2021 Hyundai Palisade Long-Term Update | Loving the rear seat maneuverability

I don’t have a big family to lug around in our long-term 2021 Hyundai Palisade, but even so, I still find its rear two rows of seats mighty refreshing to move around when ferrying friends or large items.

If you need to move a second row seat out of the way to get people into the third row, all that’s necessary is a simple button press toward the top or bottom of the seat — choices! One press later, and the seat immediately scoots all the way forward, then angles itself forward out of the way, and you’re left with an easy entry. It’s remarkably quick and delightful to use. There’s no waiting for a fancy electric seat to motor its way forward, and you don’t need to grab or pull anything using physical force. 

Of course, putting the seat back does require you to physically push it, but it’s a low-effort shove. It’s genuinely one of the best thought-out solutions to getting the seat out of the way with great ease.

As for the third row, the Palisade offers something the mechanically related Kia Telluride doesn’t: power operation for the 60/40-split seat. This is one instance where I prefer to have the ability to fold or put up seats via electric power. The Telluride’s third row is just a touch of a hassle, as it has the old-fashioned pull straps on the seat backs. I appreciate that the Hyundai offers power third row seats, and it’s easy to put them up or knock’em back down with simple button presses from the cargo area. 

Plus! If you need to put all the rear seats down at once, that’s possible from the same control panel. And sure, other SUVs offer similar capability, but that doesn’t make it any less nice in the Palisade. At the very least, that power-folding third row is a rare feature at its price point. 

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