The IT Nerd

The 2020 Hyundai Palisade Luxury has a very impressive interior, though there are a couple of things that I will criticize. One of them is personal preference, one is a bit of a observation that I typical don’t make about cars these days. But let’s start with the driver’s seat.

The driver’s seat is heated, ventilated, and extremely comfortable as you can adjust every aspect that matters including thigh length to give you a comfortable and perfect driving position.

The trim is impressive. There’s a mix of soft touch material, leather, and the best fake wood I have ever seen in a car. It was so convincing that I had to email Hyundai Canada to confirm that it was fake as I along with many others who saw it were not sure. Hyundai Canada confirmed that it was and it was engineered to be consistent and convincing. I’d say mission accomplished on that front as nobody who was in this vehicle could tell it was fake and everyone who was in this vehicle said it looked good.

The footwell is a comfortable place for your feet to be as it has a large dead pedal. To the left of the steering wheel are the buttons for the various electronic overseers as well as the electronic parking brake.

The steering wheel is leather wrapped, heated, and feels good in your hands. It has all the controls for the infotainment system and cruise control on the left and right sides.

Behind the steering wheel are a pair of paddle shifters.

You have a pair of easy to read analog gauges as well as a high resolution TFT display in the center. Everything was easy to read in all lighting conditions.

To the left of the steering wheel is an 10.25″ almost HD resolution infotainment screen that was very sharp and easy to read. It also integrates well with the rest of the dash which is covered in a soft touch material.

You get hard buttons for all the infotainment system. And below that are the controls for the three zone (first and second rows) HVAC system. Below that are all the controls for the transmission, drive modes, and other driving activities. Below that are the controls for the vented and heated front seats. I have to admit that I am not sold on the push button transmission as I learned to drive a manual transmission, and if you get into a dangerous situation, you could pop the transmission into neutral by hitting the shift lever toward the center. The same is true for automatic transmissions as well. That’s something that you can’t do here. Thus my natural reaction to this setup is to look at it warily. But many people think I am showing my age and that this is a non issue. And besides, many other vehicles have a system like this. Thus maybe I should introduce myself to 2020 and embrace this transmission setup as it really allows the center console to have a coherent look to it.

The area where the cup holders are is extremely versatile as you can retract the cup holders for additional space, and they can be covered for privacy reasons.

It passed my Starbucks Venti test with ease. Plus, you can see the main USB port to the left.

Below the armrest is a storage area that has a 12V outlet and another USB port.

Below the center console is a storage area with a 12V outlet and a USB port. For those keeping score at home, that’s three USB ports so far.

On the roof are the controls for the sunroof, the lights, the buttons for BluLink, as well as a flip down mirror that allow you to see what the kids are up to in the second and third rows.

There’s a decently sized glove box that’s lit.

You get a standard sized sunroof that’s powered operated, but has a manual sunshade.

The middle row can hold three adults. But the middle occupant has to deal with the hump for the driveshaft. But the two groups of adults that I had in this vehicle didn’t really complain about that too much.

If you don’t need to seat three people, you can use the middle seat for cup holders.

There are second row HVAC controls as well as a 12V outlet. Plus you have the seat warmers for the outward second row passengers. Parents will be happy to know that these controls can be locked out to keep your kids from fiddling around with them.

On each of the front seats are USB ports that are accessible by the second row passengers. That’s five USB ports and counting.

There are manual sunshades on the rear doors.

The third row actually fit adults. Two of them to be precise and they were comfortable. I can see three children fitting back here though.

On each side of the third row you have cup holders, the switch to power adjust the recline of the third row seats, you have a USB port. That’s a total of 7 USB ports for the vehicle.

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Depending on how the seats are folded, you can have a bit of cargo space with all seats up, or you can have a lot of cargo space with the second and third rows down.

And folding down the second and third row seats is easy thanks to these buttons. The second row only flips down, but the third row are both power down and up. Note the 12V outlet as well.

There’s under floor storage in the back which is handy for storing the privacy cover.

There’s both a button and a handle to allow you to close the rear hatch.

