FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2018 Hyundai Tucson

So… How big is the boot of the Hyundai Tucson?

From empty I could fit a medium sized dog or 12 shopping bags in the boot, which is the same as the Kia Sportage and one less than the Mazda CX-5.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted with two shopping bags beside it, which is one less than both the Kia Sportage and the Mazda CX-5.

The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fitted with five shopping bags beside it.

The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with four shopping bags beside it.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with 8 shopping bags beside it.

The floor of the boot is nice and flat and carpeted, perfect for an emergency nappy change and the two indents behind the wheel arches are great as little nooks for things you don't want moving about in the boot. The retractable roller blind was light and easy to use.

Storage in the cabin quite good. The front door bins are quite a good size, they will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad.

There are two cup holders in the central console, they held a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fits in the rear cup holder.

In front of them is a little well and in front of the gear lever is a rubber-lined tray that would hold my phone and has a 12V, AUX and USB socket in here too. There is also a thin storage groove down the side of the central console in the footwell.

The central console storage box is practical in size and has a tray in the top.

The glove box is only big enough for my wallet with the manual but it does have a cooling vent in it, great for carrying snacks around.

The doors all have little storage wells in them where the handles are, which is a great BabyDrive feature. I find them really useful for putting keys or whatever my daughter has in her hands when I am loading her into the car.

In the back there are net map pockets in the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad.

In a fold-down armrest in the central seatback are two good sized cup holders. They would hold a re-usable or disposable coffee cup.

The door bins in the back are not as big as in the front but they will hold a large refillable water bottle.

So… How noisy is the Hyundai Tucson?

The Hyundai Tucson has a really nice media system that has sat-nav built in as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and I found it easy to connect my phone. Also, it played my daughter's nursery rhymes from my phone straight away when I plugged in my phone and started the car.

The inbuilt sat-nav is really simple to use and you can mute the guidance volume with a button on the left side of the screen or you can change the volume up and down nice and easily.

The reversing camera image is crisp and clear, though I only found the sensor noise could be adjusted in the menu in the screen in front of the steering wheel which is time-consuming and not as fast a pressing a button on the media screen or central console. When it is on setting 1 it is nice and quiet.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

There is blind spot monitoring in the wing mirrors which flashes up a light in the mirror and a there is a vocal tone if you try to change lane when something is beside you. This can be turned off with a button by your right knee.

There is also lane keep assist, this can be turned off with a button by your right knee, it alerts you with a nice quiet alarm, flashes up a light on the screen to alert you and will gently steer you back into the lane as well.

The indicators are nice and quiet in the Tucson and would not disturb a sleeping passenger.

The doors and windows are really nice and quiet to open and close. They can both be locked from the driver's door control panel. I found you can come to a stop with the engine still running and get out of the car without sounding any alarms.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

The seatbelt removal alarm makes a nice quiet beep and a light alerts you on the dashboard too.

So… How many child seats fit on the Hyundai Tucson?

There are three top tether points across the rear seat backrests of the Tucson, easily accessible through the boot. They are within plastic guides that are clearly marked and which I found easy to connect to. (There is also a shopping bag hook in one of the seat backs.)

The two outer rear seats have ISOFix points that are nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats. I could only get two child seats in the back of the Tucson as there just was not enough room to get three across. The two fit nicely using the ISOFix and top tethers. I fit the Britax Graphene (rear facing) and the Britax Platinum Pro.

Posting bub into their child seat from inside and outside the car is really nice and easy in the Tucson. The ceiling is high, making it easy from inside and there are lovely big open doorways that give you plenty of room for posting bub in from outside.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed. The seats are upholstered with black leather fabric which is perforated in the central panels which would be hard to wipe clean as crumbs and spills would get stuck in the holes.

So… How comfortable is the Hyundai Tucson? And How good is the Hyundai Tucson to drive?

In the front of the Hyundai Tucson, the seats are nice and comfortable and have the electric adjustment on the side. They are black leather but are perforated in the central panels which makes cleaning them much more difficult.

The headrests are not adjustable in all directions but I could still wear a ponytail!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable and there is ample headroom. The central seat is slightly raised and there is a small hump in the footwell in the middle but it was not too bad to rest your feet on or to straddle. The seats are comfortable but you can feel the hard central backrest because of the fold-down armrest with cup holders.

For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

The cruise controls are on the right side of the steering wheel, they are nice and easy to use and the cruise control was relatively accurate at low speeds on undulating roads as well as on motorways.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones and one at either end.

There are rear air vents in the back of the central console box that is easily reachable from the front while driving and there is a 12V socket charging point for rear passengers too.

The controls for the aircon are clear and easy to use while driving and are located on the central dashboard.

There are lit vanity mirrors in both visors in the front and the visors are extendable too. There is also a glasses case in the ceiling.

There are handles above both rear doors which are well positioned to hold a baby toy for rear-facing passengers.

The interior light in the back is in the ceiling but too far back so I can't reach it from the driver's seat while driving!

I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

Visibility in the back of the Tucson for rear-facing passengers is slightly compromised as the windows go up slightly towards the back of the car. Visibility for the driver is affected by having the two child seats in the back, particularly out of the back and sides, but it is still lovely and bright inside and using the mirrors and camera parking was fine.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Tucson was simple to park as it's a small SUV and the camera is so good!

The Hyundai Tucson is a no-brainer car! Very simple and easy to use, comfortable, practical and great to drive around town and on the motorways only the engine was a little revvy going up steep hills.

The Tucson interior is practical without feeling basic, it is a pleasant interior to be in. It is a comfortable and great car for both long road trips as well as the everyday school and daycare run.

All the interior dash and door surfaces are either plastic, leather, pleather or rubber so would be easily cleaned and there are carpet floor mats throughout the model I tested.

The Tucson Elite I tested had keyless entry but not a powered tailgate.

So… How safe is the Hyundai Tucson?

The 2018 Hyundai Tucson was given a five-star ANCAP safety rating. It scored 35.53 out of 37 overall. 14.53 out of 16 for the frontal offset test and full marks for the side impact and pole tests and pedestrian projection was rated marginal.

Six airbags come as standard; there is dual frontal, side chest and side head airbags (curtains). As well as anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake assist system (BAS), daytime running lights (DRL), electronic stability control (ESC) emergency brake assist (EBA) emergency stop signal hill launch assist, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), downhill brake control (DBC), hill-start assist control (HAC), traction control system (TCS), vehicle stability management (VSM), antilock braking system (ABS) SAutomatic headlights, reversing collision avoidance, rollover warning, emergency stop signal (ESS) and impact sensing auto door unlock.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!