Tucson, pronounced tu:sa:n, is the second largest city in Arizona and joined the United States of America in 1854 becoming part of the American wild west. The Tucson is also a mid-sized SUV built by Hyundai that has recently been given a makeover.
The distinctive exterior design of the all-new Tucson, with its crisp geometric angles, creases and edges, has been compared to the Lamborghini Urus and if I squint at the side on view, I can see some resemblance, but this is where the familiarly ends. There are 14 model variants available in the Tucson range and I recently spent a week in the entry level SUV, which is simply known as ‘Tucson.’
Hyundai Tucson interior
On the interior I really liked the wrap around highlight that incorporates the front vents and follows across both the front and rear doors combined with the soft feel plastics, as it gives the Tucson the feel of a more expensive car. I was less keen though on the gloss black highlights on the doors, centre console and dash as this attracted dust and showed finger marks.
I also thought the design of the leather steering wheel was distinctive looking, but like many other car manufactures the face on the button that designates the voice control activation is a masculine-looking silhouette. As with other Hyundai vehicles the voice control only works when Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is connected. The driver’s dash has analogue dials with a small digital screen between them and for me the taco was around the wrong way as it moved in an anti-clockwise direction.
The cloth covered seats look good, feel nice and most importantly smell nice, something not all cloth covered seats manage to achieve. The driver’s seat has 2-way lumbar support, combined with manual recline, height and forward/back adjustment while the passenger seat has manual recline and forward/back adjustment only.
From a practicality standpoint there is a deep storage cubby under the arm rest, two large cup holders in the centre console, with one being deeper than the other, and good sized drink bottle storage in front door cubbies. At the front of the centre console there is a storage area for your phone with wireless charging for compatible devices plus two USB ports and one 12V outlet.
This Tucson has the smaller 8” touchscreen infotainment and no sat nav, but you do get wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto as standard. Media sources in addition the these include AM/FM radio, Bluetooth and USB music. Other features that remind you that this is the entry level model of the range include single zone climate control, no smart key entry system and you even have to put the key into the ignition to start the Tucson. I missed keyless entry/keyless go because there is nothing worse than fishing through your handbag to find your car key.
The rear seats have a plentiful amount of head and leg room for two adults to comfortably sit back there and they also have manual recline adjustment. For the younger passengers there are two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but in reality, only enough room for two car seats to fit.
There is a fold down central arm rest with two rigid drink bottle holders at the front of it and also good sized drink bottle storage in the door cubbies. Rear passengers get two central rear air vents with manual open/close and direction control and under these there are two USB ports.
The boot lid is manually opened with some power assistance and reveals an adequately sized boot that would accommodate the weekly shop and a stroller. The boot has four tie down points, two hooks and one 12V and a simple release mechanism to fold down the 40:60 split fold rear seats. The whole boot floor can be removed and underneath is a full-size spare tyre and if you removed this you could store a lot of gear under the boot floor.
On the road I found the cabin was quiet, the ride was nice and that the 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine was acceptable. The engine drives the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission, has a maximum of 115 kW of power and 192 Nm of torque with three drive modes (Eco, Normal, Sports). It runs on 91 RON, is E10 compatible and the official combined fuel consumption is 8.1L/100km and for my week I used just 5.2L/100km.
The current Hyundai Tucson model range does not have an ANCAP safety rating yet. This base model comes with the majority of the Hyundai SmartSense active safety features including Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Lane Following Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Safe Exit Warning and Smart Cruise Control with Stop and Go.
There are also front airbags for the driver and front passenger, side (thorax) airbags for the driver and front passenger, side curtain airbags on the first and second rows and a centre airbag. This Tucson has a standard rear view camera with rear sensors only and auto lights, but no auto wipers.
The Hyundai iCare program offers owner benefits including; Lifetime Service Plan, 5 Year Unlimited Km Warranty, complimentary Roadside Assist for 12 months on new vehicles, 1,500km complimentary first service, a dedicated Customer Care Centre, and myHyundai – an exclusive owner website.
When servicing with Hyundai, customers will also receive a Roadside Support Plan for up to 10 years, a 10 Year Sat Nav Update Plan, and more. The Tucson requires a service every 15,000km or once a year, whichever comes first and the first five services can be purchased up front for $1,595.
Tucson Arizona was once a wild place to live, but the Hyundai Tucson is less so thanks to its design features and safety inclusions. The starting price for the entry level Tucson is $34,500 excluding dealer delivery and on-road costs and this was also the as tested price for the SUV I drove. Visit your preferred Hyundai dealer for more information about the new Tucson range or configure your Tucson online now.
Pros and Cons of the Hyundai Tucson
| Pros | Cons |
| The exterior and interior design | No sat nav |
| The inclusion of many active safety features | No keyless entry or keyless start |
| Quiet cabin | Only has single zone climate control |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.