(upbeat music)
- The redesigned 2022 Hyundai Tucson
is a value-oriented compact SUV with promising refinement.
But higher trim levels
swap in cumbersome touch-sensitive controls.
That's a major strike against any well-optioned
example of this SUV,
though lower trim levels still hold some potential.
Now, the Tucson has a four-cylinder engine
with front- or all-wheel drive.
There's also a Tucson Hybrid and a Tucson Plug-in Hybrid.
Both of those pair a smaller turbocharged
four-cylinder engine with an electric motor
and, exclusively, all-wheel drive.
Now, between those three variations of drivetrain,
you've got nine trim levels.
It'll set you back anywhere from around $26,500
all the way up to about $44,000
for a very well-optioned example.
We've had a chance to evaluate
both a gas-only Tucson and a Tucson Hybrid,
both pretty well-equipped examples,
and we've even compared the gas-only one
to five other popular compact SUVs,
so we have a pretty good idea of how this SUV stacks up.
We'll get to the merits of this interior in a minute,
but first the elephant in the room has to be discussed.
Higher trim levels of the new Tucson
adopt touch-sensitive dashboard controls
instead of physical buttons and knobs.
They're here for pretty much everything
below the touchscreen.
There's volume keys here that are touch-sensitive,
tuning, climate, air conditioning, you name it,
it's on this big touch panel.
Now, we're seldom this dismissive of a car outright,
but it bears noting that this isn't just us.
Leading consumer studies also show that real owners
just want things like a volume knob.
Not sure why Hyundai took it away.
Here's the good news, though:
Lower trim levels of the Tucson actually do have
physical controls here for the climate.
Yes, it's manual, not automatic climate control.
But again, real buttons and knobs. Much easier to use.
There's also a conventional lever-style gear selector.
You get up to higher trim levels,
especially in the Tucson Hybrid,
everything becomes capacitive-touch.
This is now becomes a push-button gear selector,
all more confusing and harder to use.
And here's the other kicker:
Base models of the Tucson have an 8-inch touchscreen
with wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto.
You get up to higher trims,
now it's a 10-and-a-quarter-inch screen, so a bit bigger.
But it's wired Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto;
that's a more conventional connection,
certainly less convenient.
The upgrade seem more like downgrades, honestly.
So, unless you're a glutton for irritation,
you might want to avoid these versions entirely.
All right, now that we got that out of the way,
there's plenty of potential otherwise.
Most controls aside from that center stack
operate with precision and heft,
and the cabin has an open kind of layered dashboard approach
with attractive textures throughout.
Certainly competitive with other compact SUVs.
Now, similar to the rest of the class, though,
you get to the rear seats
and Hyundai does cheap out a little bit.
But both rows are fairly roomy with a nice commanding perch
from the driver's side and dual height adjusters.
That, among other features,
helped the Tucson earn very high marks
from Cars.com reviewers for front-seat comfort and features
relative to the class.
In back, easy-access Latch anchors
and plentiful legroom
fit even our bulky rear-facing car seats,
helping the Tucson pass Cars.com's Car Seat Check
with flying colors.
Now, headroom in both rows is adequate, not exceptional.
Taller drivers might feel it a little bit pinched,
especially if you get the panoramic moonroof.
That's a feature in all the test cars
we've had here for the Tucson.
Without it, Hyundai says there's an additional
half inch of rear headroom
and a much needed 2 inches more front headroom.
Now, in Cars.com's independent accounting of cargo space,
we've observed pretty good numbers here in the Tucson.
This is the non-hybrid again.
About 21-and-a-half cubic feet behind the backseat,
pretty good versus the Tucson's immediate competitors.
The Tucson Hybrid has a tire inflator kit
in place of this temporary spare under the load floor.
That results in a reconfigured load floor
with a little bit more space underneath,
about 0.2 cubic feet by our observations.
Now, we haven't tested the Tucson Plug-in Hybrid,
but it does lose this dual-level load floor
and by Hyundai's own specs,
there's about 20% less volume in the Tucson Plug-in Hybrid
versus the Tucson Hybrid.
So if you've got to carry a lot of stuff,
now you've been warned.
Now, we can't attest to how
the Tucson Plug-in Hybrid drives,
but we've been impressed with the Tucson's regular hybrid
and gas-only models.
Ride quality isn't exactly a shining strength
for a lot of rival compact SUVs,
but Cars.com reviewers described
the Tucson's ride as sophisticated
and even a class above.
Body motion seems reasonably controlled,
with minimal bounciness after rapid elevation changes
or recessed sewer covers.
We noticed some lateral movement over mid-corner bumps,
but overall impact harshness is muted enough
even with the 19-inch wheels and low-profile tires
on both our gas-only and hybrid test cars.
Lower trim levels for the Tucson have 17-inch wheels
and higher-profile tires
that might make the SUV ride even softer.
Either way, another good thing: noise levels.
Reviewers said noise levels in the Tucson
versus some of its immediate competitors, very, very good.
This is a quiet overall SUV.
Gasoline models employ an eight-speed automatic transmission
whose tendency to upshift early and often
can leave you wanting more power
during low-speed acceleration.
Instead, you're often a gear too high
and 1,000 rpm too low.
The transmission becomes a serviceable companion
above that, though, downshifting with minimal delay
if you need to accelerate at highway speeds.
Pushed to higher rpm,
the engine serves up adequate, if noisy, power.
Steering feedback is lackluster,
but it improves notably with a driver-selectable Sport mode
that dials back power assist.
Body roll is limited throughout,
but overall balance feels about as nose-heavy
as any front-drive-based compact SUV.
The Tucson Hybrid improves on that balance with enough to
eliminate most of the gas-only model's chronic understeer.
That's a noticeable result of its battery pack,
adding much needed weight around the rear axle.
As such, road holding improves enough to make the hybrid SUV
a bit of fun to throw around.
The hybrid drivetrain is, well, sometimes fun.
It pairs a pint-sized turbo four-cylinder
with a small electric motor,
and the combination makes for swift, linear power
when both are in play.
That's thanks to a conventional
six-speed automatic transmission,
not the continuously variable style
you find in most hybrids.
Unfortunately, those spurts are rare in daily driving,
where the Tucson Hybrid minimizes engine power
as much as possible.
Under mostly electric power
with a periodic dollop of engine,
the Tucson Hybrid feels tentative, even gutless.
If you lead-foot your way around town
or always drive in Sport mode,
the drivetrain does show its stuff,
but that's going to kill your gas mileage,
which, last time I checked,
was half the reason anyone buys a hybrid.
Anyone shopping higher trim levels of the 2022 Tucson
will have to make peace with those fussy touch controls,
as well as parting with maybe more than $40,000.
At that, we really think there are better choices elsewhere.
Plenty of rival compact SUVs feature rich interiors
with more intuitive physical controls.
This ain't rocket science.
Fortunately, lower trim levels of the Tucson
offer the double benefit of added value,
including Hyundai's excellent warranty
and class-leading free maintenance,
with physical controls and better smartphone integration.
Less is more here, folks.
If any Tucson trims are worth considering, it's those.