Hyundai Tucson – Looks good, with room and high content level

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By Dan Scanlan
MyCarData


Face it gang ? everybody offers a compact four-cylinder crossover SUV.

You have the Subaru Forester, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Chevrolet Equinox/GMC Terrain, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage, Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute/Mercury Mariner, Suzuki SX4 Sportback, even Dodge Magnum. Almost all have tons of room for four to five adults and stuff, and all range from between $22,000 and $29,000 for a version that offers all-wheel-drive with the aforementioned four-cylinder.

So what’s your choice? Let’s look at one more from a company that once offered only a simple compact car stateside 20 years ago, but now has a whole fleet of product, some of which is just plain gorgeous ? the second generation 2010 Hyundai Tucson Limited.

*Hyundai haberdashery ? This is arguably one of the best-looking compact crossovers out there, and is Hyundai’s first design penned at its Frankfurt-based design and technical center. Its 61 pounds less than the last-generation Tucson, but 3.3-inches longer and an inch wider, with a longer wheelbase.

There’s an expressive face, its grill a slim upper slit over the chrome-accented center bar carrying its design line along the hood’s shut lines, letting the headlights arc up and into the flowing fender line. The lower grill is wide and aggressive, over a slim black lower air dam with neatly-integrated fog lights. Using the company’s new “Fluidic Sculpture” design, flowing edge lines frame the upper front and rear fenders with neat 10-spoke alloy wheels and wide 18-inch Kumho rubber. A gently arcing line ties the side doors together at the chrome door handles. The black lower door sills flow upward aft of the front flares into a wedge-shaped profile that extends into the rear bumper under slashed wrap-around taillights. The side window profile narrows to a tip as it heads aft, a bit of Lexus RX to the rear window shape. The roof is all black on our Garnet Red example, actually Hyundai’s first panoramic sunroof. Other than a feeling that the wheels are a bit small for the overall shape, it’s certainly a beautiful crossover.

*Hyundai homestyle ? Brown over tan with silver accents greets the occupants, nicely grained hard plastic with precise shut lines for the most part. A 4-spoke manual tilt/telescope steering wheel with a full compliment of stereo, cruise, Bluetooth and voice-command buttons frames an inset silver-trimmed 140-mph speedometer and 8,000-rpm tach bracketing a blue-lit gas and temperature bar gauge with full trip computer. Buttons for the center differential locking, hill descent control and stability control reside to the gauge’s lower left on the dash. To the right, a high-mounted 6.5-inch LCD touch screen for satellite navigation with XM Traffic, plus a good-sounding 360-watt AM-FM-XM Satellite-six disc CD audio system with sub-woofer, which also accesses music files off Bluetooth-equipped cellphones. My gripe ? the LCD screen is angled upward just enough to reflect glare in the daytime. Under it, a simple dual-zone climate control system, while the front seats’ dual-level heater buttons top the grab handle-framed hard plastic storage area at the head of the center console, with an iPod-specific multi-pin connecter and two 12-volt power outlets. The boomerang-shapes center air vents also house the front and rear defroster buttons, while some slightly less expensive looking plastic on the center console is where two cupholders reside. There’s decent room under the padded center armrest, but it flexes when leaned on. And the front head restraints thrust their padding too far forward, in touch with the back of my head at all times.

The two-tone brown and tan bucket seats were comfortable if flat, the driver’s benefiting from 8-way power adjustments and almost-there power lumbar. The long wheelbase means easy access and good head and leg room in the flat back seat, which gets a center armrest with shallow cupholders and not much else except mesh pockets on the hard plastic backs of the front buckets. Manual sunshades cover the two big moonroofs overhead, the rear fixed, the front sliding up and aft. Behind the 70/30 split folding rear seats, a 13 percent larger cargo area under a wide, high-opening rear hatch. The glovebox is OK, the door a bit flimsy in feel. All door map pockets have water bottle holders.

*Hyundai on the highway – Our 8,400-mile-old test crossover weighed in at 3,516-lbs., with a 170-hp partial zero-emission (176-hp in regular form) 2.4-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder under that sloping hood, 26 percent more ponies than the last-gen Tuscon’s four, and equal to the last one’s V-6. Some of that is due to its all-aluminum construct with Continuously Variable Valve Timing on both camshafts and variable induction. That said, our tester launched leisurely before picking up a head of steam to hit 60-mph in an average 10 seconds, decent passing power but a less-than-inspiring exhaust note. A GMC Terrain and CR-V do it in a bit over 9 seconds each, both with a tad more horsepower. Despite the 21- to 28-mpg EPA estimates, our Tucson saw no better than 17-mpg on the trip computer.

