Confirmed: the Hyundai Palisade is coming to Malaysia this year

By daryl, 12 March 2021

It's official, the seven-seat Hyundai Palisade that has been busy racking up awards in North America over the past couple of years will be launched in Malaysia before 2021 comes to a close.

Local distributor Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) confirmed that the Korean brand's flagship SUV will arrive on our shores this year packing a 3.8-litre V6 underneath its massive hood. The Atkinson-cycle engine is good for 281hp and 355Nm of torque. In the US, this engine is mated to an eight-speed auto with a multi-plate torque converter to deliver 4WD torque distribution on demand. 

Measuring nearly five metres long and two metres wide, the Palisade is easily one of the biggest vehicles to ever grace the floor a Hyundai showroom. As the flagship of the company's SUV catalogue, it naturally packs a draft of connectivity and safety features. It's probably safe to use what we've seen in the eighth-generation Sonata as a base, and move a few steps up from there. The Palisade also features an industry-first roof vent diffuser which 'provides a focused, partially- or fully-difffused stream of air to rear passengers'.  

Palisade
Kona

On the more accessible side of the affordability scale is the facelifted-for-2021 Hyundai Kona, which HSDM has also committed to bringing into Malaysia this year. This comes barely a year after the pre-facelift was first launched here, though that introduction may have been a little too late itself. HSDM managing director Low Yuan Lung noted that the current model was well received despite stiff competition in the SUV segment. He added that the company is confident the facelift will 'capture more hearts this time around'. 

Those eyeing a brand new Kona can expect the upcoming model to arrive with Hyundai's latest Smarstream G2.0 engine and a CVT which drives the front wheels. The four-pot mill makes 149PS and 180Nm of torque, which is pretty much the same as the existing model that utilises a six-speed automatic instead. Whether we'll be given a Kona 1.6 Turbo encore remains to be seen. However, the direction taken by HSDM with the latest Elantra suggests that hopes for the spicier engine are on the slim side, so you might want to secure a force-inducted unit while you can. 

2020 Hyundai Sonata review: D-segment’s biggest, priciest and… bestest?
2020 Hyundai Sonata review: D-segment’s biggest, priciest and… bestest?
Test drive: Hyundai Kona 1.6 Turbo
Test drive: Hyundai Kona 1.6 Turbo
Confirmed: the 2021 Hyundai Elantra will cost you RM158,888
Confirmed: the 2021 Hyundai Elantra will cost you RM158,888