Rent Hyundai Palisade 2023 in Dubai

A V6 that doesn't wilt with seven aboard is the thing that separates a proper three-row SUV from a stretched crossover, and it's where the Hyundai Palisade 2023 earns its rate. We rent it across Dubai with 250 km a day included, so a couple of airport runs and a Hatta weekend don't eat into your allowance. It's a seven-seat SUV with a 3.5-litre V6, all-wheel drive and an automatic, finished here in blue. The case for this page is simple: book it when you need to move a full group in comfort and want the third row to be a real seat, not a token. Who that suits, and who should go bigger or smaller, is the rest of the story.

What you're actually renting

The 3.5-litre V6 makes 249 hp through an eight-speed automatic and drives all four wheels. That's genuine muscle for a family SUV, and it shows when you merge onto Sheikh Zayed Road with the car full. Seven people and a boot of bags don't flatten it the way a load flattens a four-cylinder crossover. It clears 0 to 100 km/h in around 8.1 seconds, which is brisk for something this size, and at a 120 km/h cruise the cabin stays quiet enough for kids in the back to nap. The all-wheel drive adds sure-footedness on a fast slip road or a graded desert track up to Hatta, though this is a family hauler, not a dune machine.

Does my group and luggage fit

This is the question the Palisade answers better than almost anything in its bracket. The middle row is genuinely roomy, and the third row will take two adults for an airport transfer or a dinner across town without complaint. It's not where you'd sit a grown man for three hours to Abu Dhabi, but for school runs, mall days and getting a group to a wedding, it works.

The catch is luggage. With all three rows up you get a shallow shelf behind the back seats, enough for a few soft bags or the weekly shop, not a stack of hard cases. So the honest version is this: seven passengers, or a full load of airport luggage, but rarely both at once. Fold the third row and the boot opens up to swallow several large cases, which is how most families travelling four or five up will run it.

Heat, and how fast it cools

A car this size bakes hard in a Dubai car park, and a big cabin takes longer to pull down than a hatchback's. The Palisade handles it well. Air-con vents reach all three rows, so nobody in the back is left to suffer while the front gets cold first, and on a 45-degree afternoon the cabin is comfortable within a few minutes of pulling away. For families with toddlers in the third row, those rear vents are the detail that actually matters.

Living with the size

Around five metres of SUV is a lot of car to park, and you'll feel it in older Marina towers and tight multi-storey bays laid out for a Corolla. The reversing camera and sensors make it manageable, but a packed deck takes patience, and you'll want an end bay when you can grab one. The roughly 200 mm of ground clearance clears every speed bump and mall ramp without scraping. On the open road it's in its element, and DXB and DWC runs with a full family and a load of luggage are exactly what it's built for.

Fuel, and what it costs to run

No way around it, a V6 this size drinks. Expect somewhere around 12 to 13 litres per 100 km in mixed Dubai driving, more if you sit in Salik-corridor traffic at peak. The upside is the roughly 71-litre tank, which gives a comfortable 550 km or so of real-world range, so a week of school runs and a couple of airport trips won't have you at the pump constantly. If running cost is your first concern, this isn't the efficient pick, and a smaller crossover roughly halves the fuel bill. Salik tolls run on your account, RTA fines pass to you, and child seats are required for under-fours, which is worth sorting before you collect a car with a third row full of kids.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Palisade 2023 if you've got a family or a group and you want everyone to travel in comfort, with a third row that's actually usable and a V6 that doesn't strain when the car is full. For airport runs, mall days and the occasional Hatta trip, it's the right size and it doesn't feel cheap inside.

Size up to a full-size SUV like a Tahoe or a Patrol if you genuinely need eight seats plus a full load of luggage every day. Size down to a five-seat crossover if it's usually just two adults and a couple of kids, because then you're paying for fuel and parking hassle you don't need. For the family that fills three rows and wants room to breathe doing it, the Palisade hits the spot, and we'll have it at your door within one to two hours.