There was some picking of nits, most notably with the optional $1750 navigation system -- Hyundai's first -- which could take too long to boot up and be hard to see during the day and too bright at night. The power tailgate was cited as too slow, and the 2008 model didn't come with a backup camera option -- a must-have in the segment.
And while the overall exterior look is clean and nonthreatening, the Veracruz almost blends in too much and falls short of making a design statement.
Gas mileage was nothing to shout about either, with an overall combined fuel economy of 16.1 mpg, south of the EPA estimated 18 mpg combined. For context, our similarly sized long-term Mazda CX-9 returned 17 mpg. It's always important to note, however, that we tend to be leadfoots in our test vehicles to better evaluate them under acceleration.
In the end, though, we found much to like and not so much to carp about during our year-long ride in the Veracruz. And despite it not exactly hitting its sales stride thus far, Hyundai has created an SUV we deemed more than worthy of consideration in the three-row-crossover segment. Now, about that name...How about Genesis X?
From The Logbook
"The 'Cruz doesn't bug you by trying to be "modern" or "techno"; it just does its job well. Not long ago, I put nearly 1000 miles on it while driving -- with five Persian girls aboard -- to Santa Cruz and back. Everyone enjoyed the ride (I, ahem, most of all)."
- Arthur St. Antoine
"It took all of 10 minutes to get to Chronic Tacos-and to convince my brother that, Hyundai or no, this Veracruz is a pretty sweet ride. It's not hard to do, with a quality-looking interior, rockin' stereo, ultra-smooth transmission, and enough power to feel impressive. His chief complaint was the styling, insisting the Veracruz looks like "something an old lady would drive." Can't win 'em all, I guess."
- Rory Jurnecka