The interior very quiet for the most part. The only exception to that is an intermittent buzzing sound that my wife and I could only trace to the area of the passenger side b-pillar. We could never fully identify the exact location of the sound. Also of note, the buzz was not present (or we didn’t hear it as we weren’t paying attention) when we had passengers in the vehicle. I haven’t had to say that in a car review in years and I have to assume that it was just a potential issue with my tester. Other than that, this interior is well executed and will impress anyone who steps into it.

Tomorrow, I will look at the tech in the Palisade, and some of it is really cool. Tune in to see what the cool tech is and what I think of it.

Under the hood of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade Luxury has a stout 3.8 L V6. And by stout I mean that it has 291 HP and 262 pound feet of torque. It’s mated to an 8 speed automatic transmission and power goes to all four wheels via Hyundai’s HTRAC AWD system which gives you the ability to select what terrain you are on to make the most of its capabilities. This combo made for effortless driving. Especially on the day I returned it when it snowed heavily and I switched the HTRAC AWD system to snow to make sure that I stayed safe on the road. It would do things like come off the line, pass slower cars, merge onto the highway and the like with ease and without the need to push it hard. The transmission was also smooth shifting and always picked a gear to keep the engine in the sweet spot.

The effortless nature continues in how well it drives. While I would not say that you should carve up some back roads in this vehicle, it is very easy to drive and gives you the feeling that it is a lot smaller than it is. It’s also surprisingly nimble as well with a decent turning radius given how big this vehicle is. While some sporty drivers would wish for some more road feel via the steering wheel, I seriously doubt that you’ll find any reason to complain about the driving dynamics.

There’s a number of driving modes on tap that range from Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Smart. I kept it in the latter which is allowing me to get 12.8 L/100 KM in terms of fuel economy at the moment. That’s not bad and I think it is going to get better as the week goes on. It also has an automatic engine stop/start system to get you some additional savings in fuel. Like most of these systems, it is defeat-able if you don’t like it as like most of these systems it does turn off the HVAC system along with the engine. But I left it activated during the week that I had it.

Tomorrow I will discuss the interior which can be described as “beyond impressive” for the most part. Tune in tomorrow to find out what I mean by that.

I’ll just get this out of the way right up front. In the form of the Palisade, Hyundai has created a three row crossover that is almost perfect. On top of that, you can get it at a price point that fits your budget while getting a lot of content in the bargain. And what this review will show is why I feel that way. Let’s start with the exterior looks.

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The Palisade is a big, bold and imposing vehicle that screams that it’s large and in charge. That’s highlighted by that grill which is huge. The 20″ rims in this trim level add to that by giving the vehicle a lot of presence. Trust me, you’re going to get noticed when you drive up to your destination in one of these.

My review of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade Luxury is made up of five parts:

• Exterior
• Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
• Interior
• Technology in the vehicle
• Wrap up

The next part of this review will cover the engine, transmission and driving comfort. And one thing that stood out to me about about this vehicle is how easy it is to drive considering that it is a big three row crossover. Tune in tomorrow to get the details.

I’ve come to the end of my review of the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate. And it was very familiar and comfortable in a lot of ways because of the fact that I have the 2016 model. For the most part, Hyundai has taken a good vehicle and evolved it to be mostly better. The only exception to that is the fuel economy which was 11.9 L/100 KM in mixed city and highway driving which is more than I get from the 2016 model that I own by about 1 L/100 KM. That’s due to the new engine/transmission combo that’s in the 2019 version. And to be frank, that may deter some shoppers who want the fuel economy that some competitors bring to the party. But in my opinion that shouldn’t stop you from going to your local Hyundai to have a test drive as there’s a lot inside the Tucson Ultimate that makes up for the fuel economy. Mainly, it packs a lot in at a good price which is why you see a lot of them on the road. And this is another reason why you see a lot of Tucsons on the road:

Korean and US automakers top automotive quality rankings. Time to rethink all those assumptions. pic.twitter.com/1sDiJkrAtz

— Michael Kukielka (@DetroitBORG) June 20, 2019

Hyundai finished third in the JD Power Initial Quality Study. It’s not the first time they have been in the top three. And given the experience that I had with the Tucson this week, it won’t be the last.

