With the continuing demise of affordable small sedans, a family on a budget (aren't we all?) must look to small and compact crossovers for wheels that don't require a 7-year loan.
One such winner is Hyundai's revamped 2025 Tucson, with a slightly redesigned nose and tail, plus an upgraded dash featuring a larger screen and a tray for the front seat passenger.
Mine was the next-to-top-level XRT model with AWD, a $1,200 add-on that comes in handy in slip-sloppy Wisconsin about five months of the year. This one was Phantom Black, a sparkly black with bits of blue, gold, and green visible on a bright fall day.
Inside, the interior was equally black, but with no sparkle—unless you count the twin 12.3-inch screens combined in a single, slightly curved unit. That’s an upgrade for 2025, replacing smaller screens.
What gets most folks who ride in a Tucson is its quiet and composed nature, while certainly being far from fancy. Safety equipment takes precedence over panoramic sunroofs, faux leather, and fake wood door panels and trim.
No, this XRT model is pretty basic, but boy, is it loaded with the things most families desire for a road trip or for safety.
First, it’s comfy with oodles of head and legroom front and rear, plus a monster cargo area rated at 38.4 cubic feet with the second-row seats in place and 74.8 cubic feet if they are folded down. Of course, they split, so just one of the seats can be folded flat if three of you are cruising somewhere. Plus, there are rear seatback releases in the cargo area.
While there’s no sunroof, that may aid the quietness of Tucson’s interior. This is as peaceful as most luxury SUVs and crossovers. Primo sound deadening may help there too, as does a quiet 2.5-liter I4. It only gets boisterous if you slam the accelerator to the floor to zip out of the way of a marauding right-lane highway hot rodder.
Power is mild but sufficient for daily commutes, at 187 horses coupled with a 178 pound-foot torque rating. That translates into 24 mpg city and 30 highway, according to the EPA. I got 25.5 mpg in a mix and then 27.7 in a mostly highway jaunt with four adults aboard.
The ponies are delivered smoothly via an eight-speed automatic transmission, and there are four drive modes to choose from via a toggle on the Tucson’s console, including one for Snow. Press reports say there’s a Baby Mode too that further smooths acceleration so as not to wake an infant. I didn’t locate that on my tester, but what a great idea. Let sleeping infants sleep!
Handling is fairly responsive, and the Tucson corners well, plus offers good grip via the optional AWD system. The ride was fine on the freeways but could feel a bit stiff on crumbling city and county roads. Yet we had four of us onboard for most of my drive, and nary a complaint from the passengers. Maybe my patoot has become overly sensitive.
Basic safety features are expected on all vehicles these days, but Hyundai loads up the Tucson, despite its pleasing entry-level pricing, starting at $30,000 for a base SE model.
Standard on the XRT were forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping assist with a centering feature, blind-spot collision warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, a safe exit warning, and driver attention warning. The latter got a bit goofy as it was telling me it was time to take a break about every 10 minutes. I’m old, but don’t need a nap THAT frequently.
Otherwise, the dash is easy to see and gauges simple to read. Those large screens are nice, as is the wireless phone charger under the center stack and the plug-ins for phones that can engage Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, depending on your device.
Those can be used to fill the big center screen with navigation maps, but there is no built-in navigation system. The radio also is shown on a 4-way split screen making it fairly small unless one taps it to expand and show station choices along with a digital version of an analog clock.
As it is, the home screen shows just a sliver of the radio with the current station, then labels of Phone Projection, Valet Mode and Vehicle Diagnostics. I wish just the radio station selections automatically filled the screen as the others are things most of us will only use on occasion, not daily. OK, maybe the phone projection!
Other pluses on the XRT include heated front seats, a power driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment and a power hatch. By the way, the hatch’s rear wiper is now three inches larger to better clear the rear window. Bingo!
Seats are comfy and supportive without being overly so. The black interior included perforated fake leather seats and soft-touch black dash top with door panels being textured black plastic as was most of the dash. It looked fine and would be easy to clean, but certainly feels more inexpensive than some competitors’ interiors. Air vents, door releases and knobs are matte chrome and the console top is black gloss.
There’s also a sizeable shelf built into the passenger’s side dash, big enough for a couple phones, a notepad and some pens. Good use of space.
Sadly, there was no heated steering wheel. Also, Tucson includes what all vehicles seem to be adding these days, an irritating rear-seat chime and warning that Someone or Something may be in the rear seat and should be looked for as soon as the ignition is off.
One other note, the Hyundai key fob is rather large.
On the plus side is Hyundai’s industry-leading warranty, 5 years or 60,000 miles for the basic and powertrain and 7 years and unlimited miles for corrosion protection. Currently Hyundai also includes 3 years and 36,000 miles of free maintenance, so oil changes and such. Not many makes offer that.
I mentioned the entry-level pricing, but the XRT, just one level below the top Limited model, starts at $34,300 and this AWD model listed at $35,560, with delivery. Adding just carpeted floor mats the test Tucson’s out-the-door price was $35,770. That’s about what I paid for my similarly equipped Subaru Outback 7 years ago.
A loaded Tucson Limited model starts at $39,940.
But wait, there’s more. Unlike many makes Hyundai offers both a hybrid and plug-in hybrid version of the Tucson. The hybrid Tucson Blue starts at $34,760 and averages 38 mpg and packs 231 horsepower. Meanwhile the PHEV model in base SEL trim lists at $41,025 and boasts 268 horsepower. Going all in on the plug-in Limited trim pushes the price to $48,735, so would stretch a family budget considerably.
Tucson competes in a particularly crowded marketplace that includes the likes of its cousin, the Kia Sportage, and top-selling models, the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Others to consider include Mazda’s new CX-50 and reliable CX-5, plus Subaru’s Forester and Nissan’s Rogue, among others.
Families can rejoice for having so many choices to consider!
FAST STATS: 2025 Hyundai Tucson XRT AWD
Hits: Handsome crossover, roomy quiet interior, smooth power, easy handling, and AWD. Full range of safety features, big dual screens, heated front seats, multiple drive modes, wireless phone charger, power hatch, power driver’s seat, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, strong warranty, modest pricing.
Misses: Big key fob, firm ride, no sunroof, no heated steering wheel, no nav system, irritating rear-seat warning. Odd split screen unless tapped to open wider view for radio.
Made in: Montgomery, Ala.
Engine: 2.5-liter, I4, 187 hp/178 torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Weight: 3,429 lbs.
Wheelbase: 108.5 in.
Length: 182.3 in.
Cargo: 38.7-74.8 cu.ft.
MPG: 24/30
MPG: 25.5-27.7 (tested)
Base Price: $35,560 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $34,434
Major Options:
Carpeted floor mats, $210
Test vehicle: $35,770
Sources: Hyundai, www.kbb.com
