Hyundai ups its family SUV game with new larger size Palisade

As a brand, Hyundai has evolved quite a lot over the years. This was back in '01, the first Santa Fe SUV. It was a signal that the Korean car maker was really making the move from a low-priced alternative brand, to a real contender.

The Santa Fe is now in its fourth generation with an all-new version that's not only loaded with tech, but built at a modern new factory in the U.S.

And if you need a bit more room inside, there's the Santa Fe XL, with three rows of seats.

But Hyundai knew there were buyers seeking even more space, so behold their new largest SUV yet, the flagship Palisade.

Introduced at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show, the Palisade is big and bold.

Big, with three rows of seats to accommodate up to eight adults, and still plenty of cargo room. And bold, with an aggressive slab-y nose and tall proportions.

Inside, the stuff to compete with SUVs of similar size, including lots of standard and available safety tech.

Check out the feature called Blind View Monitor, which activates any time you use the signals. And Hyundai is the latest brand to offer a warning to help prevent children being accidentally left in the rear seat by a distracted parent.

There's also a big dose of style inside, to help set the Palisade apart from the many competitors it faces in a crowded market.

The 800 pound gorilla in the segment is the Ford Explorer, which has literally outsold everything else. And there's an all-new 2020 Explorer. It looks familiar, but it really is new in every way.

The good news is that if you're in the market for a family-size SUV that's big enough, but not too big, there are lots of choices these days.

Including this new one from Hyundai, which has the goods to compete head to head, and show people that this brand's come a long way.