The age-old line goes something like “my mother always said if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Yeah, well, most mothers probably weren’t given the task of reviewing the Hyundai Tucson. Mom, if you’re reading this, go watch Animal Planet instead. This isn’t going to be pretty.
Flawed
Hyundai ’s entry level SUV has a whole host of problems. The first one becomes apparent the moment you lay eyes on it.
The Tucson may just have the worst design in its class. The Toyota Rav4, Honda CR-V and the Suzuki Grand Vitara look like Pininfarina designs compared to the Tucson. Even the quirky Honda Element in SC trim comes out leaps and bounds ahead of the Tucson, design wise. The Hyundai has so many odd bulges and shapes to it; it’s hard to know how to describe it. Fortunately, that’s why we have photos below.
The overall shape of the car is just plain awkward, but at the same time it reminded me of something. After several days of driving the Tucson, it finally hit me. It looks a bit like a turtle with its head popped out, though I’m not so sure it isn’t more like a turtle that’s been partially run over by a Freightliner.
Only once before have I been embarrassed to be seen driving a car. The first day I drove the Honda Fit Sport, I couldn’t stop laughing. It felt like I was driving a clown car. There’s really nothing to laugh about with the Tucson. It gives you more of an “I better slouch down in this seat as far as I can so no one sees me” feeling.
There is no rule that says cute ute’s must be ugly, appliance vehicles. When Hyundai goes to redesign the Tucson ‐ sooner rather than later I hope ‐ they must wipe the slate completely and disavow all knowledge this design was ever green-lighted. An evolutionary design will not cut it. We need a revolution, baby.
Got cassettes?
Climbing inside the Tucson, things don’t get much better. I almost laughed out loud to see that this vehicle was equipped with a cassette player. I don’t know about you, but the last time I bought a tape was around 1991. I think it was a DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince album. (What? I was 12!)
Once you peer past the out-dated sound system, you’re left with acres of hard plastic to look at. Now, hard plastic isn’t an immediate cause for damn-nation. There are ways to make it look good. One only has to look as far the CR-V to see an interior with hard plastic that sports several different, attractive grainings. On the plus side, Hyundai does add a bit of nice, contrasting silver trim pieces around the center stack and gearshift. However, things get weird again with the gauge cluster. A large, silver ringed, speedometer is the prominent feature looking back at you through the steering wheel. The speedo is so dominating it almost makes you feel like you’re staring down a Cyclops. And I left my trident in my other pants.
Instead of spending the money to put a tape player that no one will ever use, Hyundai probably should’ve spent that money on higher quality material for their interior. A better sound system would also have been a good idea. As it is, you get a 6-speaker system that has the sound quality of a Campbell’s soup can.
Three strikes
If you were holding out hope for a nice driving experience from the Tucson, don’t. The steering is bad, the ride is poor and the acceleration is anemic.
Powering my Tucson Limited was the 2.7L, V6 which is good for 173hp and 136 ft-lbs of torque. Right away that’s a problem because Honda and Toyota get nearly the same horsepower, and more torque, out of their 4 cylinder cute utes. So to put it nicely, the Hyundai is underpowered. When you factor in that this breathless V6 is connected to a 4-speed transmission, things get even gloomier. You learn quickly that you better have plenty of room before turning into traffic. Highway merging and passing are also maneuvers that will give you pause. Realistically, Hyundai’s V6 ought to have at least 40 more horsepower, 70 more pound-feet of torque and at least one more cog in the slushbox.
If there is one thing this vehicle does well, it’s stopping. Which is great, because then you can get out of it and walk away. Under firm braking, the Hyundai tracked straight ahead and was very controllable. Though, while the brakes are great, they brought to light another problem; massive amounts of body pitch. The nose of the Tucson dips so much under braking that you’ll expect to hear Sean Connery in the back seat yelling “Dive! Dive!” In an emergency situation, I’m not so sure you wouldn’t scrape the lower, front fascia on the pavement. Add in the equally excessive amounts of body roll and you may never need to go to an amusement park to ride a roller coaster again. Overall, the body movement made me feel like I was in a car that was less safe.
Finally, the steering. Right away I wondered why I was working this hard to turn the steering wheel of a small SUV. I would expect a small, family oriented car to be fairly easy to drive, but, for reasons not known to me, the wheel is needlessly heavy. Perhaps with the aforementioned body roll, Hyundai would prefer you turn the Tucson as little as possible? Color me confused.
Why you’d buy it
For the price, the Tucson does give you a lot for your money. With no extra options, the Limited model I drove with the V6 motor, leather and four wheel drive comes in at $24,515. Honda’s top end, four wheel drive CR-V EX-L will be about $2000 more and have 2 less cylinders. The range topping, Toyota Rav4 Limited with its V6 and 4WD will cost you $2500 more than its Korean competitor. Even with that added $2500, Toyota will still have you sitting on fabric.
Then we come to the Hyundai’s shinning star; the warranty. Should anything go amiss with the powertrain, it will be covered for 10 years/100,000 miles. Almost every other component in the car will be under Hyundai’s watch for 5 years/60,000 miles. Needless to say, this warranty far outpaces the offering from Honda or Toyota. The Tucson may not be a looker, but 41,476 people decided to buy one in 2007. This exceptional warranty probably swayed a majority of those people to sign on the dotted line.
Why you wouldn’t
You have the slightest sense of style or, at the very least, functioning eyes.
Past that, you should consider power. Sure the Honda and Toyota are significantly more money, but what are you getting for that money? The CR-V will have more get up and go and its got less cylinders. The Rav4 will be heaps and heaps quicker. Is it worth the extra scratch? Quite possibly.
Want a good sound system? Factory satellite radio or navigation? The Tucson is not for you.
The Hyundai of old
Overall I think, and hope, the Tucson represents the old way of thinking at Hyundai. This brand made entry into the U.S. in 1986 by offering some of the cheapest possible cars you could buy; quality and style be damned.
These days, Hyundai seems to have figured out the quality portion of the equation quite well. Within the last year or so, they even seem to be showing signs of life in the style department. The Veracruz interior is nothing short of great and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe may just be the first Korean car that forms a cult following.
Learn from your mistakes, Hyundai. Four gears and a tape player ain’t gonna get it done. Then again, maybe some of you just don’t want to give up that mix tape your girlfriend made for you in 10th grade.
Price as tested: $24,655 (with destination, carpeted mats). See our full pricing guide for details.
Words and photos by Chris Doane. (Special thanks to the Michigan State University Tollgate Education Center for use of their grounds for the photo shoot.)
