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New parents know the delicate dance of driving with a baby in the back seat. Babies, smart little pumpkins that they are, often fall asleep in the car. But a sudden stop or lane change could wake them, making for a cranky infant and in turn, cranky parents. Anxious puppies and dogs who don’t like riding on four wheels can be similarly sensitive, requiring smooth acceleration and limo stops to keep them happy.
Someone at Hyundai who must surely have at least one kid or pet came up with the idea for Baby Mode, which “reduce[s] the sharpness of initial acceleration, smoothing out driver inputs for a gentler acceleration feeling for passengers.” In the new 2025 Hyundai Tucson, Baby Mode makes its debut as a selectable function of the My Drive powertrain options along with Eco, Sport, and Snow modes.
There’s a lot to like about the new Tucson, including a more rugged grille that fits the exterior glow-up. I’m also a fan of the new available panoramic curved display with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch infotainment display. Also new is an infrared camera that monitors driver attention and eye gaze to prevent crashes due to driver distractions.
Most of all, the move to replace some touch controls with physical buttons and knobs again (also in the new Santa Cruz) deserves a standing ovation. Per Hyundai’s promise to avoid the too-much-touchscreen trend, the brand is increasing the number of physical controls in the Tucson.
One might argue that smooth acceleration and considerate stopping motion is good practice whenever transporting passengers. Baby Mode seems to be a good way to keep the drive at an even pace without having to put any effort into it.
A Hyundai spokesperson told The Drive that the staff would be monitoring Baby Mode’s popularity and evaluating its addition to future models based on customer research, so stay tuned. Now, if someone could just invent a car seat that folds out into a bed to transport a sleeping baby into the house, that would be great.
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