If you want to cross shop it, the Mazda CX-5, the Ford Escape, the Honda CR-V, the Toyota RAV4, and the Kia Sportage are clear competitors to look at. But as I mentioned before, there’s a lot inside the Hyundai Tucson that makes it a better choice than anything that I just mentioned.

The 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate goes for $37,999 before freight and taxes. But you can get a Hyundai Tucson for $25,599 to start. If you want compact SUV that comes with a lot in the box on a number of fronts, you should take a good look at the Hyundai Tucson as it may be perfect for you.

The 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate is a SUV packed with healthy amount of technology in it. Let’s start with the safety aspects of the vehicle:

• You get autonomous emergency braking which will bring the Tucson to a stop if it detects an object in front of it, and you take no action to avoid said object.
• Blind spot monitoring is included. Not only does it warn you when you are about to do an ill advised lane change, but it also alerts you based on distance and relative speed.
• Rear cross traffic alerts as well as rear parking sensors present to make either parking or reversing out of a parking space easier.
• One real highlight is that lane departure warning and assist functionality is included. It is one of the better systems that I have tested lately and I say that because any steering corrections that it makes are gentle and does not freak you out while doing so. Plus if it has to make an audible warning, it does so in a way that doesn’t freak out you or your passengers.
• There’s an attention assist feature which monitors your driving and will suggest that you should take a break if it thinks you are getting tired.
• You get automatic headlights so that you never forget to turn the headlights on or off. You also get automatic windshield wipers as well.
• Adaptive Cruise Control with traffic stop and go is on board and I used it to make stop and go traffic situations far more bearable as it will almost stop and go on its own. The only exception is if the Tucson has been sitting stationary for a bit which requires you to tap the accelerator to get going again.

Now, the cool tech starts with this:

This 360 degree top view camera is the star of the show. Not only does it give you a top view and rear view to allow you to park the Tucson perfectly, but it also allows you to see the curb so that you can see how far away you are from the curb to make parallel parking perfectly. I was impressed by the clarity of the camera and my wife was impressed by this whole system.

Other tech includes:

• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are included. It gets served up on an 8″ screen which is extremely sharp, has great contrast and is viewable in all lighting conditions. The infotainment system user interface was easy to navigate and didn’t display any lag whatsoever. That was completely in line with other Hyundai products that I’ve tried recently. One other note is that I observed that info such as song names from Apple CarPlay showed up in the center TFT screen which was cool as I have not seen that from another carmaker before. There’s hard buttons for functions like the phone, radio, navigation etc. That also helps to make this system easy to use.
• There’s a 8 speaker Infinity audio system that sounds good as I had no complaints when I was listening to radio or tunes from my iPhone. My current audio torture playlist which includes LookLA, Ruelle, Snoh Aalegra, SAHED, Astrud Gilberto, Jorja Smith, Kali Uchis, 10,000 Maniacs, Death Cab For Cutie, Chicago, Röyksopp, Sofi Tucker, Art d’Ecco and Thutmose & NoMBe sounded great. You can also serve up AM,FM, audio from your phone via USB (which will also charge your phone) or Bluetooth, or SirusXM Radio.
• This vehicle comes with Hyundai BlueLink, You can use it to remote start, cool down, heat up, or do a number of other things remotely to the Tucson using your smartphone.

The final part of this review will tie up some loose ends and I’ll give you my closing thoughts on the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate. Stay tuned for that tomorrow.

This is the 2.4 L engine that powers the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate. It puts out 181 horsepower and 175 pound feet of torque. In comparison with the 1.6L turbo engine that used to power this trim level, it has 6 more horsepower, but 20 less pound feet of torque.  Horsepower is a peak measurement which makes torque far more important as that’s what gets you off the line and around transport trucks. And the drop in torque is noticeable if you’re someone like me who’s driven the 1.6L turbo engine version. That’s not to say that it’s a bad engine as it will still move you past transport trucks and allow you to merge traffic with no issues. But it just lacks the punch that the turbo engine provided. Thus if you like a more spirited drive, you aren’t going to get it here.

