It was fun to visit Minneapolis again. What I remembered from my childhood visits to the Midwest was gone and replaced with a hip city that seemed like a downright fun place to live. Minneapolis is a burgeoning tech hub that has the feel of Austin, Texas or Portland, Oregon, complete with fantastic restaurants and plenty of things to do in the urban center.
I made the trip to test drive the 2016 Hyundai Tuscon, a stylish new model of Hyundai’s popular compact crossover. The Tuscon is the most compact of Hyundai’s line of SUVs, with the Santa Fe Sport being the next size up and the Santa Fe being the largest. This compact size is perfect for fuel economy and for getting around in an urban setting. It is easy to park, has plenty of performance, and has modern styling that looks great.
I am used to driving a full-sized SUV and expected a small car feel, but the Tuscon had plenty of space, even for the passengers in the back row. I was able to stretch out my legs while driving and the car felt really comfortable. The sunroof, which stretches across the front and back rows, made the vehicle feel even more open with all of the natural light.
Hyundai made a big deal about the improved body rigidity, which they say is 48% improved over last year’s model. On the road, I found that translated to a solid (and surprisingly quiet) drive, even when I took the Tuscon over a bumpy, gravel road for a few miles. In urban terms, it means you are less likely to spill your coffee when hitting a pothole and the Tuscon will forgive you if you drive over the curb.
One of the best parts about this test drive was taking the Tuscon out of the city and opening it up along the Wisconsin back roads. The 2016 Tuscon has a 1.6 L Turbo GDI 4-cylinder engine which gave out plenty of power in sport mode. It is rated at 26/33 City/Highway MPG. If you want to be more conservative with fuel, you can put it into Eco mode. This works great when you are traveling long stretches of highway or simply traveling a short distance in the city.
I was impressed with the number of safety features that Hyundai packed in for such an affordable price. The 2016 Tuscon comes with a lane departure warning system, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, lane change assist, and backup warning sensors.
One of the most interesting safety features was the automatic emergency braking, which uses a camera and radar sensor to scan for vehicles and pedestrians in the path of your vehicle. If a collision is imminent, and you happen to be zoned out, the system applies full brake-force stopping power. With all of these safety features, Hyundai said they expect to receive a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
I didn’t get a chance to test this, but Hyundai demoed how you could lock or unlock the Tuscon using your Apple Watch. The vehicle has a lot of other gadgets like an eight speaker 405-watt sound system, HD Radio, and SiriusXM. The navigation screen also gives you traffic, weather, gas prices, and sports scores. There is plenty to love if you are tech-enthused, like I am.
I would imagine that the Tuscon would be perfect for a couple or those with their first child. The back row had two sets of lower latch anchors, which were clearly labeled and easy to access. The tether anchors on the seat backs were clearly marked, so I’d imagine it would be pretty simple to install a car seat in either front facing or rear facing mode.
The 2016 Hyundai Tuscon is offered in a few different trims and packages ranging from the $22,700 base model SE to the $34,000 Limited Ultimate with AWD. No matter which trim or package you select, the Tuscon seems to be a great value when you consider all of the gadgets and safety features built into this compact vehicle.
