Palisade

Make
Hyundai
Segment
SUV

For a certain group within the motoring community, a drag race isn't a proper drag race if the cars in question aren't a perfectly good match. For instance, if it's a wagon, you wouldn't put it up against a sleek coupe, would you? And an M-lite BMW against a full-fat Mercedes-AMG S? Don't even think about it. Well, if you form part of this group, you may have an issue or two with the fact that these guys decided to pit a large family SUV in the form of a 2020 Hyundai Palisade against a brawny classic, namely a 1987 Buick Grand National coupe. There's some method to the madness, though.

You see, things have changed a lot since the Grand National was a big deal. Power outputs have climbed rapidly, to the point that this Grand National makes 46 horsepower less than this Palisade. Round One to the Hyundai, which produces 291 hp to the Buick's 245 hp. Both have 3.8-liter V6 engines but the Grand National's is turbocharged. The Buick also weighs in at nearly 1,000 pounds less, but as it's the much older vehicle, could this legend keep up with this modern family SUV? Both are reportedly capable of a 15.8-second quarter-mile run. If you prefer to get straight to the point, the action gets underway at the 06:38 mark.

To the relief of pretty much everyone except soccer moms, the Grand National comes out on top, but the Palisade was right behind it in a super tight finish. A final bonus round saw the Palisade being given a slight headstart, which was pretty much the only way it was going to beat the Grand National. Still, the test proves how far along we've come, with practical family haulers now pretty much keeping up with the classics that used to leave most other cars for dead. The Palisade is already flying off showroom floors and based on this, a Palisade N wouldn't be such a bad idea. How about it, Hyundai?