mmarshall

As I've said before, not all modern vehicles are flimsy-feeling, nor are all older vehicles like tanks (if they were, I wouldn't have to do reviews LOL). But, in most cases, there is been a unmistakable trend towards lighter, thinner materials. I agree that safety-features have made many crashes in modern vehicles more survivable, but it has also led to a lot of careless and incompetent drivers who don't (or can't) drive, but roll along with their heads looking down at their cell-phones.

mmarshall

Back to the Palisade (or Telluride)............appreciate hearing any input from owners or leasees.

Toys4RJill

New vehicles are heavier in a many many cases. So perhaps things are not as light as you might think. Current 4Runner is heavier than my 4Runner despite losing the V8 engine. New LS tips the scales far heavier than the original.

mmarshall

They are heavier because they have so much equipment and features hung on them...by both consumer and government-driven mandates. That is (partially) compensated for by paper-like sheet metal and flimsy hardware.

Toys4RJill

Not sure I agree. My 4Runner has all sorts of airbags. Seats, dual fronts, side curtain, rear curtain. Not sure what was governmental required on the new one that was not on mine. Same as my mothers 4Runner. But the new model has larger seats, larger wheels, bigger sunroof, larger dash. It's heavier as well. Just much larger. But back to Pallisade, it is a substantially better product than the outdoing Santa Fe XL. Not because the XL was not good, but because it was just time for a better upgrade. Just my opinion.

mmarshall

The air bags, as we know them, grew out of both government requirements and consumer pressure. Back in 1984, a law was enacted that after 1989, all new vehicles would have to have "passive" restraints....which, in general, meant restraints that worked automatically, with no driver or passenger input. That meant, for all intents and purposes, a choice between air bags and those upper-motorized seat-belts than ran along a track above the driver and front-passenger's head (remember those)? The lower, lap part of the belts was still buckled manually. Some automakers chose the motorized seat belts because they were cheaper to install, but many consumers did not like them, and, so, eventually, the air bags won out.


If you have not test-driven a Palisade, I think you need to do so before making a statement along those lines. Then, you may or may not feel the same.

tex2670

Are you suggesting the that Santa Fe XL is better than the Palisade?

mmarshall

No, I am merely suggesting what I consider to be obvious.....that one should test-drive vehicles before they try to compare them directly to each other......especially for vehicles that are more or less similiarly-designed, such as the Santa Fe XL and Palisade. That, of course, also applies to a comparison between the Kia Telluride and Sorento.

I have driven both, BTW, and IMO, while each has its strengths and weaknesses, I would not necessarily agree that the Palisade is a big improvement overall, except perhaps for some interior space and a nicer, larger standard 3.8L V6.

It's true that I myself had criticism for Chevy's recent Blazer after only a static review (without a test-drive), but the current Blazer was not only a completely different type of vehicle from the last production truck-based, two-door, Blazers but was obviously not meant to appeal the same type of buyers. Indeed, the older K5 Blazers, except for the number of doors, were actually a to closer to today's Tahoe than to today's Blazers.

SW17LS

I've never seen a modern car with "paper thin sheet metal". Yes, sheet metal is thinner than it used to be, it doesn't have to be as thick to deliver the same solidity and strength. Many manufacturers are using aluminum and other high tech materials now that are much lighter.

Its also an assumption that thinner sheet metal is CHEAPER than thicker sheet metal. Something mekong manufactured thinner with the same strength is often more expensive, not cheaper.

For instance. we don't think a laptop or smartphone is cheaper because its lighter, its actually the opposite.

mmarshall

"Paper thin" metal is a figure of speech I use.....it is not to be taken literally. Whether it is cheaper or not than more traditional thicker sheet metal depends on its source and composition. But, in many cases, more expensive or not, it does ding and dent more easily than older, thicker sheet metal.

Perhaps the best body-panel material I ever saw (and I owned one myself) was on the Saturn S-series compacts. The thermoplastic was virtually dent, ding, and corrosion-proof, and would survive almost any impact short of a freight locomotive (again, a figure of speech). At the D.C. Auto Show, before Saturn did away with the plastic-body cars, one of the most remarkable displays was when the Saturn reps would take a baseball bat and whack the sides of the cars full-force....without leaving a dent. Then, he or she would invite you to do the same (which I did, more than once). Just try that with today's body panels. The panels, for accident-repair, also easily went on and off the cars with special clips, attached to the car's space-frame....and could be ordered from the factory pre-painted.

The plastic panels weren't perfect, though. They were painted, at the factory, with a special, mirror-like water-borne paint, which was soft enough for the paint to flex with the panels themselves....but the paint itself was easily scratched, particularly in dark colors. And the wide gaps between panels (required because of the expansion/contraction of the plastic in heat and cold) also contributed to wind noise.

jrmckinley

I keep seeing the Palisade and Telluride on the road and wish they sat a few inches higher off the ground. The vehicle height doesn't seem to go with the exterior styling, especially the Telluride's rear aesthetics. Am I alone in this thought?

Toys4RJill

Perhaps it is because the trend is to go more sleeker. HIgher floor, lower roof. And the rear gets tapered.

SW17LS

I definitely agree about the Telluride, I dont see the same thing with the Palisade.

jrmckinley

Yeah, I think (for me) it's more the back of the Telluride when it comes to the height looking "off". I've seen a few dozen Telluride's on the road in my area and have now come to the conclusion I don't like the exterior. The front grille and headlight setup bothers me (looks too stretched horizontally), I don't like the height, and I don't like the back. The Palisade front is much more attractive to me and I can live with the back. My mom wants to get a new car in the next 3 months (leaning heavily towards Highlander) but I think I"m gonna check out the Palisade for her soon.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I agree it’s the better looking of the pair, but many seem to like the Telluride more so looks like Hyundai/Kia did a good job there...

The old car sales trick when you’re in the show room is to change the conversation from “this one or not?” to “this one here, or this one over here?”