Another change for 2019 is that the seven speed dual clutch transmission is gone in favor of a six speed automatic. It’s a smooth shifting unit that I have no complaints about. But this engine transmission combo doesn’t deliver the best fuel economy. I am currently getting 11.4 L/100 KM which is about 1 L/100 KM to 1.5 L/100 KM more than in my 2016 model that comes with the turbo engine and the dual clutch transmission. And compared with competitive offerings from Mazda (CX-5), Honda (CR-V) and Toyota (RAV4), that may be a negative for someone who wants top shelf fuel economy from their compact SUV.

So, the question that you may be asking is why would Hyundai would make a switch like this which would result in lower fuel economy and allow this discussion to pop up? I don’t have any inside info, but my guess goes something like this. The 1.6L turbo with the seven speed dual clutch transmission did generate a lot of complaints in the 2016-2018 model years. I’ve gone into that at length here if you want all the details. Thus I am guessing that Hyundai decided that they didn’t want to deal with those complaints anymore. So they pulled what appears on the surface to be the base engine and transmission from the Santa Fe and dropped it into the upscale Tucson as it is a proven combo. And they were willing to live with the fuel economy hit to make the complaints go away. It makes sense to me and to be frank, this engine/transmission combo might be a better fit for the Tucson as it is more in line with what some expect from how a engine transmission combo should behave when you drive as dual clutch transmissions are a bit “weird” to drive for some. So in short, I think Hyundai made the right call here.

The power goes to all four wheels via Hyundai’s HTRAC AWD system. This system was developed as a multi-mode system, providing an electronic, variable-torque-split clutch with active torque control between the front and rear axles. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a similar system that is used in the Hyundai Genesis that I reviewed a few years back. But unlike that system, it is front wheel biased rather than rear wheel biased.

One area that is a plus for Hyundai is that the ride and handling is great. While it’s not up to Mazda CX-5 levels as that is what I consider to be the gold standard for handling in this class, it’s better than most compact SUVs out there. And one thing that Hyundai has really worked on noise, vibration and harshness as it’s much quieter than the 2016 version. Body roll is well controlled and it feels solid than’s to the high strength steel that Hyundai makes itself.

The next part of this review covers the interior of 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate. It’s an interesting yet comfortable interior to be in and I will explain why tomorrow.

As many of you know, I own a 2016 Hyundai Tucson Limited and I’ve written an extensive one year update as well as a three year update. It’s been very good to my wife as it has taken us on adventures like our road trip to Newfoundland a couple of years ago. Thus I was really interested to see what the newly refreshed for 2019 Hyundai Tucson.

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The look has been refreshed to make it a bit more edgy. Yet it still looks familiar as it doesn’t stray that much from the 2016 version. It also doesn’t take on the looks of some other Hyundai SUVs like the Kona or the Santa Fe. I figure that they took this approach because the compact SUV market is so big that they have to make sure that they don’t come out with something that alienates perspective customers.

My review of the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate is made up of five parts:

• Exterior
• Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
• Interior
• Technology in the vehicle
• Wrap up

The next part of this review will cover the engine, transmission and driving comfort. I have a lot of opinions on that front and I will share all of them tomorrow.

The Hyundai Santa Fe has always been a top seller for the Korean carmaker. But I suspect that the 2019 makeover of the Santa Fe is going to take this vehicle to a whole new level. Especially in the Ultimate trim level that I tested this year which has a ton of tech including a feature called “Safe Exit Assist” which besides being a piece of tech that you currently can’t find anywhere else, will ensure that you will not accidentally hit cyclists that may be approaching your vehicle from directly behind. On top of that, they really made the interior one that you’ll want to spend a lot of time in as well. Quite simply besides being an IT Nerd award winner for the best SUV for 2018, the Hyundai Santa Fe is going to shake up the mid-sized SUV space in a very big way.

So I’ve come to the end of my week long review of the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and I think Hyundai has a serious competitor in this space that stands out in more ways than just looks. It drives well, has a very good interior and a fair amount of tech in it.

It’s main competitors are going to be the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, maybe the Kia Sorrento as that comes in five and seven passenger versions, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the upcoming Honda Passport. But I think that the Santa Fe which is already one of the leaders in this segment is going to keep the status quo, if not increase their share of this segment.

