New Hyundais

[Brenda]

Per my Manager friend at the Hyundai dealership we use, every 6 months after the Tucson is introduced will be another new car between Kia & Hyundai. 2007 has the 8 seater Sante Fe due out, that will be more like the Sedona than the Lexus. The Tucson is uncarpeted for a more rugged use that you just hose out to clean, no vacumming. So it will be a plastic shell?

I am told I will test drive the Tucson next month when he gets his touring car in. Late September will be the delivery date for sale, tho he has folks putting money down on one already. To me a compact SUV doesn't seem too safe.

 

[Brian Nystrom]

Per my Manager friend at the Hyundai dealership we use, every 6 months after the Tucson is introduced will be another new car between Kia & Hyundai. 2007 has the 8 seater Sante Fe due out, that will be more like the Sedona than the Lexus. The Tucson is uncarpeted for a more rugged use that you just hose out to clean, no vacumming. So it will be a plastic shell?

I am told I will test drive the Tucson next month when he gets his touring car in. Late September will be the delivery date for sale, tho he has folks putting money down on one already. To me a compact SUV doesn't seem too safe.

What makes you think it's less safe than the barely controllable behemoths that are on the market? SUV "safety" is an illusion. The more car-like models are safer for most people and uses than the hulking truck-based models, since they can be driven without as many special considerations. The bottom line is that large SUVs (in the hands of a typical driver) make it much harder to avoid accidents in emergency situations and their tendency to roll over during sharp maneuvers often turns what should be minor mishaps into huge, possibly fatal accidents. Even their size is no guarantee of safety, as many of them perform poorly in crash tests because they don't have to be built to the same safety standards as cars. One thing their size does ensure is that if you hit a smaller vehicle, the occupants of it are in serious jeopardy.

As you might have guessed, I'm of the opinion that SUVs are a scourge on the roads and an environmental nightmare. The sooner they are relegated to the trash heap of history, the better.