2011 Hyundai Tucson
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By Cor Steenstra, photography Chris Jones, model Michaela, Hair Michael D Gallego, make up Sian.
Hyundai has been in a real uplift over the recent period, starting with the introduction of the Genesis sedan very impressively competing with established European high end brands. With that same confidence Hyundai set out to re-design their Tucson SUV, and the result leaves very little to be desired.
You can take that statement pretty literally actually. The only thing on the exterior we would like to see are much bigger wheels, since the exterior design deserves to be better served than with the smallish wheels we found on our test vehicle. On the interior we would be really nitpicking in saying that the quality of the leather stitching starting on the back of the front seats was not up to par with the stitching displayed in front of that. For some reason it seems to be suggest “out of sight – out of mind”, which is a shame.
The Tucson drives well, is handy enough, shows excellent fit and finish, definitely at the top of its category, and has the modern flair styling of current Hyundai design language without going over the top. It does not stand out as much as the new Sonata does in that category, but it is definitely new and refreshing in a tasteful manner.
The instrument panel is very modern in design, well executed ergonomically and looks dynamic and sporty. Again with the arrival of the Genesis, Hyundai has adopted a good navigation system in combination with its XM radio option, something that was lacking with Hyundai’s for quite some time, and the built-in reverse camera on the screen only adds to the value for money impression we left this car with.
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