Hyundai Tucson: The New Kid in Town

So you fancy yourself a cross country ride but can’t come up with the ransom, huh? Them thoroughbreds from the Japanese stables look mighty pretty but you damn near gotta rob a bank just to sit in one. But if you be thinking there ain’t no hope for an honest cowboy like you to ride along with them big boys down at the saloon with the kinda gold you pullin’ in, you wanna bet?

There’s a new kid in town…

The Tucson is Hyundai’s first serious stab at the compact SUV market, not counting the first Santa Fe models that had as much charisma as drying oats. This here is a quantum leap forward and you can expect to see a lot more of these on the roads. At least once common sense begins to prevail. You see, I believe that once the word gets out on the street about how good these are and that its okay to be seen driving a Hyundai SUV, people will begin snapping them up like baby Fortuners. Okay, maybe not quite, but still. It looks the part, it is priced more sensibly than laundry soap and it drives as good as anything else for sale in a Frappuccino drinking income segment.

But for some reason, while we had no problem banging down the doors of the grey market just to be the first ones in our gated communities to buy a Starex, as soon as it comes to our SUVs, we remain terribly skeptical, even now that the company is officially represented and fully committed to the Philippines? Is it because we place far less social importance on our vans? Because if that was so, how do you explain the disaster that they once called the MB100? It showed that all you needed to do is slap a premium logo on an owner-type van and watch them come in droves. If that wasn’t the biggest con in recent motoring history.

Inside the Tucson has more room than the CR-V and the X-Trail; the seating position is very comfortable and involving; there’s plenty of little cubby holes and storage solutions, although overall, it still lacks the ergonomic dexterity of its Japanese peers. Touch and feel of the grainy plastics are like, so last generation Korean already, but the metal grain finish for the console surround was a real hit. I love the fact that the rear seats recline and that the cargo area has a washable surface, although they could probably come up with a more clever solution to keep the protective mat in place. Overall, the cabin is well thought out, albeit fairly basic and straightforward, and is a very pleasant place to spend time in.

Although the gasoline-powered Tucson is available for an absolute steal, I have a strong feeling that the diesel versions will be the ones clattering out the door. Starting at 898K for the petrol-powered, manual 4X2, the Tucson is priced so low it would make car nappers think twice about going legit. My test unit had the 111 hp, 2.0 liter version of the very frugal CRDi engine that Hyundai has embodied its image around, and rolls off the showroom floor at 1.058M. Now, 111 horses may not get your tongue wagging over lunch with friends, but at least the more purposeful 245nm of delicious torque will get you to the restaurant faster. It is so torque-y that it actually overwhelms the rubber up front, which should explain their switch from OEM Kumhos to a stickier set of Bridgestones.

The 4X4 versions use a Borg Warner system that is meant to distribute torque to the rear once it detects any slippage; I was in the front wheel drive 4X2, so it was Torque Steer Boulevard for me every time I got frisky with the throttle. It lacks the urgency on take off, but once the turbo spools up, there’s an overwhelming surge of power that is quite difficult to modulate. If you lift off a bit, it shifts up a gear and into the flat spot, if you keep it nailed, it scrambles for grip. It is almost like an on/off switch, making it a bit tricky to drive in between fast and slow.

Despite the upgrade in rubber, this is more a transmission issue than anything else; it can be as indecisive as my wife in a shoe shop sometimes and hunts more than my father in law at the DVD stands in Quiapo. I’ve been told by colleagues that the 4X4 eliminates a lot of this, which tends to make sense, but I would still go for better mapping of the transmission. Or an extra gear.

On open roads, though, the Tucson really starts to shine. It would dismiss the patch of road to 60 kph in 5.6 seconds flat, making it quicker than some petrol powered vehicles. 100 kph was over and done with in 13.45 seconds and managed a rather comfortable 150 kph in overdrive before lifting off. Passing power was also impressive; forget traffic light to light drags in the city — getting past a crazed, deadline-driven Victory Liner bus quickly on a single-lane provincial road is far more useful. I managed 12.75 seconds from 80-120, all while returning some very tidy figures at the fuel pump.

Although my mileage shouldn’t be taken as gospel truth, I averaged around 12.5 km/liter on a combined cycle. Not bad considering I drive like I write.

Despite all that, it’s still the kind of car that makes a lot of sense. It is good looking, spacious, frugal, quick and comfortable plus it offers terrific value for money. JD power even rated it as the "highest initial quality in the compact multi-activity vehicle (MAV)" segment just a few weeks ago in the US. But how our local 4X2 versions missed out on ABS and airbags is beyond me. I’m a staunch believer in these safety features and I think it should be mandatory in all new cars. I’m told it is not even available as an option.

Why Hyundai would spend obscene amounts of money on the World Cup and then skimp on our safety will remain one of motoring’s greatest mysteries. I just don’t get it. Just like how the MMDA choose a Friday afternoon to block one lane of EDSA so they can water the plants. Or why security guards bother checking your trunk only to ignore all the bags that are inside it and then insist on frisking you before going into a mall that sells guns and knives. I know they can do a lot better, but they won’t until we put our foot down.

I know in some ways I’m being a little hard on the Tucson, but that should already speak volumes about the respect I’ve come to have for Hyundai. I judge it by a different yardstick now, as should you. It is no longer just "a good Korean car". It should just be a good car. Period. It has already come of age. Just the mere fact that it is being compared to the more premium Japanese models that invented the segment already shows that the Tucson is punching above its weight. It has a lot going for it. But it will take a bit more on Hyundai’s part to get it to roll off the tongue a little better when used in the same sentence as Toyota or Honda. Better plastics would be a good start.

Also, especially during the courting stage when a company is building a brand, a consistent professional image in every area has to be maintained. Just before press time, I called two dealerships to verify prices and some specs. Both were answered generically by the security guard. It took me almost ten minutes to get a salesman on the phone. They made it sound as if they had never received a phone inquiry before. Sure it happened to be on a Sunday, but still. If it wasn’t for research, honestly, I would have been frightened off.

I liked the Tucson. It’s an honest vehicle that is just one generation shy of being absolutely terrific. It does everything it’s meant to with a great deal of humility and is likely to give the big players a real headache in a couple of years. This is a high stakes game and Hyundai already took a big enough gamble coming in and taking on one of the most saturated segments head on, so they may as well go all the way. Right now they have a pretty good bet. But why not throw a couple of airbags and ABS in and make it a safe one, too.

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*Only 4X4 models are equipped with airbag and ABS