2022 Hyundai Tucson First Test: Awkward Beauty

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Hyundai Tucson Complete Review

Have you ever noticed how pretty people can often be socially awkward or clumsy? Science suggests that this awkwardness is cultivated over a lifetime by reacting with strangers who act strangely when the left ventral tegmental area of ​​their own brain produces dopamine, which is triggered by the presence of the attractive person. The 2022 Hyundai Tucson is undeniably attractive, from its novel LED headlights (disguised as smoky chrome grille elements to lighting) to its chiseled flanks, coupe-like roofline, and vaguely Mustang-esque taillights. Could its beauty have sparked enough dopamine production in the engineers who created it to embarrass this pretty compact SUV?

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Clumsy acceleration

As undeniable as its fashionable design is the fact that the Hyundai Tucson 2022 is underpowered compared to the broader compact SUV class. Whether equipped with a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated engine or a 1.6-liter turbo hybrid, its power-to-weight ratio makes it one of the lower half of the compact SUV. Its 0-60 mph and quarter-mile times (9.3 seconds and 17.0 seconds at 83.6 mph) prove this as they put our 2.5-liter Limited example in the basement under 12 place similarly expensive small SUVs. It’s pretty slow, but nobody in this market is looking for pink panties, so who cares?

Rather, it’s the awkwardness of the acceleration that’s daunting. There is a hard-to-explain non-linearity of the thrust, no turbocharger that won’t rev up, no electric motor that might die out, and no continuously variable gear ratios involved. This is a simple setup: a large naturally aspirated engine that pulls through an eight-speed automatic. Why the lumpy power delivery? Aggressive calibration of the fuel consumption in the standard drive mode Normal makes the transmission stingy when downshifting and contributes to the slack. You step on the pedal in search of acceleration and may receive a downshift that inevitably turns out to be insufficient, so that you dig deeper into the pedal travel for another large downshift and only then get the acceleration you originally expected. Sure, committed sports heals the transmission’s bugs, but the Tucson always goes back to stingy normal mode to deserve its 24/29/26 mpg city / highway / combined EPA ratings.

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Heavy handling

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Limited performed well in our driving dynamics tests, placing it at the top of its class in terms of total side grip (0.82 g average) and an aft performance of 27.4 seconds at 0.61 g average. The latter beats small SUV stars like the noisy Mazda CX-5 Turbo and the best-selling Toyota RAV4 Limited and Nissan Rogue. Braking power also ranks high at 118 feet from 60 mph, just behind the Nissan Rogue (116) and Subaru Forester (117).

For some of this dynamic, however, the inmates pay their price. “The Tucson has by far the stiffest suspension in its competition,” says feature editor Scott Evans. “It’s not tough, but it’s obviously firmer than anyone else.” We’d argue that a slightly smoother running suspension that posted slightly lower mileage figures might better match the vehicle’s more “relaxed” acceleration, not to mention market expectations.

A lot of SUV for the money

The interior design and functional content of the 2022 Hyundai Tucson Limited are not cumbersome. Zach Gale, Director of MotorTrend’s Buying Guide, said, “Hyundai is once again winning in value for money. They have a huge glass roof, the Hyundai Smart Park function, heated and ventilated front seats, a digital instrument cluster and heated rear seats. There’s a lot here for $ 37,500. “The strip of fabric that continues from the doors to the dashboard is visually appealing and underpins one of the Tucson’s cool unique selling points: diffuse mode ventilation. Get in the car hot and you want to (and can ) get a strong flow of cooling air on your face and upper body, but once you’ve reached a comfortable temperature, pressing the Diffuse button will distribute the air from the venting register through small holes that extend between the center and outer vents. This mode never dries your eyes the end.

The new Tucson is also a physically large compact SUV. Inside and out, it ranks in the upper third of its competition class, with the largest rear passenger volume (52.2 cubic feet) and the most cargo space behind the back seat (38.7 cubic feet). The cargo space has seatback releases, a floor that can be positioned a little lower, and a 12-volt power outlet, although it lacks bag hooks, a standard charging umbrella, and a few other conveniences.

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Socially awkward

Somehow this vehicle had a way to push our buttons. For example, the driver attention monitoring system once suggested that we should take a break after just 15 minutes, simply because we had crossed the lane markings twice to avoid road hazards. We were often pushed to “put hands on the steering wheel” when they already were. Sometimes the transmission failed to engage the drive the first time the button was pressed, but then if it was pressed more than once, the “Gear Already In” screen would be reprimanded. We yelled at the Tucson a lot.

Should I buy a Hyundai Tucson 2022?

This SUV is certainly not for everyone, but then it’s not a vehicle. Fashion-conscious early adopters, patient by nature and rarely in a rush, will most easily delight in its many aesthetic and sybaritic charms. And most of our complaints with the Tucson seem like simple tuning fixes, so we look forward to testing a possibly revised version in the future. But for now, more discerning drivers can agree with Scott Evans that “the bold design and rich functionality of the Hyundai are offset by a somewhat disappointing driving experience,” and are therefore happier with the Honda CR-V or Mazda CX-5.

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