Mario James, Gleaner Writer
Photo by Mario James: The 2008 Hyundai Veracruz, available at Key Motors, 29 Hagley Park Road, in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew.
The three-tonne luxury SUV segment has one more ingredient. Say hello to the Veracruz, Hyundai's initial foray into that market. On paper, Hyundai wants to play with the big boys; Mazda, Mercedes, Audi (to which it bears oh-so-much-more than a passing resemblance), Honda and Lexus. "Im ches' high" to use Jamaican vernacular. It aspires to be the Timex of this high-dollar SUV class, and Hyundai is the youngest player in the market. However, the manufacturer does have a trump card - a fully loaded Veracruz will cost millions less than an Audi Q7. This leads to the classic consumer question: Why pay more?
No lightweight
Make no mistake about it, this is no lightweight. It weighs roughly 4500 lbs, so it needs a lot of power to make the grade. The unit we drove had a 3.0-litre common rail turbo charged diesel V6 powerplant, and it doesn't disappoint. No sir, not at all. In fact it was a pleasant surprise! It makes 240 horsepower, and is coupled to a semi-automatic Aisin-Warner six speed autobox. Like its more pricey brethren, the transmission feels unburstable, but has that I-will-only-change-gears-when-its-safe-to-do-so feel, which in my opinion, isolates the driver from the driving experience. The redline for this engine is around 4500 rpm (remember, it's a diesel!) but the 'intelligence' of the box and engine management, which works in concert, blunts the performance, retarding the compression ignition event milliseconds before and after the up-shift. It is a trend that extends into the more expensive brands as well, and is one that this tester uniformly dislikes. Why not just let the engine, especially in semi-automatic mode, run up against the rev limiter?
That said, the engine is a gem. The vehicle is so new that a lot of the engine specs are still top secret (the car is being released as a 2008 model, and it is already here), but it is a diamond and sparkles beautifully. Hyundai represenatives said that it has 240 horsepower, but I will have to guess at the torque figures; seat-of-the-pants feel said that the car has close to 320 lb ft on tap,but I could be wrong. Maybe, it has more. Veracruz is certainly a delight to drive on the pedal, and its dimensions virtually shrink around you while underway. Squeezing the throttle rewards the driver like this; Veracruz first gathers its hoopskirts, then there is this primal growl from the engine and serious g-forces play about your midsection. Then just before red line, the engine safety patrol
calls quits on the fun, it upshifts, and the whoosh process begins again. The 'box has six gears, which means that the ratios are close, but they are spaced right. Good old fashioned fun!
Test Drive
The ride is very good. However this is due to the great mass of the vehicle, not by any high-tech engineering; the Veracruz gets by with a conventional McPherson strut front end, with a parallel link rear (so says Key Motors) . The engine is quiet with the windows wound up, even at full throttle. The turbo does not contribute to the noise level, either. Its just so discreet. Available with seven seats, the interior is well appointed. The faux wood trim is very good faux wood trim; The gauge nacelle is prettily and sensibly laid out, and in the straight ahead position the steering wheel doesn't block anything. All in all the interior looks top shelf.
But ergonomically, Hyundai's efforts don't deserve a pass mark; interior space is not up to par with the more expensive players in this class; for folks that are challenged in the weight department, the interior is a real tight fit. Junior Tucker might like this vehicle, but the Admiral Bailey's and Bling Dawgs of this world need not apply. And this platform has so much potential! Very disheartening.
The brakes, too, are suspect. During panic stops, the brake pedal feels mushy, and this is a four-wheel disc brake system. Braking over road irregularities have the car feeling skittish; it is not as confidence inspiring as say, the Audi Q7. It stops sharply, but over bumps it tends to wander. But I had a good look at the tyres, and I think they were not inflatedto the same pressure, left to rightÉ Key Motors said that the unit had not had it's pre delivery inspection, it was basically just off the wharf. So maybe one of the tyres had a slow leak?
Veracruz has its work cut out for it. It is in some esteemed company (the Audi Q7, Mercedes GL class and the Lexus 350 are some of its stablemates, yet at around 4.8 million, it costs hundreds of thousands, if not millions, less than any one of them. It does have its faults, though, with the interior being the greatest faux pas. But the faults can be fixed; they are no really insurmountable problems with this platform. The space, I'm sure can be found! And what the platform does well, it does really well. There seems to be value existing outside of the Japanese firms nowadays, and as time goes by, the great chasm that existed between the Koreans and other Far Easteners is gradually being filled up. One day, Toyota, known for looking into the future, might be stargazing so intently that they won't even know that a Korean upstart has stolen their thunder.
