LA LIVE: 2020 Hyundai Palisade

The Palisade offers seating -- and connectivity -- for eight.

Hyundai's biggest SUV, the 2020 Palisade, made its global debut at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show.

New from the ground up, the Palisade is Hyundai's answer to the Ford Explorer, the Subaru Ascent, and the Volkswagen Atlas. It's not the kind of car you can ignore when you see it on the road. Its front end is characterized by a massive grille with a thick chrome frame and thin lights; it resembles a Kona that went on a diet of whey protein. The rear end is a little bit less distinctive with vertical lights and a roof-mounted spoiler.

The cabin offers space for up to eight passengers, though a seven-passenger configuration is available. It's as big as you would expect it to be considering the Palisade's large footprint. It offers 18 cubic feet of trunk space with the three rows of seats occupied and 45.8 with the second row folded flat. And, while we're talking numbers, the firm noted it carved out 16 cupholders; that's two drinks a piece if you order it as an eight-seater.

Hyundai replaced many of the buttons normally found on the dashboard with a 10.2-inch touch screen, though it wisely kept physical buttons for the stereo and the HVAC. Wireless smartphone charging, seven USB ports, a power-operated hatch, and third-row seats that fold down at the push of a button are available. Owners can use the Blue Link app to perform a wide variety of functions like locking or unlocking the car, starting the engine, and setting the climate control.

At launch, the Palisade's only available engine is a 3.8-liter, Atkinson-cycle V6 rated at 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, but all-wheel drive is offered at an extra cost.

Hyundai will make the Palisade in South Korea. Sales will begin in 2019. Pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Live images by Brian Williams.