New Zealand’s favourite Hyundai, the Tucson, was recently launched in new fourth generation guise. David Thomson tries the N-Line variant for size.
What’s new?
From decidedly different, to mainstream, and back to decidedly different. That, in a nutshell, is the story of the Hyundai Tucson from the 2004 original to the bold fourth-generation machine now on sale.
Back when the Tucson first appeared, decidedly different could also have been defined as rather quirky. Hyundai in those days was a rising star, still emerging from the fringes on to the world stage, and this often showed in its designs.
Now the Korean company is a fully established global player, and currently the world’s fourth-top brand for total new vehicle sales (bettered only by Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford). With market leadership comes confidence, and with that comes a willingness to lead rather than follow in many aspects of design.
Drivesouth tests of the Kona EV and Ioniq 5 earlier this year have demonstrated Hyundai’s position as one of the world leaders in the EV revolution. This test, of the new Tucson, puts the spotlight on a vehicle that leads in different areas, and particularly those of exterior and interior design.
Covering its bases for fleet as well as private sales, Hyundai has presented its new Tucson to the New Zealand market in no fewer than 11 different variants, incorporating three engine options, four trim levels, and a choice between front and all-wheel-drive within the range.
The engines comprise a 115kW/192Nm 2.0-litre petrol, a 132kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol, and 100kW/320Nm1.6-litre turbo-diesel. The trim levels are standard, Active, Elite, and the premium duo of Limited (which is luxury-oriented) and N-Line (sportier).
Prices open at $46,990 for the base model 2.0-litre petrol Tucson 2WD, and top-out at $72,990 for the 1.6-litre Diesel Limited AWD. This test is focused near the top of the ladder, with the $68,990 1.6-litre petrol N-Line.
What’s it like to look at?
Standing out from the pack visually in the increasingly crowded mid-sized SUV segment is no easy task, but Hyundai has given it a great and successful shot with this new Tucson.
The vehicle embodies an international award-winning design approach that Hyundai calls Sensuous Sportiness. This seems to allow considerable flexibility, as one of the vehicles that showcased the new approach — the Hyundai Prophecy concept car — was all swoops and curves, whereas the new Tucson has an overtly angular look.
Sharp creases and geometric lines are especially prominent at the nose and along the flanks. There’s a jewelled finish to both the grille (echoing that of the larger Santa Fe) and the light clusters, with the headlights housed in clusters within the lower bonnet, and the running lights largely hidden within the grille except when illuminated.
The tail is more conventional, but with a distinctive claw-like pattern to the rear light clusters, which are linked by a light-bar that runs across the tailgate. Other signs of attention to detail include the integration of the Hyundai logo into the rear tail glass, and the out-of-sight placement of the rear wiper.
Finished in the fashionable colour of the moment — grey — the test car sat on the 235/50 tyres and sharply patterned 19-inch alloys that are standard for the N-Line. Flush-mounted roof rails, discreet plastic side mouldings and rear scuff plates are also fitted, while N-Line badging is incorporated into the front grille as well as appearing more conventionally on the vehicle’s flanks.
What’s it like inside?
Freshness is evident in in the interior design, too, and it is most pronounced on the premium Limited and N-Line variants. These both take a fully-digital main instrument cluster as well a 10.25-inch centre touchscreen. They also dispense with a conventional gearshift in favour of a push-button gear selection arrangement mounted on a curved insert on the centre console.
The N-Line cabin is trimmed in dark colours above as well as below the window line, with the main contrast features being gloss-black inserts, red contrast stitching, and patterned cloth inserts on the dash, splashed with red on the passenger’s side.
There’s no shortage of soft-touch surfacing, and the front seats — power operated, heated and chilled — are trimmed with artificial leather for the bolsters, and a perforated suede-like fabric for the cushions. A bevelled finish to the otherwise conventional indicator and wiper stalks is a further piece of clever detailing that extends the exterior design themes into the cabin. Storage options up front include an impressively larger centre bin, and a deep cubby at the base of the centre console where the wireless charge pad and dual USB and 12v charge socket are located.
Rear-seat occupants have considerably more space than on the previous Tucson, and the biggest gain, in legroom, is achieved despite no substantive change in wheelbase. The rear seat trimming is pleasingly plush too, and the provision of seat heaters and a separate rear temperature control are premium touches.
Luggage capacity with the rear seats raised is a commendable 620-litres, and that figure is all the more impressive given there’s a full-sized spare wheel under the boot floor. The rear seats are split 60-40 and when both are folded down, capacity extends to 1860 litres.
What comes as standard?
The standard features list for the N-Line Tucson includes keyless entry and push-button start, the digital instrument cluster, the 10.25 inch centre touchscreen, satellite navigation, an eight-speaker premium sound system, wireless phone charging, and smartphone mirroring. As well as the four heated seats, there is a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and auto lights and wipers.
There are a couple of odd absences on the equipment list, these being a power-opening function for the tailgate, and a head-up display for the driver.
The Tucson’s active safety array is comprehensive, covering such items as active cruise control and leading vehicle departure alert, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring and front and rear collision avoidance, rear cross traffic and alert, auto-dipping headlight, and autonomous emergency braking.
What’s it like to drive?
Settling in behind the wheel, the driving position is comfortable, and elevated in typical SUV-style. The N-Linebadged sports steering wheel and its associated buttons and paddle shift controls are neatly positioned, visibility is good, and the main display screens are clear, easy to operate and extensively customisable too.
Push the start button, and the engine reveals itself as silent at idle. That refined mechanical demeanour is maintained once under way too, unless the engine is asked to work really hard.
I’ve experienced the push-button gear selector regime previously, in Hyundai-specific deployment in the larger Santa Fe, and in other guises on vehicles of different marques that have adopted the same approach. It requires minimal thought to master. The drive-mode select toggle (eco, normal and sport) is positioned alongside the main gear selection controls, as is the centre-lock button for the four-wheel-drive system.
Low-fuss and smooth-shifting, the gearbox can be left to its own devices most of the time but may be driver-operated via the paddle-shift controls. Of the various drive modes, I found ‘‘normal’’ the best all-round choice; ‘‘eco’’ is adequate for gentle round town driving or cruising, and ‘‘sport’’ is more aggressive but sometimes delays upshifts more than is needed to maximise accelerative punch.
Though N-Line specification has a sporting slant, one the key attributes of the test car was its open-road refinement. Road noise is particularly well suppressed, even on coarse-chip surfaces.
The new Tucson N-Line is a better and far more engaging steer than the majority of its mid-sized SUV rivals. The steering is well-weighted and reasonably precise, and when pressed, the test car pitched into corners nicely, gripped strongly, and maintained balance. It’s every-inch a crossover SUV mind, feeling quite tall, and exhibiting a moderate amount of body roll.
Heading off the tarmac, composure is nicely maintained on gravel. There’s a modicum of soft-roading capability too, though with 170mm of ground clearance, that centre lock function for the 4WD system is more likely to get a workout on a skifield access road than off the beaten track.
Finally, a quick word about economy. The Tucson’s standard cycle figure of 6.9l/1000km is good for a mid-sized petrol-powered SUV, and in achieving a 7.2l/100km return, Drivesouth managed a result much closer to the ‘‘official’’ result than is normal on a road test.
Verdict
Bold and assured styling may be what is attracting attention, but there is far more to the new Tucson than that. Spacious, refined, and dynamically assured, it is a fine all-round effort by Hyundai.
