Garber Nissan Hyundai

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Driving Impressions

The Hyundai Veracruz is not the equal of the Lexus RX350, but it's close. It's so close, in fact, that once you set aside the cachet of the Lexus logo, and settle for just a smidgen less agility, the Veracruz becomes a very attractive, and much more affordable, alternative.

For openers, the Veracruz leads the primary competition in power without paying any price in the fuel economy race. It has the second widest track (distance between the tires side to side). And the longest wheelbase. It weighs less than the Pilot, more than Highlander and about the same as the Tribeca. In the numbers game, then, it takes a back seat to none of these.

And when we drove it we came away thinking it's the most fun to drive, responding willingly and smoothly to proddings at the throttle, taking steering directions with certainty and tracking confidently with minimal body roll through tight corners as well as long, fast, sweeping curves.

The automatic shifts smoothly and precisely, whether in full automatic or in the Shiftronic's manual mode. A brief encounter with the electronic stability program showed a gentle hand, not a fist, one that calmly reined in our over-extension without chopping the throttle or slamming on the brakes. Miles on the interstate cause no discomfort, a credit to the long wheelbase, which damps weathered-pavement heaves.

Noise levels were reasonable, though not Lexus quiet. We experienced some wind noise in one of two vehicles we tested. One vehicle was remarkably quiet even at freeway speeds, while another produced an irritating whistle from the vicinity of the right-hand outside mirror on lower-speed two-lane roads. A third-row passenger had to speak louder than normal to be understood by the driver. Tire and road noise wasn't bothersome, and there were zero buzzes, squeaks and rattles regardless of pavement quality. Hard acceleration produces no unsettling or troublesome sounds from beneath the hood, and the exhaust note is pleasant, if a bit weak.

Brake feel is firm, and reassuringly consistent between test vehicles. Steering assist varies between parking lot and highway speeds and feels about right at both extremes.

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