(Sel, Conv/Premium)

Comfort and room of the back seats. That they recline just right our guests have mentioned a few times.

Three positions of the sunroof. First position up, adjustable, second position nearly open prevents the buffering noise if all windows are up. Then all open.

You can store the cargo shade/shield underneath the cargo floor in it's slot out of the way if needed
And ability to raise or lower the floor, and of course store some stuff under there.

The handles to lower the rear seats are easy reach at the cargo opening door. Then the seats can be pushed down to lock them flat.

Just a nice touch, the rear seatbelts can be stored into a little holder on the door well.

One touch and hold can bring the heating seat or cooling setting to off instead of pushing several times.

You can maintain using the auto climate control (Best I have had) but still change the speed of the fan either low, med, or high.

The visor lights go off by just putting the visor back up.

 

--In Florida, rear wipers don't last long, as they are ALWAYS directly in the sun. But not on the new Tucson. Another nice touch.
--The rear wheel-wells are designed with an interesting rough outer surface: appears to be some sort of sound proofing. Perhaps that's another one of the reasons that the Tucson is quieter inside than the Rav4, CX5 or the CRV.
--Tow rating is 2000 lbs. with my 2.5 base model engine. The Rav4 and CRV are only rated for 1500.

 

--In Florida, rear wipers don't last long, as they are ALWAYS directly in the sun. But not on the new Tucson. Another nice touch.
...

And better for going through car washes. Looks better. I'm guessing less chance of getting frozen.

 

No goofy button to push to open the gas filler door. Finally !!! Was thinking about that when I filled the tank for the first time today.

Tonight I used the remote (for the first time) to unlock the car as I was approaching it. As soon as I did, little lights came on inside the front door handles so I could find them. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME !!! I had no idea the Hyundai had all this cool stuff.

Isn't it interesting that this car has so many little things that Hyundai built into it that make it just a cut above? I've never owned a vehicle like this: feeling blessed indeed.

 

No goofy button to push to open the gas filler door. Finally !!! Was thinking about that when I filled the tank for the first time today.

Tonight I used the remote (for the first time) to unlock the car as I was approaching it. As soon as I did, little lights came on inside the front door handles so I could find them. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME !!! I had no idea the Hyundai had all this cool stuff.

Isn't it interesting that this car has so many little things that Hyundai built into it that make it just a cut above? I've never owned a vehicle like this: feeling blessed indeed.

The handle lights will come on upon approach (w/ key on person). No need to use the fob. Ladies can keep it in their purses, and the door will unlock upon grabbing handle, which will be lighted upon approach. Wireless connectivity means you can keep the fob in your purse, and start/drive/unlock the door. And you can train your Iphone to do it, too, and you won't need the fob.

 

In almost every aspect, my girlfriends 2023 Tucson SEL is far superior to the 2020 Rav4 XLE she had, to the point where I laugh at people who talk about "Toyota's greatness". lol

 

I had... what was then reputed to be the most reliable car on the planet... a Toyota Camry hybrid. At 6 years old, my entire dashboard and my steering wheel began to melt. Felt like sticky "fly-paper" on a hot summer day. I paid out 1300 bucks to have it replaced when I learned that the internet was blowing up with others dealing with this. Thankfully, Toyo issued a recall and subsequently reimbursed me. Then a couple years later, the battery pack puked and my daughter, who'd bought the car from me, was faced with a Toyota dealership's 5500 dollar bill to fix it. So much for Toyota reliability.

 

I had what was then reputed to be the most reliable car on the planet... a Toyota Camry hybrid. At 6 years old, my entire dashboard and my steering wheel began to melt. Felt like sticky "fly-paper" on a hot summer day. I paid out 1300 bucks to have it replaced when I learned that the internet was blowing up with others dealing with this. Thankfully, Toyo issued a recall and subsequently reimbursed me. Then a couple years later, the battery pack puked and my daughter, who'd bought the car from me, was faced with a Toyota dealership's 5500 dollar bill to fix it. So much for Toyota reliability.

You can look up most any car and find some years of recalls and/or serious problems. But people should look over the years of Tucsons as I did, and the number of cars affected in recalls is less than many out there. And Hyundai/Kia get good reviews by owners. Particularly and importantly with longer ownership.

