2009 Hyundai Veracruz Limited AWD

Pros

Value, amenities, style, cabin noise, power liftgate

Cons

No Aux input, gas mileage, "coolbox"

Purchased As New

So, we bought our 2009 Veracruz Limited AWD in deep blue from Towne Hyundai in Denville, NJ. We actually purchased 2 vehicles from them, so we ended up getting a pretty good price on them. The Verzcruz we bought has the Navigation package (which ultimately removes the AUX input) and just about every bell and whistle you can think of, including BlueConnect for wireless, integrated cell phone use while driving.

The A/C take a bit of riding to get up and running as cold as my husband likes it, but I don't see that as an issue. Gas mileage could be better, but I don't know how much you can expect from an AWD automatic heavy LUV (luxury utility vehicle). If we end up with 17 average, we'll be happy. The coolbox in the center console is pretty much a joke though. All it does is pump the A/C in there to keep it chilly... Doesn't usually work because whatever you're trying to keep cold often ends up covering the vent. They need a nifty vent cover to prevent that from ocurring.

Also, when you upgrade to the NAV they remove the CD changer and AUX option, which is annoying because I have an iPhone and want to listen to my audiobooks through the stereo like I do in my Sonata. Ah well, can't have it all. 5th Avenue Electronics has a special kit to integrate iPod/iPhone use into the car stereo for about $250... I may end up doing that.

Last for the cons, it's not possible to get NAV and rear seat DVD, so we're probably gonna end up springing for the entertainment addition at 5th Avenue Electronics as well. Doesn't necessarily bother me though, considering we purchased this vehicle brandy-new for about $35K. No matter how you slice, that's WAY less than any other comparative LUV on the market.

And now for all the positives, there are probably too many to list. As long as you have purchased your vehicle from a decent dealer (I will admit they're hard to find), you can get your Hyundai fixed for just about any problem that occurs with it for the first 60K miles for FREE. Can't say that about any other car maker, except maybe Kia, but I'm not really a fan.

Some of my favorite features of our Veracruz are the back up sensors, the power rear liftgate, the light up door sills, the cockpit lighting in general (not everyone is fond of the blue, but my husband and I adore it), the NavTeq navigation (sometimes it glitches, but that's to be expected on anything that is satellite dependant), the memory driver's seat (so great for when you have two drivers like we do), the automatic temperature controls, the separate rear seat temp controls and last, but definitely not least, the keyless entry and operation. I just leave my keys in my purse or pocket and I can operate my vehicle without having to dig around looking for the remote. It's simply fabulous.

The bottom line here is that the positives far outweigh the negatives for this vehicle. From a logical perspective, it's the best choice if you're in the market for a mid-size LUV that you can drive into the ground. As far as re-sale value goes, everyone always gripes about it, but in truth, no car is a good investment. They all depreciate, some a bit faster than others, but I would venture to say that American-made cars are going to start depreciating quite a bit faster now that the American auto industry has pretty much collapsed.

My father drives an Escalade that he paid more than double for and my Veracruz has every feature that the Caddy does, less the back up camera (unecessary) and the pop-out step plates. For the additional warranty, I'm still in a MUCH better financial position after having purchased our Veracruz. Performace of any SUV/LUV is limited because of the sheer weight of these vehicles. Gas mileage also suffers because of this and it's no surprise. Common knowledge for anyone capable of critical thought.

Note: I did not enter any reliability rating because we have only had the car a week or so and want to wait at least a year or two before judging that....read morehide

Pros

Lots of features, smooth ride

Cons

None!

Purchased As New

We bought this car last year after looking at some more "luxury" SUV's that cost more, and had way more miles. With Hyundai we were able to buy new, with a great warranty and style. I am often driving and think I see another Veracruz, then eventually realize..no it's a Lexus. The ride is so smooth and I love the keyless entry...put my keys in my purse and run 10 errands without ever getting them out....read morehide

Pros

Enough Room

Cons

Too many problem, and bad service. It is nightmare.

Purchased As New

Having Hyundai Veracruz is nightmare.
Since I bought this car I went to dealer too many times because of too many problems.
Some of problems are still not fixed yet, such as XM is still not working, door is shaking with noise, wheels have problem, and odor comes out from vent, .etc. Hyundai dealer service is so unacceptable. So, I contact Hyundai several times to get help, but I felt like they were playing with me. Hyundai did not do anything. Even though, I made service appointment at another Hyundai dealer with someone from Hyundai and waited about an hour, they ignore that too. If someone looking for a vehicle, don?t ever take a chance to buy Hyundai.
I strongly suggest not buying Hyundai. It is nightmare....read morehide