With a sporty ride accomplished via MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension with larger stabilizer bars, our Tucson Limited felt solid on the road. Ride motion was firmly damped, with decent buffering at rebound. But the ride got a bit harsher on less-than-perfect roads, although the Tucson had limited body roll in turns and its all-wheel-drive, biased front wheels most times, allocated power aft when needed to neutralize sportier turning. The rack-and-pinion electric power steering was direct with lots of road feel, too much sometimes, and an artificial feel on the highway ? it needs to be softened a bit. But with a 34.7-foot turning diameter, U-turns were no problem. The brakes also had a solid, controllable feel and good stopping power with minimal fade after repeated hard use.

Off road, thanks to an electronic AWD system that sends power front or rear as needed, we could tackle dirt roads and trails, plus some softer sand with ease. Get in deeper, and there’s driver-selectable AWD lock for a 50/50 torque split between the front and rear, plus Hyundai’s first Downhill Brake Control that automatically taps the brakes going down a hill to keep you slow and steady without overuse of brakes. Its 6.7-inch ground clearance is adequate, but some tall grass was sweeping the bottom as we drove.

*Tucson tithing ? Everything we talked about bar the panoramic sunroof (that deletes the roof rails)/sat-nav/premium audio system ($2,850) and $100 carpet mats was standard with the Limited’s $25,845 base price, and that includes leather seating, 18-inch alloys and all-wheel-drive with locking center diff and hill descent control, plus six air bags. That’s nice, and costs a few thousand less for a bit more than some of the competition.

*Bottom line ? The new Hyundai Tucson has the handling, room, equipment level and price to be a real player in the compact crossover market. It also looks less like a box than most of the others. It just needs a bit more sophistication in ride, a bit more sprite in the engine room, and nicer plastic here and there.



2010 Hyundai Tucson Limited

Vehicle type – 5-passenger compact 5-door crossover

Base price $25,845 ($29,590 as tested)

Engine type ? DOHC 16-valve aluminum block in-line PZEV four

Displacement ? 2.4 liters

Horsepower (net) ? 170 @ 6,000 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) ? 163 @ 4,000 rpm

Transmission ? 6-speed w/manual shift mode

Wheelbase ? 103.9 inches

Overall length ? 173.2 inches

Overall width ? 71.7 inches

Height ? 65.2 inches

Front headroom ? 39.4 inches

Front legroom ? 42.1 inches

Rear headroom ? 39.1 inches

Rear legroom ? 38.7 inches

Cargo capacity ? 25.7 cu. ft./55.8 w/rear seats folded

Curb weight ? 3,516 lbs.

Fuel capacity ? 14.5 gallons

Mileage rating ? 21-mpg city/28-mpg highway

Last word ? Looks good, with room and high content level

Hyundai Gensis Coupe – Korean Korvette

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By Casey Williams
MyCarData


Hyundai migrated to North America in the ’80s by selling an atrocious little pot called the Pony. It was a total piece, based on an underachieving Mitsubishi, but it gave the Korean automaker a chance to improve its wares. And, boy did it ever. Over the next 25 years, Hyundai went from humble to hot, building some of the best cars sold here. If you want a sport coupe that can humble a ’90s Corvette, and keep pace with America’s pony cars, check the Genesis Coupe 3.8.

Especially when equipped with the available V6 engine and manual transmission, the Genesis Coupe is very much a Korean Corvette. It has a swoopy body, you’re tucked into it, and the steering is firmly connected to an athletic chassis. This is a car that embarrasses many world-class sports cars with a price that challenges everyday mid-size sedans.

A quick glance at the Genesis could convince you it is just a successor to the Tiburon or an aggressively styled Mitsubishi Eclipse competitor. Take it front-on and it looks as wide as a Ferrari Testarossa. The coupe shares its wide luxury car platform with the Genesis sedan, translating into a very roomy cabin and athletic stance. At some angles, the car looks like an Infniti G37 sport coupe, which I’m sure is no accident. Stand behind it and you get a breath of wing and wide butt that will become a familiar site to drivers of lesser wheels. Two-tier side surfacing and a “Z profile” windowline leave their impressions. Eighteen-inch alloy wheels insure this exotic coupe can live up to its sexy looks.

You can get an efficient little 210-hosepower turbocharged four-cylinder in the Genesis, but what’s the swag in that? Go ahead, get the high-tech 306-horsepower 3.8-litre V6 and grow some. In every one of the six manually selected gears, the car growls and surges forward like an American muscle car. Like in the Genesis sedan, power is sent to the rear wheels – proper in any real performance car. Fuel economy is rated 17/26-MPG city/highway. You’ll burn more fuel than in a V6-powered domestic, but not much. If you’re that worried about it, go for the four-cylinder model and enjoy 21/30-MPG.

