There's a touch of the Porsche Cayenne around the Cpillar

The Tucson is built on the Elantra platform, a monocoque that has been modified for 4WD duties, with independent suspension all round. It may be a compact 4WD but there's a substantial weight penalty to its equation. The Tucson tips the scale at a hefty 1678kg for the V6, 1648kg for the fourcylinder about 300kg heavier than some of its competitors. That affects performance, fuel consumption and driving dynamics. Size wise, the car fits pretty much between the RAV4 and the larger CRV. It doesn't look that much smaller than a Santa Fe, either. It has a longer wheelbase, at 2630mm, versus the Santa Fe's 2620mm, but is shorter overall by 175mm, because of reduced front and rear overhangs. The similarity poses another problem for Hyundai, which admits it now has to push the Santa Fe higher up the food chain so its sales aren't cannibalised by the Tucson. To be beaten by a competitor is unfortunate; to be gazumped by one's own begins to look clumsy. Supervising designer YoungIl Kim said he wanted the Tucson to retain a familiarity with the Santa Fe but without its shoulder and hip bulges, to achieve a more modern, streamlined look. "Since we're having a small success with the Santa Fe, especially in the States, I have tried to put a similar styling language onto Tucson," he said. "But I have asked my people to get rid of that (bulge) on the sides of the body. Clean, but similar. "For the future products that we are going to develop, we're going to have a similar image." The excesses of early Tucson conceptual sketches, which featured horizontal ribs running along the flanks of the doors and more pronounced front bumperbar bolsters, have been pared back. There's a touch of the Porsche Cayenne around the Cpillar. The result is a taut shape, devoid of the ostentatiousness that can afflict Korean car design. The Tucson's fresh style, however, highlights the Santa Fe's ageing looks. Step inside the Tucson and there's an immediate sense of spaciousness. There's decent head, shoulder and footwell space, and an important factor for people Rosetta Stone Portuguese who have a growing family or travel with plenty of friends there's more rear kneeroom than expected, thanks to the car's longer wheelbase. But the short rear overhang compromises cargo space; a couple of suitcases and you've just about filled the 325litre space. This could prove a significant shortcoming for this sort of recreational vehicle. At least the rear seats fold flat, in a 60/40 split, creating a useful 805litre cargo bay. From the driver's seat, the interior looks agreeable enough: clear dials with a crescentshaped tacho hugging the circular speedo, a centre console trimmed in faux aluminium, a more modern appearance to the overused fake wood, which, thankfully, stays behind for the Korean domestic model. On the Koreanspec cars examined, there was the usual roundup of powered steering, windows, mirrors, central locking and airconditioning. The CD audio system can play MP3recorded CDs, giving about 10 hours of music from a single disc. The seats were leather upholstered but Australian trim levels are still being discussed, Hyundai's Richard Power says, with items such as heated seats making way for a sunroof, for example. Driverassist technologies in the Korean cars variously included either traction control or a moresophisticated electronic stability program, cruise control, antilock brakes, plus six airbags, including side curtain bags. The Tucson certainly appears to crash well, at least in controlled frontal impact tests. Hyundai demonstrated the car's crashworthiness at its Namyang research centre by conducting a USspecification test hurtling a Tucson, two $200,000 dummies and a load of sensors into a concrete wall at 56kmh.

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