2008 Hyundai Tucson is better inside than out

JIL MCINTOSH FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Fit and finish are very good on the Tucson’s interior, but are less impressive on the outside, where front and rear fascias are fitted very poorly, with huge gaps and fasteners where they join the body.

Jil McIntosh

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

When it was first introduced for 2005, the Hyundai Tucson left me scratching my head: why build a vehicle that was so close in size and performance to the Santa Fe, its original compact SUV?

But the big picture came to light in 2007, when the Santa Fe pumped up its size, offered the option of three rows of seats, and left the Tucson behind in its role as the company's entry-level utility vehicle.

Model-year changes for 2008 leave the Tucson's powertrain alone – there's still a choice of a four- or six-cylinder engine, and optional all-wheel-drive on the V6 version – and instead focus on new trim line names and the addition of a standard auxiliary jack for iPods or other music players on all models, along with cruise control added to all vehicles with automatic transmissions.

It's a sister vehicle to the Kia Sportage – Hyundai and Kia are owned by the same company – but they have different styling and are built in separate factories.

My tester, the V6 Limited, contained a 2.7-litre V6 with four-speed automatic transmission. Mine was front-wheel drive only; all-wheel-drive models use a system that runs primarily in front-wheel, but can transfer power to the rear wheels when it detects slippage. It can also be temporarily locked into all-wheel mode at speeds under 40 km/h, for better traction when dealing with surfaces like snow or mud. Electronic stability control is standard on all trim lines.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder, the only engine available with a five-speed manual transmission, can be a bit anemic, especially if you regularly carry several passengers.

The V6 is far more powerful and smooth, with lively acceleration, although these days any gain in performance must be tempered with the realities of fuel prices: the four-cylinder averages 9.4 L/100 km, the front-wheel V6 a combined 10.2.

Handling is light and responsive overall, but there's a lot of torque steer, the tendency to pull to one side on take-off. Visibility is good overall, with a fairly large rear window that opens separately from the liftgate; this and the large mirrors make it easy to park.

Inside, the Tucson is very spacious for its size, offering more second-row legroom than the larger Santa Fe.

Those rear seats fold flat, without removing the head restraints, to open the 75 cm-long cargo area to 165 cm; fold the front passenger seat as well, and there's 250 cm of space for hauling goods.

Both the cargo area and the rear seatbacks are plastic, for easy cleaning, and there's a large storage space under the rear floor, with a removable divided tray inside.

Controls are clustered on an attractive centre stack that's accented with metal-grain inserts on the GLS and Limited; the heater dials are large and easy to use, as are the controls for the stereo.

Fit and finish is very good on the Tucson's interior, but I was far less impressed with the outside. The front and rear fascias, which are either grey or body-colour, depending on the trim line, were fitted very poorly, with huge gaps and visible fasteners where they joined the body.

Overall, I found the Limited pricier than expected, especially when I looked at some of the amenities. Yes, the seats are clad in heated leather, but for almost $29,000, I didn't expect the top trim line to have a manual seat adjuster, or no lights in the vanity mirrors, or plastic plugs in the holes where only the all-wheel-drive Limited has fog lights.

And most puzzling of all, why does only the Limited model have seat side and curtain airbags – which can't even be optioned on the lower trim lines – when the Kia Sportage throws all of them in as standard equipment on every model, and at a price that's comparable to Tucson?

As Hyundai prepares to move further into the upper levels of the market, with more luxurious vehicles like its Veracruz SUV and upcoming Genesis sedan, it needs to remember the details at the other end of the scale.

In some aspects, the Tucson feels almost like it's just being built out until it's time for an all-new version to be unveiled.

That's a shame, because those few aspects aside, this is a very nice little vehicle that's fun to drive. It's comfy for all passengers, it's well-suited to the job of hauling whatever needs to be moved, and it's bundled with a warranty that covers almost everything for five years or 100,000 km.

A bit more care, and this vehicle could easily be among the segment leaders.

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