As is true with most relationships, it is typically simpler to criticize than to reward in relation to new car opinions. Particularly in relation to evaluating sensible on a regular basis fashions, it is the tough edges that stand out essentially the most — the stuff that works properly tends to be extra simply forgotten, if solely as a result of these attributes are inclined to fade into the background. That in thoughts, regardless of seeing 1000’s of miles via the windshield of our long-term 2020 Hyundai Palisade Restricted, only some issues have actually caught out in current months of driving. That is not a foul factor; this three-row SUV is so darn good general.
An August drive to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a socially distanced household beach-house trip bolstered what we have already come to learn about Hyundai’s largest crossover — it is a masterful long-distance cruiser, with enviable seat consolation, capacious cargo area, useful tech and actually stable gasoline economic system. The path to the OBX from suburban Detroit is not a very fascinating one, particularly in the event you stick with the interstates for many of it. That stated, our Palisade is a long-distance champ and an in a single day cease in suburban Washington, DC, at my sister’s dwelling proved to be an opportune second for Roadshow’s long-term Palisade to fulfill its close to doppelgänger. (After having expertise with a Kona for her youngsters, my sister changed her current-generation Acura MDX together with her personal Huge Hyun and hasn’t appeared again.)
Say hey to Roadshow’s long-term 2020 Hyundai Palisade
See all images
Regardless of loading up our long-term Palisade to the sills with seaside and kitchen gear (we needed to reduce grocery runs and did not enter a single restaurant) and regardless of setting the Palisade’s well-behaved, lane-centering adaptive cruise management at a pace slightly north of the posted restrict, I had no bother averaging 23.4 miles per gallon for over 1,900 miles. These figures embody a short standstill freeway tailback, plus some idling and stop-and-go visitors in DC and North Carolina, a lot of it in scorching (80-plus diploma) temperatures. The Palisade’s official fuel-economy score calls for twenty-four mpg freeway on all-wheel-drive fashions and I’ve completely zero bother believing it is attainable to enhance upon this car’s EPA estimates simply.
Two issues cropped up throughout my highway journey — solely one in every of which may fairly be blamed on Hyundai. The primary is that I had upwards of a dozen situations the place the infotainment system did not correctly acknowledge after I plugged in my Apple iPhone to the center-console USB-A outlet. Whereas my and my passenger’s telephones would constantly cost (we tried two, an iPhone 11 Professional and an 11 Professional Max utilizing an official Apple wire), the system did not at all times enable for the taking part in of music, not to mention activating Apple CarPlay to make use of apps like Waze. There hasn’t appeared to be a rhyme or cause to this challenge, however turning the car all the way in which off often solves this annoyance. Throughout this time interval, our Palisade visited our native vendor (Suburban Hyundai of Troy, MI) to cope with one other challenge and an oil change ($61.59), and all the SUV’s software program was confirmed as up-to-date, but this drawback has continued on an intermittent foundation.
The second drawback? Sure, it has one thing to do with that vendor go to. Lower than 30 miles from dwelling, after dozens of hours on the highway venturing to North Carolina and again, our Palisade took a rock to the windshield. A considerable crack fashioned instantly, spreading to the approximate measurement and form of a sweet cane inside a couple of miles, earlier than spreading additional over time. Mercifully, the crack was proper on the backside heart of the windshield, so it did not impair visibility and it wasn’t a security challenge, however there was no method the glass could possibly be repaired — it must get replaced.
Sadly, changing the windshield would show to be a slightly drawn-out and irritating course of. With the Palisade nonetheless being a comparatively new mannequin at time, it is unsurprising to be taught that our native vendor did not have a spare windscreen in inventory. Given the mannequin’s red-hot gross sales and COVID-19’s influence on the auto business’s provide chain and car manufacturing, it is also not shocking that Palisade windshields have been briefly provide. Even so, we did not anticipate an estimated supply time of over a month to supply some substitute glass, nor the opposite dealer-level frustrations that may accompany it.
Due partly to the fee related to calibrating the windshield-mounted digicam for the adaptive cruise management and different ADAS options, the estimated value to interchange our windshield from Suburban was a panoramic $2,466.55 — practically the identical as our company insurance coverage deductible. That value included $1,477.59 for the glass itself, plus $36.81 for molding and a whopping $783 in labor for recalibrating the windshield digicam (5 hours at $156.60/hour). Add in a $169.25 sublet price for the precise windshield set up (the vendor contracts out to a neighborhood glass-replacement specialist), $34.97 for “store provides,” plus taxes and the estimate finally ends up at simply shy of $2,500. Our Palisade Restricted might feel and appear like a luxurious SUV, however we did not count on for the windshield to be priced like a premium model, nor did we count on to have as lengthy of a wait. Weirdly, Suburban provided to expedite a substitute windshield for a further value, which did not make us really feel any extra assured in regards to the course of.
TL;DR? Suburban did not get our enterprise for the substitute windshield.
As a substitute, we went with a third-party outfit, our native Safelite AutoGlass, which had a substitute Palisade windshield in inventory. They put in the brand new glass in our driveway for a grand whole of $761.87. After all, that value did not embody the calibration value for the windshield digicam, which Safelite was understandably unable to carry out. For that service, we went to Elder Hyundai in Macomb, MI, and so they charged us $299.95 — lower than half what Suburban estimated for this labor course of. That implies that all-in, a substitute windshield value $1,061.82 — actually not low-cost, but in addition not unreasonable on this ADAS-equipped day and age.
The takeaway? Do your self a favor: It doesn’t matter what automobile you drive, store round for one of the best value in the event you want a substitute windshield. Hyundai dealerships are unbiased franchises, so elements and labor pricing can range considerably and there is little that the automaker can say about it. Our different experiences servicing different automobiles at Suburban have all been very favorable, however this time, the sensible transfer was to go to the aftermarket — and one other vendor’s service division.
That windshield drama apart, the remainder of our long-term Palisade expertise has been darn close to flawless. This is not simply among the finest midsize SUVs available on the market, it is one in every of our very favourite new automobiles available on the market, full cease. We have tons extra miles forward and we’ll be again with one other replace quickly.