Hyundai NZ clarifies that the new SUV will price above the Sante Fe, which raises prospect of it breaching the $100k barrier.

FIVE hundred dollars down will secure an order for the largest sports utility yet produced in right hand drive by a South Korean car maker.

Hyundai New Zealand’s order book for the new Palisade, a sports utility wagon based on the same underpinning as the Sante Fe but physically larger in all pertinent dimensions, has recently opened.

The Auckland-based distributor has made clear it is going for a full house provision and also indicated that the potential of it undercutting the Sante Fe on price won’t occur.

That scenario was raised in a recent MotoringNZ story, which pointed out that if Palisade entered NZ costing as much as it does in Australia, it would be cheaper than the smaller SUV – by up to $15,000 when comparing the respective flagships.

Hyundai NZ says that conjecture is off the mark.

“Australia pricing … (is) not indicative of NZ pricing. As our new flagship SUV Palisade sits above the Santa Fe and pricing will also reflect that,” brand spokeswoman Kimberly Waters said.

She added that Palisade pricing will come out in January “when the vehicles start arriving in dealership (s).”

Palisade also sits above the Sante Fe in Australia’s pricing structure.

MotoringNZ’s story, posted on December 11 said that across the water, Palisade will sell for the equivalent of $NZ63,850 in entry form and $NZ79,800 in a flagship trim, those recommended retails precluding on-road costs. It also pointed out that the top-end Sante Fe, the Limited, is a $89,990 ask in NZ.

If Palisade is sitting above the Sante Fe Limited, as Waters suggests, then it could conceivably price up to and even beyond $100,000 – an uncharted territory for South Korean SUV product offered here.

The page dedicated to Palisade on HNZ’s website indicates we’ll see it as Australia does - with the choice of a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel and a 3.8-litre V6 petrol, in rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive formats and with two different occupant count arrangements.

There’s an eight-seater that shows with two separate seats up front then two bench seat rows behind and a seven-seater that provides with a bench in the very back and otherwise has captains’ chairs.

New Zealand and Australia might well become the only right-hand-drive markets for the car, which was originally made for North America and the Middle East, which is also left-hand-drive. It was re-engineered into RHD after Australia petitioned for it to be reconfigured.

Australia’s media speak of it being quite a different experience to the Sante FE, describing it as being a more laidback drive and evidencing as being designed to to appeal to families who need a large SUV but don't want a heavy-duty off-roader – or need to tow heavy loads.

The specification encompasses a full suite of advanced safety technology including radar cruise control with stop-start, lane-keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, and blind zone warning with intervention if a driver is about to cut across someone in an adjacent lane.

The flagship – which presumably cannot be called Highlander, as it is in Australia, due to Toyota already having dibs on that name - gains a digital dash that displays images from the blind zone cameras.

Tyre pressure monitors and a digital speed display are standard, however Palisade does not yet have speed sign recognition. Instead, the speed warnings rely on the navigation data.

There’s no ANCAP safety rating yet for the Hyundai Palisade, but it’s unclear if it will achieve a four, or five-star rating with the lack of a centre airbag, deemed a new requirement by some manufacturers to achieve top safety marks.

Palisade’s 2.2-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder is the older Hyundai design, as used by the previous Sante Fe, rather than the updated alloy block engine that the new Sante Fe has gone to. The engines have similar outputs – 247kW in Palisade, 148kW in Sante Fe, torque of 440Nm in either - but the new design is said to feel perkier. The Palisade also pairs its engine to a conventional eight speed auto (and on-demand all-wheel-drive), whereas the new Sante Ge has moved to an eight-speed twin-clutch auto.

Palisade’s alternate V6 is a 3.8-litre, creating 217kW and 355Nm, whereas Santa Fe runs a 3.5-litre V6 good for 200kW/331Nm.

Hyundai says the Palisade’s V6 uses 10.7 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, which is just 0.2L.100km worse that the Santa Fe’s claimed optimal. The diesel’s economy suffers in the Palisade – Hyundai cites 7.3L/100km for the larger unit, against 6.1L/100km in a Santa Fe.

Palisade’s size doesn’t reflect in it being brawnier for towing – quite the opposite, in fact. Towing is capped at 2200kg, whereas new Santa Fe can tow 2500kg. The other eight-seaters in it might be compared with are heavy duty off-roaders, the Toyota Land Cruiser 200-Series being the obvious rival, and it can haul 3500kg.

The exterior is to Hyundai’s current design language, but clearly distinctly different to the latest Sante FE look and reminding of larger American SUVs, according to Australian website CarAdvice.

The entry car runs on 18-inch wheels, the high-end car on 20-inch wheels for the Highlander, together with bi-LED headlights and tail-lights.

Inside, buyers get a choice of black leather with metallic-look trim and a knit headliner in the Palisade, while the high-end model - which, for sake of clarity, we’ll call Highlander - gets burgundy or beige Nappa leather with beech wood-look trim and a suede headliner.

A 10.25-inch infotainment screen featuring satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, and multi-connection Bluetooth, which runs through a 12-speaker Infinity premium audio system, is a common fixture.

Due to the expansive cabin, the Palisade also offers 'Driver Talk', which allows the driver to speak to second- and third-row occupants through the car's audio system. The system also has a 'Quiet Mode' which mutes the rear speakers, and sets the front speakers to a low maximum volume.

Front occupants get wireless smartphone charging in the centre console, while second-row passengers have access to USB ports.

As well as three ISOFIX child seat restraints, the Palisade also features four top tether child seat anchor points in the seven-seat Highlander, and five anchor points in eight-seat configuration (all variants). The second-row of seats features one-touch folding to help with third-row loading.

Front occupants get to enjoy heated and ventilated power seats, while the driver gains a 7.0-inch LCD digital instrument cluster. The 10.25-inch, all-digital instrument cluster offered in overseas markets doesn’t feature in right-hand-drive, but a head-up display goes into the flagship.

On the Highlander, a blind-spot view monitor shows a live feed of the Palisade's left and right blind-spot zones within the instrument cluster when the indicator is engaged, as well as a surround view monitor with guidance provides a 360-degree birds-eye view when parking.

A dual-panel power sunroof and hands-free power tailgate are also standard on the more expensive model.

Hyundai subordinate brand Kia also has a model based off the Palisade, however it insists there are no plans to produce that model, called the Telluride, in right hand drive.