Road test car review: 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited, now with even a smoother ride

We were very impressed when we first drove then brand new 2010 Hyundai Tucson. Now, after accumulating miles on a 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited, we no less so. If fact, we'll ratchet our respect a few notches higher. While Hyundai slots a new trim level, the GL, at the bottom of the Tucson lineup and fattens the content of the now-midrange GLS, the 2011 Tucson Limited steps up, or perhaps steps out, with Sachs Amplitude Selective Dampers.

That's Sachs, as in the German suspension specialists, and ASD, which is another way of saying shock absorbers with variable damping dependent on the impact force. The harder the hit, more stiffly the shock behaves. Internal valving allows the shock absorbers to be soft enough for a smooth ride on a smooth surface without wallowing or bottoming out on big bumps. It's not at all new technology, but the 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited's shock absorbers use the same basic system used on the Hyundai Genesis, the Korean company's premium midsize sedan, placing the Tucson in an elite category in the compact crossover sport utility class.

The advanced shock absorbers are not available on the GL or GLS, which is part of the reason the front-drive 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited has a base price of $24,695 compared to the equivalent GLS's price of $21,845. (The new base Hyundai Tucson GL is priced at $19,745 but is powered by a 2.0-liter four cylinder engine instead of the GLS/Limited's 2.4-liter four). But a ride in the 2011 Tucson Limited had a Hyundai Sonata owner reaching for his checkbook. It's that good.

Our test Iris Blue 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited came loaded--which means it had the Premium Package that in addition to a well stocked standard equipment that includes leather seating and trim, heated from seats, larger 18-inch wheels, power driver seat, dual automatic temperature control with "CleanAir Ionizer". includes a panoramic sunroof, navigation system with a 6.5-inch screen and rearview camera, premium audio with external amplifier and subwoofer, all that atop leather seating and trim, heated from seats, larger 18-inch wheels, power driver seat, dual automatic temperature control with "CleanAir Ionizer".

The 2.4-liter engine of the 2010 model continues in the 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited, and its 176 horsepower (170 hp in the PZEV low-emissions model) in a 3,318 lb chassis (for the front-wheel drive model tested) won't set a performance fan's heart aflutter. It's somewhere in that "acceptable" range that's, well, acceptable to most buyers in this market.

The standard six-speed automatic transmission not only squeezes acceleration from the 2.4 four but also helps with fuel economy. The EPA fuel economy estimate for the 2.4-liter front-wheel drive models is 22/31 mpg city/highway with a 25 mpg combined rating. Our experience with mixed driving in a hilly area (notorious for decreasing fuel economy) was 24.8 mpg.

The 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited's front seat passengers have supportive bun-loving buckets, though the rear seat is flat and on the hard side and tight for three, but at least it has a fold-down center armrest with two cupholders. The interior plastics were well chosen. Although not squishy to the touch, the plastic bits didn't have the brittle feel that cheaper materials do.

Controls were easy to use, with a conventional zig-zag shift lever movement and the usual alignement of controls on the center stack. However, the trip computer switch was on the dash to left of the steering wheel, but compared to systems with controls on one steering column or another, with no other switches or buttons were around it, even the bumble-fingered can change from average mpg to distance-to-empty without fear to activating the windshield wipers.

The instrument panel of the Hyundai Tucson has large, easy to read speedometer and tachometer dials inside baloney-sliced tubes under a small hood. Better the hood have been moved right because the nav system screen, though easy to use with touch-screen controls, is tilted towards the windschield, and with no hood was often in direct sunlight and therefore washed out and hard to see.

The rear view camera, however, make backing easier than it would otherwise have been. The swoopy styling of the d-pillars looks nifty from the outside but it does interfere with the driver's vision to the rear, particularly the right rear quarter.

The panoramic sunroof makes up for that, if not for the driver then for back seat passengers interested in meteorology. Panoramic in this case means two sunroofs, the front of which rises and slides back to open while the rear is fixed in place. Each panel has a retractable fabric screen to block the sun, but the rear screen can't be moved from the front seats, however. If back seat passengers can't do it, someone from the front seat has to get out the car to close it. It doesnt seem that the fabric screens would be as durable over the long run as some sort of hard panel cover, but the roof does not have room for that, at least at the 2011 Hyundai Tucson's price point.

With the rear seatbacks folded, cargo capacity goes to 55.8 cubic feet. The seatback doesn't lie flat, however, making it harder to slide large items into the cargo area.

The 2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited is a prime player in a newly evolving vehicle class, more practical if less fuel stingy than a sedan with the same size footprint though thriftier than a larger sport utility-type vehicle. More than that, it impressed at least one Sonata owner who's now thinking trade-in on the family's conventional SUV. Heck, we're still impressed as the first time around.

Related articles: 2010 Hyundai Sonata Limited; 2010 GMC Terrain SLT1 I-4; 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom

Subscribe for free updates of articles from this examiner, or follow on Twitter @AutoReview.