2008 Sport/Utility of the Year Contenders

Hyundai upgrades from a company that competes with Toyota and Honda at used-car prices to one that sells Lexus luxury and refinement at Toyota prices with its new Veracruz. This big, seven-passenger crossover sport/utility further solidifies the upstart South Korean manufacturer's reputation for providing quality and luxury at bargain prices.

The cordovan leather seats are stylish and well made, and the topline Limited trim model has a long list of features, including Bluetooth, adjustable pedals, driver-side power lumbar control, analog aux input, mood lighting that includes classy step-plate "Veracruz" emblem lighting in blue, and a navigation system. There's a nice leather-wrapped, power-adjustable steering wheel and plenty of front-seat storage bins for phones, iPods, parking cards, and all the detritus we carry around these days.

The third row is for kids only, with more headroom than the Mazda CX-9's, but less leg- and shoulder-room than in the capacious Buick Enclave. Some editors found the second-row seats hard. Taller editors found the front row short on headroom. Overall, though, the Veracruz is a right-size family-mover, luxurious and comfortable, if a bit bland. It was obviously designed from the inside out. Most of the exterior styling is okay, although the rear-end is a bit droopy, probably designed to avoid a minivan-like tailgate.

The 3.8-liter engine isn't as powerful as the smaller V-6s among our contenders, however, and it feels lazier in its responsiveness and delays downshifts too long under hard acceleration. The ride is firm and the steering quick, with good feedback, but you'll feel some kickback on rough roads. We observed up to 14.7 mpg on the dash readout, the closest we got to Hyundai's EPA numbers.

As a sport/utility and minivan alternative in the large-crossover segment, the Hyundai Veracruz is better executed than many of its American and Japanese competitors. It's not groundbreaking and it has no cutting-edge engineering technology, so it'll have to settle for being a well-regarded contender in this year's Sport/Utility of the Year race.