My final fuel economy was 11.7 L/100KM’s which is pretty good considering that I drove in a mix of city roads and highways in rush hour. The majority of that driving was city driving in rush hour or stop and go traffic. Given those conditions, I’m fine with this number.

The 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe starts at $28,999 CDN before freight, taxes, etc. The 2.0T Ultimate AWD trim level that I drove this week goes for $44,999 CDN with a number of trim levels in between. Hyundai really has a vehicle in this mid size SUV space where if you look around you will see a lot of Santa Fe’s on the road. I expect that continue based on my week with this 2019 model.

The 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe is a SUV packed with healthy amount of technology in it. Let’s start with the safety aspects of the vehicle:

• You get autonomous emergency braking which will bring the Santa Fe to a stop if it detects an object in front of it, and you take no action to avoid said object.
• Blind spot monitoring is included. Not only does it warn you when you are about to do an ill advised lane change, but it also alerts you based on distance and relative speed.
• Rear cross traffic alerts as well as rear parking sensors present to make either parking or reversing out of a parking space easier.
• One real highlight is that lane departure warning and assist functionality is included. It is one of the better systems that I have tested lately and I say that because any steering corrections that it makes are gentle and don’t freak you out. Plus if it has to make an audible warning, it does so in a way that doesn’t freak out you or your passengers.
• There’s an attention assist feature which monitors your driving and will suggest that you should take a break if it thinks you are getting tired.
• You get automatic headlights so that you never forget to turn the headlights on or off. You also get automatic windshield wipers as well.

Now, the cool tech starts with this:

You get a heads up display that is in color and displays speed, speed limits, blind spots info, and a host of other info that allows you to better focus on driving.

Another piece of cool tech is the cruise control. It’s radar based which allows the car to slow down and speed up based on what the car in front of you is doing. On top of that, it has the ability to deal with stop and go traffic by itself. I will note that in stop and go conditions if the car comes to a complete stop for a few seconds, you have to get it going  again by tapping the accelerator.

Next up is this:

There’s a top view 360 degree camera that is very very good. Everything from the various cameras that feed images into this system is very well stitched together and it made me easy to park in any situation. The only catch is that cameras are exposed which means that dirt or water can obscure the view as I discovered when it rained late in my test of the Santa Fe. For bonus points, there’s a button on the center console that allows you to activate this view at any time.

A ground breaking piece of tech is that the Santa Fe has the ability to detect cyclists who are rolling up to you when you are parked and are about to exit the car. In short, the Santa Fe will alert you if you try to open a door and a cyclist is approaching. This is a feature that really matters to me because about 20 years ago I was hit by a door that was opened from a parked car while I was riding my bike, which resulted in a trip to the hospital and three weeks to recover from the accident. I tested this in downtown Toronto and it worked flawlessly. Actually it worked better than I expected as it also detected a jogger that decided to run up on the drivers side of the Santa Fe for reasons that I don’t fully understand. Quite simply, this is tech that should be in every single car.

One final piece of tech that I want to speak to:

You get an alert if someone is in the back seat of the Santa Fe. That will hopefully keep you from leaving a child in the back seat on a hot day. That’s very cool. But it doesn’t stop there. If you have Hyundai BlueLink, which this vehicle has, it will generate an alert on your smartphone as well as honk the horns if it continues to detect something in the back seats. That’s pretty clever.

Other tech includes:

• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are included. It gets served up on an 8″ screen which is extremely sharp, has great contrast and is viewable in all lighting conditions. The infotainment system user interface was easy to navigate and didn’t display any lag whatsoever. That was completely in line with other Hyundai products that I’ve tried recently.
• There’s a 12 speaker Infinity audio system that sounds good as I had no complaints when I was listening to radio or tunes from my iPhone. You can serve up AM,FM, audio from your phone via USB (which will also charge your phone) or Bluetooth, or SirusXM Radio. It was very good at playing my current audio torture playlist which needs updating.

The final part of this review will tie up some loose ends and I’ll give you my closing thoughts on the Hyundai Santa Fe. Stay tuned for that tomorrow.