Melissani Lake, Kefalonia, Greece Deeply dippy light and me to
The vibrant blue waters of Melissani Lake – which sits inside a cave on the Ionian island of Kefalonia – will blow your mind. In Greek mythology, it is known as the Cave of Nymphs, the female spirits who embodied a sacred space. The waters of the lake,
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which measures 130ft across, are practically transparent.
The cave is made up of two halls
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with an island in the middle and is thought to be around 20,000 years
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old. You reach it by small boat through an underground tunnel. When
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the sun shines on it, it is truly out of this world.
visitgreece.gr
plus an automatic gearbox. Manuals are available but not on this full hybrid model.
Entry level trim in the UK is SE Connect, moving up to Premium and then Ultimate. Ours is basically Premium spec which puts its price on the road at £34,455.
Seems a bit steep for a Hyundai but the equipment list is prodigious and it’s a price that’s in line with rivals such as the Mazda CX-5 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
Gone are the days when Hyundais (and their Korean Kia cousins) were simply bargains with wonky plastic interiors but long warranties. They’re now genuine rivals to the best Europe can offer.
Back to the Volvo XC40, my favourite SUV in this size bracket. The Tucson’s interior, while not quite having the Scandi touch, is still pretty impressive. Soft-touch plastics are everywhere, metallic and piano black finishes are much more appealing than those in a Tiguan, and the seats are clad in comfortable perforated leather.
You get a large central touchscreen that includes phone mirroring and, joy of joys, simple to operate separate heating and air conditioning controls.
The driving instruments are digital and easy to read. There’s plenty of head and legroom for all occupants even if the front passenger is tall, and the outer rear seats are heated. The luggage space is generous too, at 616 litres with the seats in place and 1,795 litres with them folded.
Hyundai has wisely focused on making the Tucson comfortable rather than sporty. There are driver modes from Eco to Sport but the last of those makes little difference apart from stiffening up the steering and making the dials go red.
Eco does the job nicely and you’ll have light, quick steering and a ride comfort that deals well with most bumps and ruts.
If you’re really wanting to be environmentally friendly, have off-street parking with somewhere you can put a wallbox charger and you’re a company car driver, then waiting for the PHEV version of the Tucson might be worthwhile.
If none of the above apply then this model, or any mild-hybrid version, should suit just fine.