2025 Hyundai Tucson - Really nice but still misses the mark
This is a really nice vehicle with all the features (safety, comfort, convenience) I want, but it still misses the mark. There is something that is missing that causes me to not give the fifth star, but I cannot really put my finger on it. However, there are a few things I can point out that are disappointing. BUT, let me start with the good. The seats, at least the driver and front passenger (I have not sat in the back.), are really comfortable, even on long trips. The dashboard is well laid out, plus it has some customization options (I do wish there were a couple more options on how the instrument panel is displayed, but it works.) The controls for the ventilation and media are on a good sized screen (not so small that you can hardly read the text, but not so large that it becomes a distraction to the driver). This screen is a touch screen, which is really nice and convenient, HOWEVER, if I place my phone in the cubie where there is a charger or stand it up where the top of the pone rests just in front of the control display, I am CONSTANTLY accidentally touching the screen (Sometimes, I don't even feel the touch, by my A/C starts blowing the front defroster, I accidentally change the fan speed, or I turn off the A/C all together.) For this, I wish there was some kind of screen protectors that that is on a spring-loaded roller at the top and a magnetic latch at the bottom that you could easily raise and pull down over the controls to prevent accidental touching. I also love the fact that this vehicle actually HAS a spare tire in the back, not just a place for one and temporary inflation kit (The tire well and inflation kit were all that came with the last four Kia/Hyundai vehicles we have owned, and where I live, you easily have to drive 30 miles to get to a town of any size that MIGHT have some kind of service center for tires...forty-five to sixty miles will get you to a place where you can find a reputable tow-truck and tire store instead of a tire place that primarily keeps truck size tires meant for farm trucks or tractor tires. Yes, there is roadside assistance for when you have issues like having a tire blow out...sorry, that little inflation kit will NOT repair a tire that is in multiple pieces.) Anyway, it DOES HAVE a spare tire, which is very important here; however, the trade-off of that is that you lose storage space under the flooring in the back. I can live with that though; however, you have to be careful about what you put in the empty spaces of that cavity to carry around. Being a photographer, the cargo area is the storage for some of my "on the go" equipment my light stands, background stands, tripod, fold-away stools, and four sandbags. On the passenger side of the spare tire cavity, I can easily carry my bag with the background stands; however, on the driver's side, the bolts (I think there are either five or six of them) that hold the fuel tank, and probably something else, stick up about an inch high. This cannot be prevented, and it is necessary for them to be there. HOWEVER, if you put anything on that side that is of a cloth type bag/case, there is a good chance it could get ripped if you just pull it out. To fix this, I wish they would have just put a few washers (to take up space), and top it with an acorn shaped nut...or eve the standard hex nut would work - something to just remove the sharp edges. (Yeah, I am getting picky here, but that could be seen as a good thing as there are no major issues to address.)
The last two things I want to address are the fuel economy and the towing capacity. The advertised EPA for this traditional combustion (gas powered) engine is 25/33 MPG City/Hwy. I am only achieving about 23 in the city and MAYBE 28 out on the open road. My last vehicle, a 2023 Kia Sportage, was rated at 25/32, and I was averaging 27 City and probably 33-34 highway. As far as I can tell, the two vehicles have the exact same engine (2.5L, Inline 4, 16 Valve, DOHC with the same torque and Horsepower ratings), and for the curb weight, the Tucson is actually 131 lbs. lighter. Now for the towing, if you chose to spend the money to get a tow package, or more like just a trailer hitch, you can ONLY tow 2,000 lbs. So, if you have one of the lighter car trailers...yeah, you could tow it, BUT you could not put anything on it unless you want to risk tearing up your engine, transmission, and suspension. This thing is meant to look pretty, but if you want to be able to work and play with the larger "toys," the only thing you could tow would be a canoe/kayak, a single jet ski, or a single motorcycle as long as the motorcycle was not one of the bigger machines. I would opt for a bigger vehicle, but it seems like every carmaker believes that someone who wants a standard size SUV needs/wants a third row seat, which would cause me to lose a LOT of storage space. And pickups? While most models will easily last for 100,000/200,000 miles, to get into one so I could start trading up is just TOO expensive. lol So, I settle for what I can get, and put up with the picky nuances.
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