2012 Hyundai Tucson - Quality Review

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By length, width, and height, the 2012 Hyundai Tucson is one of the smaller vehicles in this class, but its rather long wheelbase (longer than the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Subaru Forester) gives it some help where it counts--for seating, and the passenger cabin.

The Tucson still offers more interior room than the Ford Escape and the Nissan Rogue, and it outboxes luxury crossovers like the Acura RDX. But next to the likes of the Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, it's quite a bit smaller.

In the front row, the Tucson affords driver and passenger plenty of leg room. We haven't been so fond of the front seats, which have bottom cushions that tilt too far down (and are too short), leaving passengers uncomfortable after a hundred miles or so. But in back, there's plenty of room for two adults. And we tend to like the Tucson's cloth seats are better than the leather-clad ones--not necessarily because of the upholstery itself, but because the cloth ones seem shaped better.

While the Tucson definitely doesn't have space for a third row, it does have a lot luggage space--enough room for groceries for a week for a family, too. It's the sort of rectangular, wide-open space that's also good for pets--or moving small pieces of furniture if you fold the second-row backrests forward. With cubbies and bottle holders in the console and door panels, and a deep glove box up front, there are plenty of smaller storage spaces.

There are more hard plastics inside the Tucson than we would have hoped, but fit and finish has been good in all the Tucsons we've driven, and overall the Tucson's cabin feels a step above the plain look of the CR-V or Escape.