All you need is an iPhone (or similar device) to turn the Genesis into a Jetsons-era space coupe. The car’s twin-cockpit dash design, swooping off in opposite directions on either side of the console, is modern and sporty. Heated leather seats, in contrasting brown leather, looked great and gripped for fun. Automatic climate control, power sunroof, auto up/down front windows, and push button starting make the car easy to use. Even with in-dash navigation and a thumpin’ 10-speaker, XM satellite-receiving Infinity audio system, the car seems simple. Plug in your iPhone through the AUX and USB ports to access all of your music through the car’s controls. Menus are intuitive and couldn’t be easier to us. Bluetooth lets you make calls using the iPhone’s contact list and service by pressing buttons on the steering wheel. Add one little device and the car becomes as sophisticated as any. Best of all, you can take that tech to go.

Engineers went all out creating the Genesis sedan’s chassis. Its four-wheel independent suspension system, five-links in back, is as sophisticated as high-end German units. They had clear minds when they carried over a stiffened version for the Genesis Coupe. Compared to other cars in its class, Genesis feels better planted over rough pavement, but is lively enough to carve up backroads with vigor. Somehow, it still manages to provide a comfortable ride on the highway and isn’t overly harsh on rough city streets. The chassis is first-rate engineering, and Genesis is a first-class ride.

Safety was a key point of the car’s directive. Dual front, front side, and side curtain airbags tally off the people protectors. Four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, and electronic brake force distribution let the chassis contribute to avoid accidents in the first place. Active headrests help protect against whiplash in severe accidents. All of this adds up to five-star front side and rollover ratings, as given by the federal government.

I don’t have the heart to take a car and roast the tires off of it in a crazy testosterone-infused tear, but everybody tells me the Genesis is a riot among the drifting crowd. Its torquey rear-driven powertrain can spin the tires into liquid goo with a side of smoke; its precise suspension and steering let you put the car wherever you want it as if with thought alone. Amazingly, during a 3-hour drive, the car was as mature and well behaved as any high-performance coupe I’ve driven recently.

If the Genesis Sedan heralded Hyundai’s arrival with an unapologetic luxury sedan that can take on high-end German and Japanese models, then the Genesis Coupe is the sports car that puts the world’s pony cars on notice. This is a very serious car with very serious intentions. Believe this: Genesis is giving the Mustang and Camaro their own brand of Asian fire while serving up a dish of burn for the Infiniti G37 and Nissan Z as well. An as tested price of $29,425 rubs wasabi in the wounds.

Preview – 2011 Hyundai Equus

By Casey Williams – MyCarData

Before the Genesis Sedan and Coupe, the idea of Hyundai building high-performance luxury cars and sport coupes was a foreign thought. However, the Sedan has been compared favorably to high-end Japanese, German, and American competitors. Coupe buyers cross-shop high-performance sports cars. I’ve driven both cars and was incredibly impressed. Both were developed from the ground-up to match the world’s best and succeeded. Hyundai is ready to shock you once again.

Having recently debuted at the Seoul Auto Show, Automotive News reports the Hyundai Equus will come to the U.S. for 2011. In Korea, the Equus competes with the Lexus LS, Mercedes S-Class, and BMW 7-Series. While a high-end Genesis retails for about $43,000, the Equus will likely push $65,000 fully loaded. Based on stretched Genesis architecture, the car is probably worth the money. But, that’s rarefied territory that gave the Bentley Continental-based VW Phaeton absolute fits.

Exterior styling is an obvious interpretation of the Genesis and Sonata. The front is taller and more rounded while side profiles are broken with character lines that are a mix of Buick LaCrosse, Rolls-Royce, and the new Mercedes E-Class.

Photos of the Equus provided by Hyundai show a cabin awash in stitched leather, panels of wood, and arrays of electronics. Front passengers have access to an in-dash screen and joywheel that presumably controls the navigation, audio, and climate controls ala BMW 7-Series. Rear seats are separated by a wood-paneled console. The car is 7.2 inches longer than the already-spacious Genesis, insuring rear riders will revel in decadent amounts of space.

Hyundai has not said what powertrains will come to the U.S., but Korean models are equipped with the same 3.8-litre V6 and 4.6-litre V8 engines that move the Genesis. Most, if not all, Equus models sold here will come with the powerful V8.

Some people reading this may need to be revived after reading the Equus’ likely price, but I suspect most others will have a sense of peace. Hyundai has risen from, let’s face it, building pieces of junk to some of the highest-quality and best-warranted vehicles on the road. During 2008, the Korean company built over 2.8 million vehicles. In 2011, about 5,000 units of its global output will come to America in the form of a high-end luxury flagship. This is going to be good.