Rent Hyundai Palisade 2021 in Dubai

Big families travelling through Dubai tend to need two things at once: room for everyone and room for what everyone packs. The Hyundai Palisade 2021 handles both, and we rent it across Dubai with payment sorted however suits you on delivery: card, cash, or a wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay. It's a three-row SUV that seats seven or eight, with a third row adults can actually sit in rather than just look at. The argument of this page is simple: if you want a comfortable, genuinely spacious family SUV for the week without paying full-size-SUV money, this older Palisade is the sensible pick, as long as you're honest about its bulk in a car park and at the pump.

How much family and luggage really fits

The Palisade's third row is the part that earns the booking. Two adults fit back there for an airport run or a day out, not just kids folded into a corner, and the second row slides and reclines so you can balance legroom front to back. Eight-seat versions get a second-row bench, seven-seaters get captain's chairs that make climbing through to the back easier. Either way, this is a car for a household that travels together.

Luggage is where you plan ahead. With all three rows up, there's about 311 litres behind the back seats, which swallows the soft bags of a day trip but not a full set of airport cases. Fold the third row and you free up roughly 1,297 litres, enough for a big family's holiday luggage with seats for five still standing. Drop the second row too and you're near 2,447 litres of flat load space. The honest version: seven or eight people plus all their suitcases at once doesn't work. Use the third row, or use the boot for cases, not both.

What it costs to run for a week

The V6 is smooth and never short of pull, which is what you want with seven people and a loaded boot merging onto Sheikh Zayed Road. That comfort has a fuel bill behind it. Expect around 11 litres per 100km in mixed Dubai driving, and more if you sit in summer traffic with the AC working hard. On the 71-litre tank that's a real-world range near 600km, so a week of school runs and mall trips means filling up maybe twice. Fuel here is cheap, but this is not an economy car, and nobody should rent it expecting one. You're paying in petrol for the space.

Living with its size in Dubai

At nearly five metres long and almost two wide, the Palisade is a big vehicle to place in tight spots. Marina towers and older multi-storey car parks have narrow bays and tighter ramps, and you'll use the parking camera and sensors every time rather than eyeballing it. The 203mm ground clearance clears speed bumps and mall ramps without scraping, so the day-to-day is easy enough once you accept the footprint. For wide bays at the airport or a villa driveway it's no trouble. For a quick dash into a packed downtown lot, it's more car than the job needs.

That bulk pays off on airport duty. A family of seven landing at DXB or DWC with cases fits in one trip instead of two cars, and the high seating and long wheelbase make the E11 cruise relaxed rather than busy. This is a confident motorway car, not a nimble city runabout.

Heat, cooling, and the rules you pay for

A cabin this large takes a moment to cool after it's baked at 45C, but the Palisade has vents for all three rows and a strong system that pulls the temperature down within a few minutes of pulling away. Rear passengers get their own controls, which matters with kids in the back on a long, hot drive. Park in shade where you can and the first few minutes are far kinder.

A few Dubai basics worth stating plainly. Salik tolls are charged to the renter, and any RTA fines during your rental pass to you, so drive to the limits and watch the gantries. Seat belts are required in every seat, and children under four need a proper child seat, which we can arrange. None of this is unusual, but with a full car it's worth a reminder before you set off.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Palisade 2021 if you've got a big family or a group and you want three usable rows, real comfort, and a lower rate than the newest full-size SUVs command. It's a lot of car for the money, and the older model gives up very little that a family on holiday would notice.

Look elsewhere in two cases. If you're two adults doing city errands and short airport hops, this is more SUV than you need, and a five-seat crossover is cheaper to fuel and far easier to park. And if you regularly run eight passengers with all their luggage at the same time, size up to a full-size SUV or take a second vehicle, because the Palisade asks you to choose between the third row and a full boot. For everyone in between, it's the comfortable, value-led family choice.