Millennial Mom's mini road trip: 2022 Hyundai Palisade

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I said it once , and I’ll say it again: the Palisade comes awfully close to making me change my mind about three-row SUVs. It doesn’t actually change my mind, and I’d still prefer a minivan, but if I had to recommend an awesome three-row SUV to someone who couldn’t quite grasp the awesomeness of a minivan, then it would probably be this one.

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It’s not quite perfect, but it’s fairly close. It’s not quite luxury, but for the price, comfort, and included features, it’s as close as you’ll get without getting an actual luxury vehicle.

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It’s not much different from the 2021 Palisade . In fact, to the average driver — me — it’s difficult to tell the difference between the 2021 and 2022 models. There are still a ton of buttons under the vents, but it becomes familiar after a couple days. The height (1,750 mm), length (4,980 mm), and width (1,975 mm) of the SUV remain the exact same, as are the interior dimensions of the headroom (997 mm in the front), legroom (1,052 mm in the front, 1,077 mm in the second row, and 798 mm in the third row), and cargo space (509L behind the third row, 2,447L with the second and third row seats down). Even the fuel economy is exactly the same: a combined average of 11.1 L/100 km (12.3 city, 9.6 highway). The main difference is increase in price: the 2022 base trim starts $400 higher at $41,399, while the top ‘Ultimate Calligraphy’ trim has only increased by $200 to $54,899.

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Regardless of previous testing, we treated the brand new Palisade as if it were, well, brand new. I wanted to get reacquainted with it and understand all its quirks, and to also remember and reaffirm why I liked it so much the first time I drove it.

I had the tester for just under a week, but with an entire Saturday to ourselves (no work or school), that’s when we spent the most time in it.

Waking up at 8 a.m., we spontaneously decided to spend the day doing fun things with the kids; I believe that’s called “living life in the fast lane.” We aren’t usually spontaneous with outings because my seven-year-old has extreme car sickness , but we gave her Gravol and decided to take our chances.

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Downey’s Farm, Caledon

Our first stop was Downey’s Farm ; it’s a large area that has a ton of outdoor things for all ages, as well as some amazing freshly baked pies and butter tarts. We’ve been there a few times over the last few years because it’s a simple day out and loads of fun for the kids . Around this time of the year, they’ve got lots of pumpkins filling their front lot — great for some cute (and extremely basic) Autumn/Halloween-themed photos.

We, however, were going to pick some apples directly across the street, and decided to save the seasonal fun for another day when we could attend Pumpkinfest and enjoy it to the fullest, which requires tickets pre-purchased online.

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We piled into the Palisade. I was in the driver’s seat, with no one beside me in the front passenger’s seat. My seven and two-year old occupied the middle row’s captain’s chairs (the Ultimate Calligraphy doesn’t offer an eight-seater, but the other trims do), while my husband and five-year old tested out the third row. The stroller, just in case it was needed (it wasn’t) fit nicely into the trunk, leaving little room for anything else, but that’s to be expected in a three-row SUV. My husband, who is a lot taller than I am, confirmed that the third row was spacious enough for him to sit comfortably for the 30-minute drive.

However, keep in mind that I am very short and need little space in the driver’s seat, meaning the passenger behind me (as well as the short-legged passenger behind the front passenger’s seat) have more room for their legs even if they’re pushed forward as much as possible. This also means that my third-row passengers have ample space. If there were long-legged passengers in all three rows, the comfort levels would be extremely different.

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I love the idea of apple picking and spending time with the kids. But personally, I think it’s one of those things that we over-hype; I spent more time getting the kids ready and preparing to go apple picking than we actually spent apple picking. It was still fun, and we left with 20 lbs of apples — there’s a minimum spend of $8 per person.

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Getting into the car is also a mission, because with my husband in the third row, it meant planning who got into the car first. The order of entry was toddler into her car seat, then put the other second-row seat down so the five-year-old could get in, followed by my husband who pulls the middle seat back down, followed by the seven-year-old who gets buckled, while I get into the front seat. And off we go.

Giggling Tomatoes, Brampton

After picking apples, our next stop needed to involve food — no apples. Pre-pandemic, we frequented Giggling Tomatoes , there are a few locations scattered around Brampton, but we chose the one that was closest to Downey’s. We like it because it’s fairly inexpensive and the portions are large enough to share, plus the home fries taste really good.

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With the directions punched in, we were ready to continue to our next stop. The head-up display is extremely clear, and it’s still one of the best I’ve seen. The second-row passengers now get heated and ventilated seats, but my kids can’t take advantage of that yet since they’re all still in some form of car seat.

If you have ever been to, live in, or driven anywhere in Brampton, you can appreciate all of the added driver’s safety features. The reverse camera is awesome at showing different angles. My favourite feature from Hyundai/Kia is the pop-up on the gauge cluster that appears when turn on your left of right turn signal; it gives you a peek of your side views and displays oncoming traffic — and in Brampton, there is always traffic to be displayed. It also comes with standard forward collision-avoidance assist, pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, driver attention warning, rear occupant alert, and so much more .

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Samko & Miko Toy Warehouse, Richmond Hill

Finally, after breakfast (I guess it should probably be called brunch at this point), we decided to make one more stop at Samko and Miko , a discounted toy warehouse in Richmond Hill. This time, the stroller came out for a tired toddler, who would have either cried incessantly through the store, or ran around trying to grab every pink toy she could find. There’s nothing that we absolutely needed in the toy store, but I’m always tempted by books, especially when they start at $1.

I like the way the Palisade looks in the parking lot. I was once asked, in a car comparison, which vehicle I’d prefer on my driveway. I’m not currently comparing anything to the Palisade, but I would absolutely love to have this on my driveway. I’d prefer Rainforest (dark green) or Moonlight Cloud (navy blue) over this Hyper White, even though they’re an extra $200.

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Without a minivan’s cargo space, we were limited. We needed to rearrange to accommodate the apples, toys and books we just bought, strollers, and jackets that were shed once the cool morning weather turned to a warm afternoon. Thankfully, the third row is a 60/40 split, so the 40 side went down and we used the extra space for the newly-acquired goods. My husband moved into his new spot in front passenger’s seat.

And with everyone comfortably seated, we were on our way back home to eat apples, make apple pie, and search the internet for other recipes that include lots of apples.

After spending almost an entire day in the Palisade, I still feel confident in saying it’s one of my top three-row SUV choices. Again, it’s not perfect, but nothing’s perfect; besides, they’ll need something to improve for the next generation. My vote there is to do away with the suede-like material on the roof — it just looks horrible after my kids have run their fingers through it to make a weird design.