That last point brings to light another Tucson surprise, just how smooth its ride is. The fully independent setup, with MacPherson struts and coil springs up front and a trailing arm with multi-link and coil springs in the rear, is easily best in class for ride quality, eliminating the bumps and dips that make up the majority of urban road surfaces. Most SUVs are overly firm in this respect, but the Tucson got me

I drove up, down, around and over some wonderfully winding roads, and the little Hyundai felt glued to the pavement, completely stable no matter what I threw at it. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

to my destination feeling no worse for wear. No doubt this has something to do with its hydraulic shock absorbers and anti-roll bar at both ends. You'd think a comfortable suspension setup would mean less than athletic driving dynamics, but the opposite is true once again. I'd even be willing to take on any of its top-selling competitors in the slalom. I drove up, down, around and over some wonderfully winding roads, and the little Hyundai felt glued to the pavement, completely stable no matter what I threw at it. Its power-assisted rack and pinion steering turns in predictably and quickly, making light work of heavy cornering loads.

It's not exhilarating, but power from the 173-hp 2.7-liter V6 engine comes on smooth and linear. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

The suspension is actually a good match for its top-line 2.7-liter V6 engine. With 173 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 178 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, getting on the throttle results in an enthusiastic burst of acceleration. It's not exhilarating, which would probably be overkill in this class, but power comes on smooth and linear, while the 4-speed automatic is well suited to the job at hand. Normally at this point I'd complain that the Tucson should be equipped with a modern 5-speed automatic, but I didn't notice any drama shifting from gear to gear nor any cog hunting throughout my drive. The addition of Hyundai's Sportronic manual-mode is a major bonus in this class too, as only Mitsubishi offers hands-on automatic operation with its Outlander.