Reviews of the 2006 and 2007 Hyundai SUV's - Tucson - Santa Fe:

After we did our review on Hyundai cars we realized that the SUV lineup and minivan that Hyundai also offers are very popular and growing in recognition each year. The 2006 Hyunda Tucson has a 5-star crash safety rating and comes in 3 models - GL, GLS, and Limited. The Hyundai Tucson GL starts at $17845 and features a 4 cylinder engine (small by SUV standards), a 5-speed manual transmission or 4-speed automatic transmission with Shiftronic. There are dual front airbags, front seat-mounted side-impact airbags, roof-mounted side-curtain airbags for total crash safety. The GLS with its V6 engine and optional 4WD is the one to get at $20845 (2WD) and $22345 (4WD). The Hyundai Tucson GLS gets 20/26 mile per gallon in city/highway and the 2.7 liter engine generates roughly 175 hp. We were impressed with the smooth ride and performance from the GLS and customer satisfaction is high for the 2006 Hyundais. You can get more information online at HyundaiUSA.com.

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The Hyundai Tucson Limited is the priciest at $22245, has a few extra features, but we would stick with the GLS for overall quality and realiability. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a mid-size sport utility vehicle that is not much different than the Tucson in terms of price. It offers a great safety record and more cargo space than the Honda Escape or Ford Equinox. The Santa Fe GLS 2.7 liter goes for $21695 and the GLS 3.5 liter sells for $22395. With the increased engine size comes more horsepower, but we still preferred the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited at $24395. The Limited offers a V6 3.5 liter engine 24-valves, 5-speed automatic transmission, power driver seat, heated front seats, and lots of other standard features. Although both the Hyundai SUV style vehicles are much smaller than the SUV I think of, they performed admirably and are much easier to park in cities and tight parking places (definitely something to consider). In our 2 week test drive we never ran out of cargo space (ample in all models) and thought the stereo system in the Limited was well worth it with great sound quality. If you plan on towing boats, cars, etc, then go with a larger SUV (Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Escalade), but for around town driving and chauffering the kids to and from school, practices, etc, this mid-size SUV does the trick. If you are looking for a comparison on smaller SUV's, then go to Hyundai.Edmunds.com and check out the charts and statistics they offer in a direct comparison with other small SUV's on the market.

Hyundai Entourage - Minivan:

The 2007 Hyundai Entourage comes with more standard safety features than any other minivan. There is seating for 7 and a nice size cargo space. Need more room, then fold down the 60/40 third-row seats for extra storage room. The GLS model starts at $23795 and come equipped with 3.8 liter 242 horsepower engine and a 5-speed automatic transmission. For all you soccer moms out there, the interior is stylish yet functional and the minivan won't use up all your gas like a standard SUV would. The Hyundai Entourage SE is the next step up at $26295 with a keyless entry w/ alarm, windshield wiper de-icer, electronic stability control, and roof rack side rails. The Limited model offers leather seating, dual front air conditioning system, onboard tire pressure monitoring system, cruise control, and a digital compass. At $28795 the Hyundai Entourage Limited is expensive, but still in line with the prices of its competition - Chrysler Town and Country - Ford Freestar - Nissan Quest - Saturn Relay. If we had a choice, the Saturn Relay would get our vote, but the Hyundai comes in a close second. The Saturn is a touch more, with great customer satisfaction, but we also like the comfortable drive offered by the Entourage. The safety ratings of both were good-excellent, which makes it even harder to choose.

Used Hyundai SUV's and Minivans:

Hyundai has great warranties and high customer satisfaction ratings, so buying a used Hyundai makes sense for both a mid-size SUV or minivan. The used car market has been a buyers market for years now with so many dealers offering incentives to buy "new" that car owners are unloading used cars at record #'s just to get the latest model. That means used car buyers can really shop around and not have to pick the first one they see. We suggest doing some online research at Edmunds.com or Kelly Blue Book (KBB.com) to see which makes or models you prefer and see who they stack up against the competition. Even reading a consumer reports on used minivans is a good idea. They offer insightful articles and great safety tests that will put the minivan or suv to the test. Once you are ready to start shopping, check sites like Craigslist.org in your particular area or try Autotrader.com or Ebay Motors. With enough of a selection, you should be able to bargain your way to a winner whether it be a Hyundai Entourage, Hyundai Santa Fe, or Hyundai Tucson. We have heard great things about the 2003-2006 Hyundai Santa Fe.

Hyundai Parts - Dealers:

The influx of Hyundai part resellers online has been dramatic with each year that now there are literally 100's of sites that offer quality Hyundai parts. We scoured the net to find the best and came up with a few - Hypartswholesale.com - AllHyundai.com - HyundaiUSA.com. One thing we really like about the Hyundai official site is that they offer an excellent "owners" section with help on service/maintenance issues, car care, parts/accessories, and an owners magazine. The largest online retailer of Hyundai Accessories is at Hyundaiaccessorymall.com with the best prices on 2006 Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe, Entourage, Accent, and all the other cars they make. For the Santa Fe you can pick up floor mats, fog lamps, towing equipment, roof rack accessories, grill guards, and running boards/side steps. For a local Hyundai dealer, we suggest going to the main site listed above and typing in your ZIP code to find the nearest dealer. There are quality Hyundai dealers in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington Dc, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, San Diego, and Seattle to name a few.

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