line-ups of both do overlap enough on price that they’ll surely be cross-shopped by some buyers for whom the third-row accommodation is not a dealer breaker either way. Not that I’m complaining, and the transition to this top-spec Palisade Highlander diesel will be instructive in terms of how it compares to that top-spec Kia Sorento I ran for the last four months.
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