Tucson in this article one of least problem cars in the current model year.
Most and least reliable cars REVEALED | This is Money

Hyundai TUCSON Named Best Family Car by BBC Top Gear Out of 50 Contenders

Here's a direct honest review of Tucsons through the years good and bad.
"According to the RepairPal website, the average annual cost of maintaining a Hyundai Tucson is $426, about 95 bucks lower than the compact SUV class average of $521. Also, the possibility of a repair being a severe problem for a Hyundai Tucson is 10%, while the compact SUV average stands at 11%."
Here's Everything You Need To Know Before Buying A Used Hyundai Tucson (hotcars.com)

 

I have never found the button to close the liftgate from inside, except for the one on the liftgate itself! Am I missing something? I have a 2022 Tucson limited, but,.......can't seem to close the liftgate from, say, the drivers seat. Can you help? Thanks!

 

In my 2022 Limited it's a button on the dashboard, left of the steering wheel. You long-press to open the liftgate, and you have to press and hold it to close.

 

Thanks to this thread... I found the lift gate button on the dashboard. Didn't even know I had one. Yay me !!!

 

Well, this one is not a praise, but rather a worry: Yesterday I left the lift gate up for a long time. When I checked, the interior dome light was still on. Does it eventually shut off automatically? Or do I get a dead battery at some point?

 

I'll have to check again but I remember mine going off. Not 100% sure.

 

I'm not exactly sure, maybe 10 or 15 minutes.

 

Probably just within the 40 minute window. I assume you had the "Interior Lights On When Door Opened" switch depressed in the overhead console?

You could try an experiment and leave the tail gate open and check that the light goes out in 50-60 minutes. Have a way to jump start the car if it doesn't!

 

Just finished painting my calipers. They'll match the blue pin stripes I'll be putting on later this week. In doing so, I noticed that each rotor is held in place with two Phillips head screws. I've dealt with these rascals many times before, but they're almost always rusted in place and I gotta fight with them to get them out in order to remove the rotors. Well not this time. Since the car's new, I pulled them out, gave 'em a coating of grease, and stuck them back into the rotors... but this time not so tight. They're easy to get out when the car's new.

 

I didn't expect to like the pinstripping, but it looks excellent.

 

OH yeah, the blue pin striping and calipers. Guess I oughta drop a picture here as well. I was thinking about something else, another little thing that I'm thankful for: the wheels on this car are so easy to clean. Since this car will never see a car wash, I appreciate that.


Also really happy about the angular lines the run down the side of the car. No other SUV out there looks like this, for which I'm glad. Hyundai took a big risk with this, it's not the sort of thing that nobody would notice. The lines on the side of most SUV's just kind of blend in. I don't really notice them as they all tend to look the same to me. Not the Tucson. Hyundai created a brave new design here. I admire that every time I walk up to the car.

 

In a year of shortages in 2022 they sold more Tucsons in the U.S. than any other year. It's their #1 selling vehicle.
I wanted it as soon as I saw all the details in person but wasn't going to spend money on a new car. But then the twist of fate about shortages - my used car was now worth soo much, combined with not paying over MSRP, and so low an interest rate I had to do it.

 

Time for another addition to this thread. Just posted this elsewhere but it bears repeating: I just learned that I have a manual shifting option. Used it for the first time last week. It also changes the display from D to an actual number. Nice touch, Hyundai. However, I wish they'd "LOSE" the D on the display and just give me the gear number all the time. Oh well, just a pet peeve: no big deal.
This ability to shift manually is really nice when I'm towing in the mountains.

 

I think if you put it in Sport mode, the number stays. But I may be wrong.

 

I toyed with the gate shifter a few times early on, but for the intended purpose of engine braking that I was experimenting with it's a case of, "not so much". I practice that frequently with my own car, but that one has the combination of larger engine and far fewer speeds that make it more effective in that one. For all the advantages that the 8-sp. transmission provides, whenever downshifting it's more a combination of both initial 'lag' while the computer first decides to obey the shifter, along with not much in the way of sure-footed reduction in the end.
And obviously as with any car the cruise control must be off to try any of that. So, experiment successful = just don't do it! Voila!

OTOH, I can't think of a wiser approach whenever towing than to start off in 1 and manually run up the gears to assure the little motor is not laboring - either lugging or topping out.

