Road Test: we drive and grade the Hyundai Tucson.
Road testing vehicles happens to be one of my favourite things in the world to do. I get excited every time I get to drive something I haven’t driven before, legitimately - even the crappiest of vehicles I still love it. As a kid, my goal was to drive every car model ever made, and It thought I could do it. In my more mature age I realized that it would not be possible to achieve that goal so somewhere around the age of 15 I altered my goal to just drive everything I possibly could. So when I had the opportunity to drive the 2020 Hyundai Tucson I jumped at the chance.
Now let me get my personal bias out of the way and be transparent with you. I do not like the Compact-SUV/Crossover segment of vehicles. I think they are stupid and useless. They are a constant disappointment to car buyers who want the mix of a small car and the capabilities of an SUV. My major issue with the segment is that these vehicles are not good at being a car or SUV so you inevitably are disappointed with your choice. With all that said, I do keep an open mind and I drove this with the hope this car would change my mind.
When I road test a vehicle I will not overload you with stats and try to impress the auto-manufacturers with glowing reviews. I will simply write about my experience and grade the following categories with a simple A - F letter grade.
Drivetrain Performance
Handling
Appearance
Value
Overall grade
1. Drivetrain Performance Grade: D
Engine: 2.0L (4CYL)
Horsepower: 161 (published)
Transmission: 6-speed Auto
0 - 100 kph : 9.59 (Tested)
A stereotypical 2.0 Litre naturally-aspirated engine does not exactly make one envision an adrenaline-filled road trip through the mountains, and the Hyundai 2.0 litre engine did nothing to help get rid of the stereotype. Hyundai has published a horsepower rating of 161 BHP which seems optimistic judging from my butt dyno, however the performance of the 2.0 litre paired with the 6-speed Auto transmission was adequate in the city. In fact, in the city, the performance was completely acceptable, quiet, and smooth. At low speeds this car performs as it should and gets you to A - B without any fuss. It’s when you want to leave the city and enjoy the mountains you will quickly be disappointed with this car. It is very underpowered for highway travel and extremely underpowered for travel through the mountain highways. If you are traveling on the highway or climbing a long hill you will find the gas pedal is actually only helpful for making more noise. If you mash on the gas pedal it simply screams like Nancy Kerrigan post knee-capping, and does nothing else.
I tried three zero to 100km runs in the car to cover the three available driving modes. In the regular automatic mode it did the run in 9.59 seconds, in sport mode it did it in 9.59 seconds as well. Which surprised me because I assumed sport mode would have changed the shift points and allowed the car to rev a bit more but it was exactly the same. For the last run I put the car in manual shift / sport mode thinking I could rev it a bit more and get a bit more out of it but amazingly that run was 10.85 seconds. It would seem that the car does not, in fact, like revving and it falls flat on its face when it get in the higher rev’s.
The 6-speed transmission does what it needs to do and although slow moving and lifeless while trying to get the car to higher speeds it is smooth and unassuming while at lower city speeds. Which makes it useful enough if you never plan on leaving your city.
The car comes with a selectable All Wheel Drive system which is a nice option but it is not an option that will get you to any mountain tops with ease. If you are planning to take this car off road you will quickly be greeted with the terrible sounds of rocks and debris customizing your undercarriage. The Tucson is too low for any serious attempts to stray from the paved roads. The AWD option will serve you best if you encounter some winter driving conditions in the city you will never leave.
2. Handling Grade: C
The Tucson again proved one dimensional when we talk about handling. If I were grading the car by its performance in the city only, I would give the car a B+ as it has responsive smooth steering at low speeds, it has good visibility for the class and style of car, and it is nimble in traffic. It also has a good size infotainment screen which, partnered with a decent back up camera system, makes it easy to park in any situation.
Once you take it out of the city the story changes, as this car does not like doing anything at higher speeds. Once on the highway you become very aware of every imperfection in the road and while most cars find a way to gracefully deal with these imperfections, the Tucson feels like it’s fighting them. You never quite feel like the car is solid and stable especially on highways that have had heavy truck traffic. The Tucson surfs the ruts on the road sometimes un-expectantly causing the odd puckering jolt. I once owned a 1995 Jeep YJ that would do the same thing. In fact, if you talk to all honest Jeep owners they will tell you on some highways you just hold on for dear life and hope everything turns out ok. The Tucson is not as bad as my old Jeep, but it’s not good enough for modern cars in my opinion.
3. Appearance Grade: C
I’m not gonna spend a lot of time here but its not a nice looking car. It’s boring from the outside and plain on the inside with the only saving grace on the inside being the aforementioned larger infotainment screen.
4. Value: B
I have given the car a “B” because at a base of around $23,000 (CAD) it comes in as one of the cheapest cars in this segment and it has a good assortment of gadgets and options at decent pricing. With options like front and rear heated seats and one of my favourite options in the winter, a heated steering wheel, it helps make your time in the car a bit more comfortable and enjoyable. You get the best value from inside the car with the good option selections and interior comfort. Once you stretch the legs on the drive train however, you then realize you are driving a cheap vehicle and you have gotten what you paid for, a cheap vehicle.
5. Overall Grade: C
Overall, I grade this car a “C”: although a useful car in the city, it only solidified my opinion on the Compact SUV/Crossover segment. The problem is, when people spend their money on these cars they soon learn they are no more capable than a Volkswagen Golf or Toyota Corolla, or even a Honda Civic. Any of the aforementioned cars will perform equally as good in the city and far better on the highway leaving the city. I know people will say the Compact SUV gives more room for carrying stuff which is true, but how many times will you actually need to carry lots of things. People just think they need to carry lots of things and typically don’t actually do it. These vehicles are bought by people who buy into the ideas they see on the car advertisements and believe they want to leave the city and trundle up to the top of a mountain for a picnic. They may attempt it once or even twice but spend 99.9% of the cars life within the limits of whatever city they live in because it can’t do the things the tv told them it could. My advice: save your disappointment and either buy a proper car or a proper SUV.
