If you built a better mousetrap, would the world beat a path to your liftgate? Sorry for the mangled metaphor, but I was thinking about this after turning on a nifty touch of the 2017 Hyundai Tucson Limited AWD: the Smart Liftgate (hands-free) feature.
Standard on the Value Edition, Night, Sport, and Limited trim levels, this innovation isn’t terribly new, having been available since 2015. But despite having the Tucson for about four months now in Motor Trend’s long-term garage, I hadn’t utilized this genius creation.
Here’s the improvement: Whereas many such systems require some sort of gesture, such as waving a foot underneath the rear bumper, all you have to do to operate the Tucson’s is stand there. Literally, just stand there. As soon as you’re within the proximity detector (it detects the key fob in your hands, pocket, purse, or whatever), a distinctive beeping sound warns you the hatch is about to open. After a few seconds, the hatch opens.
The audible warning gives you plenty of time to either move out of the way or continue on toward the driver’s door if you’re approaching the car from the rear. As soon as you’re out of the small area of detection, the beeping stops, and the liftgate doesn’t open.
You tell me what’s simpler: Waving one foot around in front of you like you’re doing the hokey pokey while trying not to set paper grocery bags on the rain-soaked tarmac or just standing by patiently while the liftgate does its thing?
Sure, this is absolutely one of those “first world” features that adds complexity and cost for minimal gain, but at today’s car prices, these features can make the cost seem a little more worth it. And as a bonus, the no-gesture action means people with limited mobility or with balance issues can use it, too.
Road Tripping
Associate online editor Michael Cantu recently put almost 3,000 miles on the Tucson while traipsing all over the American Southwest. What stood out for him?
“Wind noise! There was an almost constant high-pitched sound coming from the Tucson above 50 or 60 mph,” he said. “It was pretty bad.” I’m guessing he encountered plenty of crosswind that helped create that sound. I notice it when driving through consistently cross-windy mountain passes in the L.A. area, but it’s not that noticeable during normal driving.
Overall, Cantu thought well of the Tucson as a road trip vehicle. It swallows plenty of cargo and has comfortable seats. His only big wish was that it had adaptive cruise control. Don’t roll your eyes too hard, purists. Eventually, adaptive cruise will be on almost every vehicle sold.
Read more about our 2017 Hyundai Tucson Limited AWD:
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