Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.

  1. Obviously, the Hyundai Palisade and KIA Telluride are more than corporate cousins; they're more like fraternal twins. The Korean conglomerate does a masterful job of building vehicles that share parts, components, and entire platforms while differing enough to appeal to somewhat different market segments. The KIA Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe are two examples. The Stinger and the Genesis G70 are another. The Palisade and Telluride are the latest and perhaps the best examples. They share engines, drive trains, dimensions, AWD systems, and a wealth of other components from a common parts bin. Although it's possible to configure each as slightly more or less expensive than the other, fully loaded top trims are almost identical in MSRP. (The Palisade is $115 more than the Telluride.) Despite those similarities, the overall styling of the two vehicles is distinct. Each was initially designed by KIA's and Hyundai's design studios in California but the overall look and feel of each is aimed at different markets. The Telluride's overall "rugged" vibe is clearly aimed at the North American market. It's built in the US and currently sold exclusively in North America. It's not even offered in the Korean home market. The top trim SX Telluride is decidedly upscale with lots of "luxury" touches. But it's no coincidence that it most closely resembles a Range Rover, the luxury SUV with a "rugged" reputation. The Palisade, on the other hand, while designed to appeal to the near luxury market segment in the US, is aimed at a much broader international market, especially in Asia. Unlike the Telluride it's built in Korea and meant to appeal to the growing middle class there and in other Asian markets, especially in China. Those markets aren't focused on "ruggedness." The appeal is to the recently affluent consumer who cannot afford a Mercedes or a BMW but find a near "luxury" vehicle priced significantly less than those brands to be a way to demonstrate their success to their neighbors and family.
    3
  2. There are very few important differences between the Palisade and the Telluride. MSRP's for comparably equipped versions of each are virtually identical. All important components and features are shared. It comes down to personal preferences in terms of style. For example, Hyundai apparently believes that diamond quilted upholstery is a sign of luxury. Personally it reminds me of the sofa in my grandmother's living room. And considering my age that makes it very old fashioned, indeed. YMMV, of course. The Palisade offers a push button gear selector. That's trendy, I suppose, but it reminds me of a 1957 Plymouth. As far as other features are concerned, the Palisade offers a powered mechanism for raising/lowering the third row seats that the Telluride lacks. Considering the time it requires to do the job (It must be the world's slowest seat lowering system) and the fact that it reduces the cargo space behind the third row by about 3 cubic feet, I prefer the Telluride's much quicker push and pull approach with fewer moving parts and micro motors prone to failure. The Palisade has a distinctive front end design with the headlights mounted just above the bumper. But I live in the Pacific Northwest where the spring snow melt n the Cascades brings tons of rocks and gravels down to cover our highways. One learns eventually to avoid following semis and logging trucks too closely as the rocks they discharge behind their rear wheels hit windshields with considerable velocity. (Before I learned my lesson, I replaced three windshields in five years.) Placing the headlights just above the bumper only increases their vulnerability, not only from big trucks but from smaller vehicles, as well. All in all, it comes down to personal preferences.The Telluride and the Palisade are each incredibly impressive vehicles. I'd opt for what I consider to be the Telluride's simpler and overall more elegant style versus what seems to me to be the rather "fussy" look of the Palisade with too many curves.
    2