L.A. Auto Show: 2010 Hyundai Tucson Gets Sleek Redesign

Dec 04 2009 by Lori Hindman

At the L.A. Auto Show, Hyundai revealed their redesigned 2010 Tucson, a compact SUV with lots to love. It’s sleek, with large, angled headlights and a sculpted body. There is plenty of cargo space and room in the backseat, and the Latch connectors are easy to reach. This Tucson is definitely worth visiting.

The interior is clean and well laid out. For 2010, Hyundai is offering a new interior color, Saddle. Sadly, it reminded me of nothing other than a football. Pigskin-colored leather seats with black carpeting, isn’t quite my style, but others could like it.

While there’s a lot to like about the Tucson, I also noticed a few problems, including its smallish rear windows that could hamper rear visibility. In the backseat, the seat belt receptors are floppy, which makes it hard for kids to buckle up by themselves, and the seat belts seem to sit high up on the C-pillars. They’re not adjustable, which could be a problem for smaller kids. The Tucson may be a better fit for older kids rather than younger kiddos who ride in low-back booster seats.

New for this year, the Tucson has hill descent control that holds the car in place when starting from a stop on a hill and also maintains a steady speed when coasting downhill. There are new rollover sensors, which deploy the side curtain airbags if the worst happens, and a new backup camera for better rear visibility.

Also new and more fun is the panoramic sunroof and Bluetooth connectivity for both phone and streaming music. The 2010 Tucson will be available in dealerships later this month; hopefully, we’ll be able to take it for a long test drive with the kids paying special attention to the seat belts.