Making its Hollywood debut in Sony Pictures’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, the Tucson stays on top of the Hyundai global sales charts with more than 7-million sold and some 15 346 units of the outgoing model sold in South Africa.
“We have had significant success with the Tucson in South Africa – it soon became the mainstay of our range after its local introduction in 2004. The new Tucson is another step up both in build and design quality, with a superior ride,” says Stanley Anderson, sales and operations manager at Hyundai Automotive South Africa.
Not surprisingly, the new model is bigger with boot space increased to 539-litres or 1 800 with the 60:40 split rear seats folded. In total, the Tucson is 150 mm longer, 15 mm wider and the wheelbase is 85 mm longer than the previous generation.
The styling follows the Hyundai design direction of ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ and, according to SangYup Lee, senior vice president and head of the Hyundai Global Design Centre: “Tucson’s advanced, experimental design is true to its pioneering spirit and raises the game in the industry’s most competitive segment.”
If magicians ‘do it with mirrors’ then car designers do it with lights and the Tucson has what the company calls ‘parametric jewels’ that appear throughout the design. Most notable is in the front grille where the initial view is of dark geometric patterns but, when the lights come on, it transforms into geometric jewel-like shapes. The LED daytime running lights are now integrated into the grille.
The ‘parametric jewels’ continue down the side of the vehicle and to the rear where they integrate into the wide tail lamps. The rear window wiper is also hidden from view, nestling under the spoiler.
South Africa will have two Premium specification and two Elite specification models to choose from with a choice of a naturally aspirated 2,0-litre petrol or a 2,0-litre turbo-diesel engine.
The Smartstream G 2.0 MPI petrol engine, linked to a 6-speed automatic transmission, does duty in the Premium, Executive and one of the Elite variants, while the Smartstream D 2.0 turbo-charged diesel engine, coupled with an 8-speed transmission, is used in the other Elite derivative.
The 2,0-litre petrol engine delivers 115 kW peak power at 6 200 r/min and 192 Nm peak torque at 4 500 r/min. The turbo-diesel offers 137 kW peak power at 4 000 r/min and 416 Nm maximum torque between 2 000 r/min and 2 750 r/min.
Hyundai claims fuel consumption of 8,9 /100 km for the petrol version and 7,9 l/100 km for the diesel in the combined cycle.
All four variants are driven through the front wheels with four drive modes – Eco, Smart, Normal and Sport –available, via a switch on the middle console.
Equipped with a range of comfort features, including Multi-Air Mode, three-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats and ventilated front seats for the Executive and Elite derivatives, Hyundai has upped the cabin ambience.
Other infotainment and connectivity features on the all-new Tucson include a premium sound system, a wireless charging pad in the centre console and front and rear USB ports.
Safety specification comes in the form of six crash bags, ISOFIX latching points on the outer rear bench seat along with anti-lock braking and the full gamut of driver aids.
In the Executive derivative there is Blind-spot Collision Warning (BCW): and Rear Cross-traffic Alert (RCA), while Elite variants add Blind-spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Follow Assist (LFA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC), Rear Cross-traffic Collision Assist (RCCA) and Fatigue Detection/Driver Attention Warning (DAW).
New Hyundai Tucson Pricing:
Tucson 2.0 NU Premium AT
| R519,900.00
|
Tucson 2.0 NU Executive AT
| R569,900.00
|
Tucson 2.0 NU Elite AT
| R634,900.00
|
Tucson R2.0 Elite Turbodiesel AT
| R699,900.00
|
All new Hyundai Tucsons are sold with a 7-year/200 000 km manufacturer’s warranty, a 6-year/90 000 km service plan and roadside assistance for 7 years or 150 000 km.
