Hyundai's premium aspirations in the all-new Palisade ought to make the Buick Enclave Avenir sweat

The Palisade isn't Hyundai’s first attempt to launch a three-row SUV. No, there was the Veracruz, an ill-fated attempt at breaking into the market that ended poorly back in 2012. More successful was the Santa Fe XL, though stuffing three rows of seats into a small-ish midsize SUV was still a compromise.

The XL has now been replaced by the flagship Palisade, the largest SUV the Korean automaker has ever built. It’s longer, wider and capable of accommodating eight passengers. The Palisade is a more complete vehicle by all accounts, yet it still has a number of established rivals – Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder, etc. — plus a few recent arrivals, including the Volkswagen Atlas, Subaru Ascent, and the Palisade’s own corporate cousin, the Kia Telluride.

However, we’re going to dial it up a notch and pit the Hyundai against a more premium-priced three-row sport-ute — Buick’s Enclave Avenir. Why? Well, it’s been a while since we’ve gotten behind the wheel of the big Buick. It’s a model that’s been around for a dozen years, the second-generation version coming out for the 2018 model year. It sells reasonably well in both Canada and the U.S., and the Avenir sub-brand supposedly represents the “highest expression” of Buick luxury, with unique styling cues and an extensive set of standard features and “premium materials” throughout the vehicle. Hyundai has proven in the past it’s not afraid of moving its products upscale, though it has been accused of exceeding its “place” in the past. So, is the Palisade capable of mixing it up with a senior, albeit conservative, member of the family hauler class?

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