For South Korean automaker
Hyundai, the
Veracruz marks yet another bold step upward in price, quality, and performance.
While Hyundai's compact SUV, the Santa Fe, rivals mid-size SUVs from established manufacturers, the Hyundai Veracruz meets them head-on. Its powertrain goes toe-to-toe with the competition, primarily the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Subaru Tribeca. Veracruz offers no weak-kneed four-cylinder engine or aging four-speed automatic transmission. Instead, Veracruz boasts a modern V6, standard, and still delivers frugal numbers at the fuel pump. Its transmission is a thoroughly modern six-speed automatic, putting Hyundai one gear up on Honda, Toyota and Subaru. There's a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, again giving away nothing to the competition.
The Hyundai Veracruz even enjoys a styling advantage. This is Hyundai's first venture into the crossover market, so it has no mistakes to be corrected, no design vocabulary that has to be slavishly followed, no legacies to be exorcised. It's a clean-screen project, but with the additional benefit of being able to learn from what others have tried. And learn Hyundai has. The Veracruz presents a clean, uncluttered face, a balanced, sleekly executed profile, and maybe a bit of a copycat rear; but at least a copy of a winner.