Unlike traditional part-time four-wheel-drive systems Hyundai uses a system that automatically adjusts the amount of power going to each wheel as needed. Most of the time the electronically controlled system routes up to 99 percent of the power to the front wheels. Then as road conditions change the system diverts up to 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels. In this way power is routed to the wheels that have the best traction. In really slippery conditions the driver can push a button on the dashboard to lock the driveline in a 50/50 torque split.
We drove all-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive models and in general driving we found the ride and handling to be slightly better in the 4WD versions. This might seem counterintuitive, but it was probably because there is lightly more weight in the back on the 4WD model making the weight balance better. What's more, on wet and slippery roads there was a distinct lack of wheel spin from the front wheels on the vehicles with 4WD. All told, the 4WD option is worthwhile.
The steering felt connected although it was a tad light in feel. The brakes were smooth and stopped the vehicle efficiently.
We did not have the opportunity to drive the base GL model with a four-cylinder engine. Judging from the performance of the V6-powered Tucson we expect performance to be anemic especially with an automatic transmission. If you're willing to do your own shifting then the four-cylinder GL with a five-speed manual would be more promising. However, Hyundai does not expect this to be a popular model. Next Page