Not every day they test a car that they would never have, but Hyundai has made great efforts to make this process enjoyable with their latest Tuscon. This model began life in 2004 as a cheaper alternative to the Ford Escape and remained virtually unchanged until 2009, with the exception of the fuel cell concept (Hyundai Tucson FCEV), which appeared at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show. Based on the 2nd generation Kia Sportage, and, accordingly, the compact Hyundai Elantra sedan, Hyundai uses the classic model of lifting an existing road car chassis and installing a large cab to get what is now called a crossover. With the last take, Hyundai continued this technique and proposed several things that are not standard for the “set and forget” crossover: locking the center differential and controlling the downhill.
Although these two options can be considered low-cost software updates that were made possible by the US government’s demand for stability and traction control on all cars sold here, Hyundai expressed confidence to those who love light off-road. Later, we move on to specific measurements of the ride height and the like, but let’s figure it out: Hyundai is moving in the right direction.
Drivetrain
This car weighs 3,439 pounds and is equipped with an 182-horsepower four-speed engine coupled to a traditional 6-speed automatic, which transfers power to all four wheels with a locking center differential. If this transmission was a basic transmission, it would be perfectly acceptable (but the basic model is equipped with an engine with 150 horsepower and is probably even less fun). The basic version of front-wheel drive can get 29 mpg on the highway. This all-wheel drive version has an EPA rated for 20/25 city / highway and 22 mpg in total, so it turned out that this is the average mileage that we recorded during our test sessions. Near the Fusion, equipped with Ecoboost, this car is sluggish and even more sluggish than the lower trunk of the Chevy Captiva. This is largely due to the gearbox: the first gear is quite high, and from there it will not improve much. We suspect that with a CVT and a gas tank that is more than 15 gallons, this could be a much more competent player.
Exterior
This is a car that is somewhat anonymous, but if you look at individual details, such as lights, wheels or individual lines, it is slightly different from other Hyunda is and quite attractive. The 18s on this machine look a little pretentious and look completely ridiculous, even with an admixture of dirt; There are very few gray plastic bits in the basement of the deal, and, fortunately, Hyundai resisted the urge to experiment with free LED devices.
-Jack Wilson
