10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: 2020 Hyundai Palisade Smells So Bad but Sounds So Good

Hey, did’ja see that movie, “Her Smell,” with Elisabeth Moss? Well despite its odor-inferring title, it didn’t stink. But if there’s ever a movie about the 2020 Hyundai Palisade that won Cars.com’s Best of 2020 award and is the latest in our long line of long-term test cars, it might be called “Hyundai’s Smell” — and, take it from our staff reviewers who drive it every day, it definitely stinks. It stinks to high heaven, as the fella says, high enough, as it were, to take the No. 1 spot on this month’s countdown of most popular articles.

Related: CSI: Car Smell Investigation, 2020 Hyundai Palisade Edition

This latest edition of our own little spinoff of “CSI,” which we call “Car Smell Investigation” (pilot season is comin’ up, CBS!) updates readers on our smelly sitch involving a phantom phunk ostensibly emanating from our Palisade’s seats. The automaker’s attempts to clear the air thus far — replacing the head restraints, using Febreze … the usual — have been unsuccessful. But Hyundai continues to investigate widespread complaints about its vehicles’ olfactory equipment and we’ll update you as they update us.

“Hyundai is taking this issue seriously,” a spokesman for the automaker told us. “When we first learned of this problem, we immediately began an investigation into what could be causing the odor noticed by some drivers and passengers of the Palisade Limited. That investigation continues and when we have a remedy, we will share it with Cars.com.”

In the meantime, you can get the latest by following the link below to our No. 1 story for all of the month of September. In related news, bookending our top five this month is another story that’ll make our long-term Palisade sound a lot better: Joe Wiesenfelder, Cars.com reviewer and resident audiophile, dives deep on the Palisade’s premium 12-speaker, 630-watt Harman Kardon stereo system and extols its merits — of which there are many. Follow the line below to our No. 5 story to get tuned in on that.

Rounding out the September set are our roundup of the 2020 three-row SUVs that offer captain’s chairs behind the front row for 2020, at No. 2; our 2020 Car Seat Honor Roll, giving a gold star to all the vehicles that earned straight A’s in the past year in our intensive Car Seat Checks by certified child-safety-seat technicians, at No. 3; and Cars.com reviewer Aaron Bragman’s tips for taking a pandemic-friendly socially distanced road trip, which he did this summer in a 2020 Ford Explorer with an Airstream trailer in tow, at No. 4.

Not satisfied yet? Good! ’Cuz the theater-lobby lights are blinking and the second half is about to begin. We’ve got headlines on the Kia K5, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Stinger and Chevrolet Trailblazer, so don’t duck out after intermission.

Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past month:

1 CSI: Car Smell Investigation, 2020 Hyundai Palisade Edition … No. 2

2 Which 3-Row SUVs Offer Captain’s Chairs?

3 2020 Car Seat Check Honor Roll: Best New Cars for Car Seats

4 3 Tips for Taking a Socially Distanced Road Trip During a Pandemic

5 Is the Hyundai Palisade’s Harman Kardon Audio System Good?

6 Is the 2021 Kia K5 Sedan a Good Car? 6 Pros and 3 Cons

7 2019-2021 Hyundai Tucson, Kia Stinger: Recall Alert

8 What Makes a Car Luxury?

9 What Are Paddle Shifters?

10 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer Review: Hitting the Sweet Spot

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