November 11, 2025 - Hyundai Palisade Next-Gen Hybrid Boosts Efficiency More Than 50%

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 11, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.  

Earlier this year, Hyundai launched the second generation of its large three-row SUV, the Palisade. At launch, it was available only with a new 3.5-liter V6 engine. While the vehicle was very impressive overall, at 287 horsepower, the powertrain was a bit underwhelming, most likely due to the modest 260 lb-ft of torque. Hyundai has now addressed that problem with the launch of a hybrid powertrain for the Palisade that increases total system output to 329 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque. Hyundai already offers a hybrid system in most of its small to midsize vehicles that is somewhat unique in its configuration. The original hybrid system uses a belted starter generator to start the engine and do a small amount of energy recovery. An electric motor sits between the engine and conventional automatic transmission to provide tractive effort and regenerative braking, with a clutch between the engine and motor. 

The new system replaces the belted starter generator with a second motor between the engine and clutch. This configuration enables higher levels of electrical power for propulsion and the opportunity to operate as a series hybrid or a parallel hybrid, depending on the speed and load conditions of the vehicle. According to Hyundai engineers, this architecture significantly increases the bandwidth of where the system can improve on both overall fuel efficiency and performance while also reducing component complexity on the engine. The new hybrid is rated at 34 mpg combined on the front-wheel-drive Palisade compared to 21 mpg for the 3.5-liter gas V6. The all-wheel-drive models go from 19 mpg to 29 mpg combined. That's an improvement of more than 50% across the board with significantly better performance as well. During a recent first drive, we saw a combined 28 mpg indicated on the trip computer. 

The new hybrid system is available on the Palisade now and is expected to be included on the new 2027 Kia Telluride sometime in 2026, with other models expected to adopt the system over the next several years as they go through generational updates. 

Thanks for listening.