We had the opportunity to drive a couple of variations of the Tucson powered by the V6 engine. Around town and out on open highways the 173-horsepower V6 engine delivers adequate power for what is a relatively heavy vehicle for its size.The four-speed automatic shifts smoothly. Those who want to be more in command can move the shift lever across to use the Shiftronic semi-manual mode that allows you to choose when to change gears. Just a few years ago such an option was only offered on high-end sports cars.
Driving down a smooth, slippery, muddy gravel road would have been a great place to test the electronic stability control system. However, the road featured a high crown for drainage with a big ditch along each side. Much as we would liked to have tried to induce a slide we did not want to risk crashing a test vehicle. On the other hand we drove reasonably briskly and not once did we feel the vehicle begin to slip, so perhaps it was working and the system was so transparent in operation that we did not realize it.
A brief drive along a rocky dirt track showed that the Tucson can manage some light off-highway duty. Without low gearing and aggressive off-road tires it was not able to climb a really steep slippery slope. But judging from the skid marks it didn't look as though many vehicles had managed to get up that particular slope, so it was not a fair test.
Unlike traditional part-time four-wheel-drive systems Hyundai uses a system that automatically adjusts the amount of power going to each wheel as needed. Most of the time the electronically controlled system routes up to 99 percent of the power to the front wheels. Then as road conditions change the system diverts up to 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels. In this way power is routed to the wheels that have the best traction. In really slippery conditions the driver can push a button on the dashboard to lock the driveline in a 50/50 torque split.
We drove all-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive models and in general driving we found the ride and handling to be slightly better in the 4WD versions. This might seem counterintuitive, but it was probably because there is slightly more weight in the back on the 4WD model making the weight balance better. What's more, on wet and slippery roads there was a distinct lack of wheel spin from the front wheels on the vehicles with 4WD. All told, the 4WD option is worthwhile.
The steering felt connected although it was a tad light in feel. The brakes were smooth and stopped the vehicle efficiently.
We did not have the opportunity to drive the base GL model with a four-cylinder engine. Judging from the performance of the V6-powered Tucson we expect performance to be anemic especially with an automatic transmission. If you're willing to do your own shifting then the four-cylinder GL with a five-speed manual would be more promising. However, Hyundai does not expect this to be a popular model.
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