BTW and FWIW and FTR seeing the blue caliper without knowing your car's color was a little disconcerting at first. I wasn't envisioning any of the stock colors that it would look good on, - any of the grays, black, and especially not red. But I hadn't even thought of the white, and the play of the pinstripe with the pieces at the bottom are quite distinctive together - certainly not overdone.
All you need now is to color match that rear logo crescent

 

I toyed with the gate shifter a few times early on, but for the intended purpose of engine braking that I was experimenting with it's a case of, "not so much". I practice that frequently with my own car, but that one has the combination of larger engine and far fewer speeds that make it more effective in that one. For all the advantages that the 8-sp. transmission provides, whenever downshifting it's more a combination of both initial 'lag' while the computer first decides to obey the shifter, along with not much in the way of sure-footed reduction in the end.
And obviously as with any car the cruise control must be off to try any of that. So, experiment successful = just don't do it! Voila!

OTOH, I can't think of a wiser approach whenever towing than to start off in 1 and manually run up the gears to assure the little motor is not laboring - either lugging or topping out.

BTW and FWIW and FTR seeing the blue caliper without knowing your car's color was a little disconcerting at first. I wasn't envisioning any of the stock colors that it would look good on, - any of the grays, black, and especially not red. But I hadn't even thought of the white, and the play of the pinstripe with the pieces at the bottom are quite distinctive together - certainly not overdone.
All you need now is to color match that rear logo crescent

Thanks for the kudos. I did the same on my silver SLK350 years ago and thought the experiment came out nice, and my poor white Tucson just needed something to give it a little color, so I took a chance. When ya stand back a bit, it doesn't really show much. But that's OK, I know it's there and it makes me happy.

So, time to add another item to this list. I've got a decent horn on this car. Plenty loud enough, and easy to actually use. I say that because my Caravan was pathetic. Ya had to FIND the right spot to "hit" the horn. Dumb thing. Missed it most of the time and just sat there beating on the center of the wheel with no results.

 

Oh yeah, sport mode. I haven't even figured out how to use that yet. Guess I forgot it came with the car. Hmmm: will have to play around with that one-a-these days.

 

Another entry: I've been doing some serious reading about the design of this 2023 2.5 ICE engine. Looks like Hyundai has done an amazing job with it, and it appears that they've worked all the bugs out of their engine development department. The technology and execution is getting some pretty rave reviews across the net.

So again today, the new Tucson sat quietly in the driveway while I was out tooling around on the Honda. I also own a 2018 Honda Goldwing DCT tour. She's got that amazing 7 speed automatic trainee and I just love it. Since the weather's still relatively cool outside, I'd rather be riding than driving... if ya get my drift. The Tucson will just have to wait it's turn. But soon enough it will be too hot and miserable outside to ride the Honda as summer time's NO TIME to be riding a motorcycle in Florida. The brutal heat takes all the fun out of it. But for now, whenever I gotta go somewhere, the bike usually gets the call.
I'll post this just for fun:

 

That's a delight to the eyes, the wildlife too. I love that backrest, and the BOB has got a right fine perch as well.

And considering all the problems with the last design engine it's more a matter that they sure better do better on this one. I still can't believe our all-new re-designed model didn't get the 2.5 turbo that even the 'old model' '21 Santa Fe has. But these things usually wind up either so-called "anti-cannibalism", "strategic price point" or simply CAFE issues.

 

Tuc: I wonder about that too. Seems like this vehicle would sell a bunch more copies if they included the turbo variant for a few more bucks. Your guess about the CAFE requirements may have something to do with it. But like so many manufacturers, they might wait a year to roll out additional engine options, maybe even including some "sporty" touches to give it a high performance look. Time will tell. My buddy's got the new Santa Cruz with that engine. He says it's a rocket and he loves it. HMMMM....

The BOB? Ya lost me buddy.

 

B*#@% On Back

 

Ah, babe on the back. Occasionally, that would be my 10 year old grand daughter, she loves to ride with Poppy. But no ladies in my life. I've got all I can do to handle two adult daughters. They sure keep me busy. But the Honda is a hoot to ride and honestly I'd rather take it than the Tucson (or any other car for that matter) most of the time. But I just ride solo. The Gold Wing with it's DCT trannie is a joy and I'm so thankful that I can own one.

NOTICED SOMETHING ELSE TODAY:
LIftgate orientation is amazing. When backing my minivan up against the garage door, I had to maintain a significant amount of space so I could get the rear deck open if needed. Not necessary with the Tucson. When I open the liftgate, it requires VERY LITTLE room behind the vehicle to open w/o hitting anything. Nice job Hyundai.

 

...

NOTICED SOMETHING ELSE TODAY:
LIftgate orientation is amazing. When backing my minivan up against the garage door, I had to maintain a significant amount of space so I could get the rear deck open if needed. Not necessary with the Tucson. When I open the liftgate, it requires VERY LITTLE room behind the vehicle to open w/o hitting anything. Nice job Hyundai.

