2018 Hyundai Tucson Interior & Cargo

Lower trims on the 2018 Hyundai Tucson offer sub-par materials and scratchy plastics in a segment where many provide premium-feel interiors, but the build feels solid and panels don’t tend to shake and rattle. Ingress and egress is easy for the most part, with loads of interior room for both front and rear occupants where tall adults can easily get comfortable. The seats are supportive and the driver’s seat offers standard six-way adjustment with good forward visibility and easy reach of all controls. As you move up the trim ladder, heated seats, ventilated seats, and leather upholstery all become standard, as does power adjustment for both front seats. The rear seats feature two full sets of LATCH anchors and the spacious interior means child seats can be fitted forward or rear-facing.

The Hyundai Tucson will seat five occupants in more space and comfort than almost all other options in the compact SUV segment, with rear headroom and legroom being particularly generous and enough to keep tall adults comfortable for long periods of time. The seats are firm but supportive and are comfortable for long journeys, while the standard six-way adjustment of the driver’s seat and tilt and telescopic adjustment of the steering wheel means it’s easy to find a good driving position. Forward visibility is excellent, but rearward visibility is hampered by smaller rear windows. A rearview camera is standard on all trims, with the top Limited model getting available rear park sensors.

The Hyundai Tucson is available with two different surface coverings with a color palette of just three options. The SE, SEL, Sport, and Value trims all feature cloth upholstery available in either beige, black, or grey, with colors options limited based on exterior paint color. The lower dash and door panels are color coded to correspond with the upholstery color, but the plastics are notably cheap in feel. The SEL Plus and Limited models get higher quality trim on the doors that feels more premium, and the seating surfaces get upgraded to leather, available in either beige or black, once again coinciding with dash and door trim colors. The Sport model gets a leather-wrapped steering wheel that also features on the SEL Plus and Limited models.

The standard offering in the entry-level Tucson SE is a basic five-inch touchscreen infotainment system paired with a six-speaker sound system. The AM/FM radio system is MP3 compatible and features CD, auxiliary, USB, and Bluetooth inputs with media streaming and hands free telephony, and the screen doubles up as a display for the standard rearview camera. SEL, Sport, and Value trims get a seven-inch touchscreen system that adds SiriusXM satellite radio functionality and is fully compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. SEL Plus and Limited trims get an eight-inch touchscreen system that features standard navigation and is linked to an Infinity eight-speaker sound system including a subwoofer. Hyundai’s Blue Link connected car services are also equipped on the SEL Plus and Limited models.

The huge amounts of rear passenger volume in the Tucson are the result of compromised cargo volume. While the 31 cubic feet behind the rear seats isn’t necessarily poor in the segment, it’s well below the class-leading Honda CR-V. The cargo area features a dual-level load floor that allows some objects to be stored below the main cargo area, or that alternatively adds extra depth to the loading area. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split to increase storage to 61.9 cubic feet, which is again average for the class but well below the CR-V’s class-leading 75.8 cubic feet of storage. The load bay is wide and easy to load, and an available hands-free tailgate on higher trims opens without any dangerous one-legged foot waving antics which is a big plus compared to rivals.

The cabin offer numerous storage areas, including decently sized front cupholders, bottle holders moulded into the relatively deep door pockets, and smaller storage items in the center console. The center armrest also houses a storage bin, while the main front bin is large enough to keep a modern smartphone inside quite easily.