It all depends, if you care about engine than the 2025 had one of the best engines you can get in a car. If you care about the latest tech then of course the 2026 will be an upgrade but the 2025 is already ahead of the game when it comes to luxury features. Besides a body refresh and a few new features the 2026 won't be that much more different to the 2025.
I was facing this same decision and chose to get the 2025 calligraphy. I personally don't like the boxy look of the 2026 to me it's just a bigger Santa Fe.

 

Thanks for post. I tend to agree about the 25 vs 26, but DW wants the tech in the 26, especially the passenger seat tech (massage, thigh extender). We'll see.

 

You don't need bluelink to get navigation, you would need it if you like the extra features it provides.

 

Do you have the free Bluelink+ (comes on 24/25 m.y.)? Doesn't it provide live traffic?

 

I recently brought 2025 Palisade Calligraphy. I does comes with bluelink+ complimentary for lifetime. For navigation updates it's going to be 3 years from purchase. Later it requires subscription. Not sure about live traffic updates after 3 years

 

You lose OTA updates after 3 years, but you can still do them manually via USB for free (download at Official Hyundai Motors Navigation Update Website). No subscription required.

 

Also, Hyundai is going with Google maps very soon instead of their own. Maybe in the 2026 Palisade. Map preference by folks are often regional or technically influenced. For me, Waze never stops feeding me useless info like "train tracks ahead." I wouldn't chose a '25 vs '26 over it since both map types are supported.

 

Also, Hyundai is going with Google maps very soon instead of their own. Maybe in the 2026 Palisade. Map preference by folks are often regional or technically influenced. For me, Waze never stops feeding me useless info like "train tracks ahead." I wouldn't chose a '25 vs '26 over it since both map types are supported.

They never had their own maps In the US, they use HERE, which was Nokia maps before that, and Navteq before that. But yes, they are going to Google Maps.

Subsciption for OTA (over-the-air) updates is $25 per year.

Who cares? It’s a free download via USB.

Navigation is thru Bluelink which you get free for life. Live traffic is via SiriusXm which is an annual subscription...$6/month.

Hyundai no longer uses Sirius XM for traffic. The haven’t since the Gen5W infotainment system, which started on the Palisade in 2020. They use HD radio and Internet data. The nav can reroute you because of traffic, without a Sirius XM subscription (I’ve never had one on this car and traffic works just fine).

 

They never had their own maps In the US, they use HERE, which was Nokia maps before that, and Navteq before that. But yes, they are going to Google Maps.

Who cares? It’s a free download via USB.

Hyundai no longer uses Sirius XM for traffic. The haven’t since the Gen5W infotainment system, which started on the Palisade in 2020. They use HD radio and Internet data. The nav can reroute you because of traffic, without a Sirius XM subscription (I’ve never had one on this car and traffic works just fine).

Thanks for the claification. My 2018 Genesis needed SiriusXM for traffic. Glad you got all the info. I prefer over-the-air because I believe in the "Keep It Simple" philosophy.

 

Seriously, "their own" referred to licensing. Of course, they didn't build it themselves...so silly.

 

I've used both and prefer to use Google Maps or CarPlay. The main advantage to the native Nav is that it works with the heads-up display. You see the next turn in the HUD without taking your eyes off the road. Overall, the navigation routing seems to be about same, I haven't seen a ton of benefits or drawbacks as far as routing goes. The reason I prefer Maps or Waze are the user-provided inputs - speed traps, road hazards, slowdowns, etc. The native app gives you none of those. I've noticed differences between Waze and Maps and found I can use Google Maps in the foreground and Waze running in the back and hear all the alerts from both. That's been handy on road trips where one or the other have speed traps and the other doesn't. When I try that with the native nav, it doesn't work. I can enter the route from the nav and get the HUD working. The second I start maps or waze on my phone it disables factory navigation. So, while I prefer Android Auto, I'd say the factory nav is pretty decent. And since you get free updates and advanced features, it should stay current. Try them all and see what you like best.

 

Great comparison!

 

But it has a new "turbo" engine (who knows what those issues will be and there will be issues)

Yeah, I am not too keen on that at all, with the experience everyone on the Genny forums has had with the 3.3T. Never been a fan of turbos as all since I had a catastrophic disintegration of one in my GMC Typhoon years ago. THAT was expensive . IF I get a newer one when this lease is up - it will only be a lease. I don't want turbo related ownership trouble when the miles start racking.

The current 6 cylinder engine is an update to the original.

To the original Pali engine from 2020? I dunno about that - pretty sure it is the same. What I can tell you is that it is not at all the same as the 3.8 that was in my 2015 "G80", which was an update to the 3.8 in my 2011 Azera. Both of those engines were fantastic. Not a lick of engine trouble in either one, and about 250k miles between them.

Last year's new SantaFe had a stupid sanitizing box instead of glove box and major transmission issues.

Well - you know that Hyundai's 8 speed has a pretty poor track record from the Genny forums. That and the oil consumption issues in the Pali are why I only leased this 24 instead of purchased.

For me, Waze never stops feeding me useless info like "train tracks ahead."

You can customize the alerting in Waze - both on screen and voice, and individually for each type of notification. Hamburger menu, Settings, Alerts & Reports, Reports

Live traffic is via SiriusXm which is an annual subscription...$6/month. [...] My 2018 Genesis needed SiriusXM for traffic

That only came with XMData - not the basic radio service for $6. Data was an add-on & extra charge. Sadly - Hyundai has ditched XMData as a whole after the 2nd half of the 2010's. Too bad - I really preferred it for all the extra stuff it gave in the Genny, and BlueLink alone doesn't offer half that. The dynamic traffic updates are primarily why I use Waze. I have been using it since about 2012 - not long before Google bought it, and while living in Chicagoland. It was a godsend when trying to navigate through traffic backups around there. Now I only really need it on long trips as I have moved out to the sticks of WI.

 

Our children insist on using the IPhone navigation, but we find that the in car navigation i s much better

 

All this over navigation, you all are spoiled. Who is old enough to remember when you had to stop at the gas station and get a map?

 

Who is old enough to remember when you had to stop at the gas station and get a map?

Yep.... And then trying to fold that map up again after using it!

 

Android Auto always.

I've opened the built in navigation maybe twice in over 3 yrs.

 

Wait for the 26. Better engine and transmission

 

I always use android auto, typically using Waze for nav... In every car. Our 5, when I drive my mom's Honda, rentals, all of them.

 

It's a different V6 - a 3.5 vs. the existing 3.8.