How Much Hyundai Tucson Do You Get for $18,995?

By Stephen Markley

March 5, 2015

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The redesigned 2010 Hyundai Tucson has arrived to some decent fanfare and hot sales. The affordable crossover manages to shove its way into territory dominated by the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V with a combination of styling, utility and affordability. It’s that affordability and the sub-$19,000 starting price Hyundai advertises that Cars.com editors Joe Bruzek and Stephen Markley wanted to take a closer look at. Both are 20-somethings and are a target audience for Hyundai.

The two had a chance to get behind the wheel of a base GLS model Tucson with manual transmission to see how much value Hyundai’s crossover offers at $18,995 before a $795 destination charge. To read a full review of the new Tucson, go here.

Beginning with the exterior, the Tucson, even in base form, has a slick, fluid look that sets it apart from competitors. Most importantly, that fluid feeling doesn’t differ significantly from more expensive Limited trims. The small differences were just that — small. The smaller wheels make the car look a bit like it was on roller skates, but the black door handles don’t stand out on darker-colored cars. (They do come body-colored or chrome on higher trim levels.) “While body design alone wouldn’t sway me over something like the CR-V, it does make a difference that the base Tucson still catches your eye quickly,” Markley said.

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Overall, interior quality is very good except for some cheap-looking window switches, which are found in every trim level. Markley sees the interior as less flashy but it certainly gets the job done. Bruzek’s take is that the interior is significantly more stylish than the competitors, just like the outside. A standard USB port for iPods won acclaim from both editors.

The manual transmission only added to the fun because the Tucson has a sporty ride. Shoppers who like to pay attention to the driving experience might prefer this bottom-dollar GLS. The manual isn’t available on higher trims.

Neither editor expected a particularly lively driving experience, but Bruzek noted the front-wheel-drive GLS handled with minimal body roll through the corners and exhibited a satisfying fun-to-drive factor for a small crossover.

There isn’t a lot of cargo room in the Tucson, which is on the smaller side of the segment at 55.8 cubic feet. A CR-V is 72.9 cubic feet, and the RAV4 is 73 cubic feet. To these guys, being smaller wasn’t a put-off because neither would be carrying anything more than small furniture (Markley) or miscellaneous car parts (Bruzek).

They disagreed on whether to opt for the manual or automatic transmission, however. Markley, preferring a manual transmission to anything, made his preference clear, but Bruzek noted that for only $1,000 more you can have the comfort and ease of an automatic while also improving your gas mileage by 1 mpg. The Tucson’s mileage is rated at 22/30 mpg city/highway for the manual and 23/31 mpg for the automatic in the front-wheel-drive model, putting it near the top of its class in that regard.

The Tucson’s value begins to weaken when you move into the upper trim levels, where some features seem out of place in the segment. Adding pricey extras — like a panoramic sunroof on the Limited trim level, which is packaged with the navigation system — begins to push the crossover’s price upward of $28,000. At that price point, larger options like the 2010 Ford Edge and 2010 Nissan Murano open up. Of course, that’s another reason the GLS required the extra scrutiny.

“The base GLS is probably the only version I would consider, strictly because of the value,” said Bruzek. “If you can stay in the low $20,000s, it’s still well worth a look over the CR-V and RAV4, but it’s when you add the premium features that it starts to lose its bang-for-the-buck appeal.”

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