Features / 17 March 2023 / Michael Taylor

New Hyundai Palisade vs Kia Sorento – 7-seater SUV showdown

The facelifted Hyundai Palisade is now available in South Africa, with prices starting at R1,099,000.

This makes it similarly priced to another South Korean SUV with space for seven passengers – the Kia Sorento – where the top-spec model retails for R1,019,995.

While the Kia Telluride is the more accurate competitor to the Palisade, it is not sold in South Africa, and the range-topping Sorento ends up offering a similar performance and spec sheet, making for an interesting comparison.

Features

As top-of-the-range models from their respective brands, both SUVs come with an expansive list of features.

Among the commonly-shared items are LED headlights and daytime running lights, heated and ventilated front seats with electric adjustment memory functions, leather upholstery, a heated multifunction steering wheel, paddle shifters, a digital driver display, a wireless phone charger, front and rear park sensors, 360-degree cameras, and keyless start and entry.

They also have adaptive cruise control forward collision avoidance, hill assist, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keep assist, and the Kia has six airbags whereas the Hyundai has seven.

The crucial difference then is that the Palisade is available as either a seven or eight-seater, both with the same price.

If you opt for the seven-seater, the absence of one seat is made up for with the addition of heating and ventilation functions for the remaining two middle-row chairs.

The Hyundai also comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, three-zone climate control zone, a 12.3-inch infotainment screen with an intercom, two moonroofs, and a 12-speaker Infinity sound system.

In contrast, the Kia offers 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, a 10.25-inch media unit, a heads-up display, a panoramic sunroof, a 12-speaker Bose stereo, and lumbar support for the front seats.

With the rear seats upright, the Kia also has space in the boot for 187 litres, compared to the Hyundai’s 311 litres. When the rear bench is folded, these spaces increase to 616 and 509 litres, respectively.

Engines

The Hyundai and the Kia are both equipped with a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine with a near-identical output. The Palisade has 142kW and 440Nm, while the Sorento has 148kW and 440Nm – a difference of just 6kW.

Both vehicles make use of an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, but the Kia has a better fuel consumption of 6.8l/100km compared to the Hyundai’s 8.2l/100km.

Furthermore, the SUVs achieve the same top speed of 190km/h and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of around 10.5 seconds, with the Palisade offering a towing capacity of 2,200kg and the Sorento a greater 2,500kg.

Each SUV also has a selection of drive and terrain modes for Comfort, Eco, Sport, Smart, Snow, Mud, and Sand.