We’re almost at the end of our long-term test of the 2017 Hyundai Tucson, and so far it’s been on a road trip to Texas, carried way too much luggage, and seen most of Los Angeles a couple times over. Production editor Erika Pizano recently took the bright orange crossover to Yosemite National Park for a week of camping and found it a great road trip companion.
The Tucson proved itself to be a good hauler that carried three people and all of their gear without issue. Pizano was impressed with the Tucson’s ability to haul her multiple bags, including a large one filled with food, and felt it works well as a family vehicle. She also liked the Tucson’s comfortable ride, but did notice the laggy throttle in Normal mode and wished the Tucson were more responsive, especially for highway passing and merging.
A week in the wilderness meant the Tucson would be subjected to Mother Nature’s fury. A few days before the return trip to Los Angeles, the vehicle was the victim of an odd incident involving ravens. Pizano and her family went out hiking, and when they returned they found ravens perched on every car in the parking lot. The birds had destroyed the windshield wipers by ripping the rubber pieces off the metal parts. One of the Tucson’s wipers was left in three pieces after a raven decided to play with it until it eventually tore the rubber right off.
When she returned to the office, Pizano checked to see if this was a rare occurrence. It turns out, ravens and other large birds like to play with rubber, and windshield wipers are some of their favorite targets. We replaced the Tucson’s windshield wipers with a new set, costing us $59.50.