2011 Tuscon Beats out everyone in its Class.. Happy Hyundai Oak Lawn

Hyundai Tucson

Base Price: $20,999; as tested: $28,799
The Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage share many components, so I can only attribute the Tucson’s victory in this category to its styling and the fact that it has a lower base price than its South Korean kissing cousin. It has essentially the same platform and engine as the Kia and, behind the wheel, there isn’t much to separate the two. Like the Sportage, the Tucson brought to TestFest this year had a six-speed automatic transmission and a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine that develops 176 horsepower. This is considerably more than the third entry in this category – the Mitsubishi RVR.
Funnily enough, the Tucson actually features slightly less interior volume than the Sportage, but both come well-equipped. Elsewhere, standard equipment on the Tucson includes engineering features such as a downhill brake control and hill start assist. These two make the driving experience much more civilized; one will help you descend hills and maintain control and the other allows you to ascend hills from a dead stop without rolling backward. The Tucson also has a standard feature that should be mandatory on all cars sold in Canada: heated front seats – with two settings, no less. That said, so does the Sportage.
In terms of value for money, the Tucson has it over the Mitsubishi RVR in spades, and is probably the logical winner in this category.

Kia Sportage

Base price: $21,995; as tested: $33,195
The Sportage at TestFest came fully loaded, thus the $33,000-plus price tag. As far as I’m concerned, it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other when it comes to engineering features and driving experience. But the Sportage’s higher price tag probably made the difference here.

AJAC

2011 Mitsubishi RVR

Mitsubishi RVR

Base Price: $21,998; as tested: $28,498
Although it finished last, this was my choice. The RVR provided a smoother ride, had better assembly quality, a more linear power delivery and featured a nicer sense of balance. Unfortunately, it also had almost 30 less horsepower than the Tucson and didn’t really come close in terms of what you get for the money.