And the opening height adjustment, and speed adds more versatility.

 

Ha, no sunroof either, Tampa. Just the plain-jane SEL. But hey, 31k out the door: I can't complain

 

😱

 

Another little item:
Have been carefully documenting my fuel mileage at each fill up with my calculator. I've commented on it many times on these pages. However, there's some new information that is far more accurate. Thus far at 1500 miles on the clock, the computer is telling me I'm averaging 35 mpg since the car was new. However, my calculator is telling me it's closer to 31.
HMMM... Seems that the computer is rather optimistic:
----- the calculator don't lie folks. Miles driven over gallons used equals mileage: end of story... no matter what the computer seems to think.

 

Another little item:
Have been carefully documenting my fuel mileage at each fill up with my calculator. I've commented on it many times on these pages. However, there's some new information that is far more accurate. Thus far at 1500 miles on the clock, the computer is telling me I'm averaging 34 mpg since the car was new. However, my calculator is telling me it's closer to 30.
HMMM... Seems that the computer is rather optimistic:
----- the calculator don't lie folks. Miles driven over gallons used equals mileage: end of story... no matter what the computer seems to think.

Well, not quite. Even if you only fuel to when the pump stops, that is very different not only at different gas stations but can be on different pumps at the same station. If you only fill on the slowest fill rate that difference can be minimized.

Temperature plays a role as we know. Gas contracts, not alot but a little it does in cold. So you may put in a little more in.
Remember, the computer is not affected by that, it is computing what it sees as gas actually being used, not how much you put in.

"According to Snopes, gasoline expands or contracts 1% with every 15 degrees of temperature change. If a gallon of gas gets colder, it actually shrinks slightly and takes up less than a gallon of space. Likewise, if that gallon of gas gets hot, it will expand."
From Snopes -
"I've been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currently working for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA. We deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one day it's diesel, the next day it's jet fuel and gasoline. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Here are some tricks to help you get your money's worth:1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon."

The computer is not 100% correct there is no question about that. And there are a couple things that can make it not quite accurate. But chances are the mpg lies closer to the computer or at the least midway between a self calculated figure and the computer.

The real strength of the computer mpg is over time, as opposed to just one trip. I think I already posted using full tank at a time is more accurate from what I see.

 

Wise words, Tampa.
That's why I reserved my observations until now. Two things to consider: I live in Florida. Fuel temps haven't varied as much here (in the past 7 weeks) as they might in other regions of the country. Add to that fuel is stored underground at more consistent temps than ambient air.
Next, fill-ups are hard to gauge. My guess as to when to stop filling is going to vary. I get that. Therefore I've reserved my comments on this subject until I had more (a lot more) information. The plus or minus 1/2 gallon error I might have in filling is now divided out by 1500 miles. That reduces error to a fraction of what it might be during one fill-up.

That said, I am confident that my car's computer is indeed optimistic. Putting exact numbers on it is not possible. However, since I actually pay for the gallons I buy, that is the only thing that concerns me. The cost of driving this car is not dictated by what the car's computer tells me, but rather by what my wallet has to cough up. And right now, I'm coughing @ just a fraction under 30mpg. The car's computer boasted 34.1 (total since new) this morning. My records and my math are accurate. I'm showing the computer is roughly 12% optimistic. I'm not done, of course, and am confident that this number will continue to rise now the she's getting broke in and the ambient temps are rising. Time will tell.

 

Reading various car threads your observation is that of many posters, the computer seems a little optimistic. I think mine is.

 

I will continue to report back on this issue as time goes on. However, at this point I've only filled it something like 6 times.

 

I was doing a little work under the hood evaluating where I might install a catch can. Couldn’t help but notice how there’s plenty of room under the hood to work on things. A notable difference between the Tucson and so many other compact SUVs.

 

Today I came to appreciate yet another facet of the way my adaptive cruise control (ACC) works. It certainly works better than my Dodge Challenger's ACC did (I sold it). When I have the ACC engaged, cars are constantly cutting in front of me. Since I keep a 3-4 second gap between my car and those in front of me, everybody wants to jump in my lane. I'm fine with that: part of the price I pay to drive safe and stay off my brakes, if that makes sense. But I'm especially glad that the Tucson's ACC doesn't slam on the brakes each time they do this.

 

Same. Sometimes people do pull in front of me, but I've come to like not following so close, and let the advance cruise do it's thing while I dance to the music....