The wife and I are currently looking at three row SUVs. It will be her daily vehicle. I currently drive a 17' F150 XLT and her a 12' Fusion SE. My local dealership sells both Ford and Hyundai. Here is our story of checking out the Explorer and Palisade this past Saturday.
We first checked out the Explorer XLT, black interior with captains chairs. In regards to interiors I was fine with it. The hard plastics everywhere didn't bother me because that is what my truck has. All my wife said was " It's OK" when it came to the interior not showing any emotion at all. One thing alarming is when you sat in either of front seats in made a creaking sound. We may be from Wisconsin but we aren't over weight
We then checked out the Palisade SEL with black cloth. My wife was all smiles when she sat in the Palisade. Her words: " Whoaaa you have to see this" , "Look at all this space", "Come check this out", "These captain chairs are way more comfortable", "This feels so high end" . I will be honest, I was impressed with the interior as well except the push button gear selector.
She went from no emotion looking at the Explorer to excitement when it came to the Palisade. We have always owned Fords......but that may change soon.