Pros

Was given $9500 off list in April '08

Cons

Gas is not as expected in mostly HW. Getting 17.5

Purchased As New

Traded in a '06 Tribeca. Wonderful car, gas mileage was great, no real problems for 60K. Subaru dealer very nice.
Veracruz: wife found this '08 at $9500 off list. Had everything including bluetooth and gas/brake/steering/seat memory adjustment, her biggies. It had 2K on it and was given $450 off for that. Bigger car, must hop up into seat. This had my options (trailer hitch - for a slide on carrier only) and decent stereo. No IPod hookup ! Currently getting 17.5 mpg (checked manually too) when Tribeca would be getting 19/20. Much heaver car but this is also a 7 passanger. So far we only have 3500 on it. Bought from different dealer where I already own a '07 SF. Nice, gets 22mpg mixed without air.
Dealer: The dealer I go to for the SF considers all cars are under "severe use" and is trying to convince me (been fixing my own car since '70) that I need hundreds of dollars of service (trans flush at 30K and axle flush too) to "maintain my car". Sorry dude I don't keep cars after 75K, factory maintenance says I don't need a $400 service at 30K. So already I have a severe difference with this dealer. Wrote to Hyundai and stated if I have to pay $3000 just to "maintain" my car to 60K, I'll buy another Audi or maybe a BMW and pay that money up front on a nicer car that includes regular service rather then $300 me every other oil change !
So see what the dealer is suggesting for service.
I would have never paid the $38K for the sticker price, yet. Not sure what the "trade in" is for these. We traded in an '02 Audi with 50K for the Tribeca and got a ton of money back. The $32K Tribeca with 60K we got $10.5K, but new cars at this time are going for many thousands below list. So that hurts resale.
The Veracurz is big inside, so is the 20gal gas tank. Last year's gas prices would put this out of my market at a $77 fill up. Under $2 gal. is fine. Especially since I'm seeing 17.5 mpg with a LOT of 55+ driving. As stated the Tribeca needed Plus gas but long trips it would go 21+ mpg. I have yet to see this go past 18.4mpg.
As a web guy I found out there are some "listed" problems with Hyundai cars: Some that shake and some that eat the rear right pads down to the rotors. Then Hyundai won't warranty them at 18-22K.
READ the warranty, 100K for power train, not radio, windows, power trunk and lots of other parts that can cost you hundreds to fix after the 3 year/36K expires.
My wife likes the car, she's the driver. I like my SF, no problems at 30K except the front rotor was shaking the wheel when stopping. I just replaced them with drilled/slotted rotors. Not worth the hassle with the dealer as that would be an "adjustment" and that's only good for 12K. My wife's front rotor had to be ground (under warranty) already, at 2500 ! But for years we owned Chryslers and the rotors/brakes went every 20K. So kind of use to that. Only replaced pads on the Tribeca, yep.. that's all for 60K...read morehide

Pros

Compare features to features this SUV is the best buy.

Cons

Some dealers still needs alot of work. They treat you like you are driving a GM

Purchased As New

I have this vehicle for about 6 months now. By far this is the best for $31k.

I have compared features to features with GMC Arcadia, CX-9, Buick Enclave, Acura MDX.

I ended up choosing the Veracruz because
1. after price negotiation with all the dealers. The Veracruz came up about $4000+ less then any other suv in this class. If you don't believe me. Just check it out on yahoo auto. select the same features like DVD, Nav, 4wd or 2wd. bla bla. The msrp for the veracruz is about $4,000 less then any vehicle in this class. Take that and start beating down the car dealers.

2. Safely. top pick rating from all

3. 5 years /60,000 miles bumper to bumper warranty and 10 years /100,000 miles power train. Can anyone beat that??? NOOOOO

4. Outstanding Comfort

5. Gas mileage is inline with GMC and CX-9...read morehide

Pros

has 3rd row seat, keyless entry/start, leather seats

Cons

EVERYTHING!

I've had mine for 17 months. Already had to replace the DVD player, fuel pump, stereo twice (waiting for the second one to come in so I can take it back in yet again to have it installed), 3 recalls, shifter was shifting, and not to mention ALL the hastle of taking it and finding a ride to pick it up and the time missed out on work. INCONVENIENCE! Looking to trade mine in!...read morehide

Pros

Subtle styling, smooth engine and transmission, mostly quiet and smooth driving, good comfort

Cons

Poor fuel economy at 13.7 MPG average, poor resale value, questionable reliability, poor brakes

This June my husband and I traded in our Honda Odyssey minivan for a Hyundai Veracruz and have owned it for less than 8 weeks so we can't say what our long term thoughts are. We will say what we like so far and what we don't like.

We mostly like the smooth ride and overall quietness of the cabin. The front seats are very comfortable, the rear seat are less so but still good for an SUV. The layout of the dash is clean and simple. The overall quality is mixed but only fair for what you pay. The cargo area is a good size relative to the outside dimensions. The door sills don't stick out like on our Honda Odyssey which always made our pants dirty, The engine and transmission are usually smooth, except on long uphill climbs or when passing a slow truck. The interior dash looks like a nearly exact copy of our friends Lexus RX350 which is a good thing because we like the Lexus dash.

At the top of the list of things we don't like so far is the poor gas mileage. The dealer said we should see mid 20's MPG but we don't even see 20 on the highway! We set the cruise control to 60 MPH to see what we would get on I-95 and the best we averaged was 18.9 MPG. When my husband shut the cruise off, the mileage dropped to 17.2. Around town we never see better than 14 and so far the computer shows an average of 13.7. We confirmed this at the gas station after filling up and doing some math and came to the average of about 13.5 MPG so the computer is pretty accurate. We complained to the dealer and they said it should get better with time and mileage. So far we have 3k miles and it has not improved a single bit. we will watch this closely as $4/gal gas becomes costly in this SUV.

We did a bit of research on the internet and found that all Hyundai's have very poor resale value and the Veracruz is no exception. I suggest you do some homework on this topic before buying a Hyundai. We did too late. It seems it's very hard to sell a used Hyundai because of the perception and reliability and because the warranty does not transfer! So far we have not had any problems but it is too soon to tell. The only items that we could find are a strange noise after start up and the brakes which feel weak. The magazine reviews were good but real owners tell a different story. Many owners on the internet complained about similar things- poor fuel economy, poor brakes, questionable relaibility, poor resale value among other things. We will see in a few months and we will be sure to write another review. Good luck. For now though, we suggest looking at the Chevy Traverse, Ford Flex, GMC Acadia, Lincoln, MXK, Buick Enclave, Honda Pilot, Ford Edge and others because we didn't and regret it. We feel a bit ripped off and wish we did more research first....read morehide