Car review: Hyundai Tucson

2018 Hyundai Tucson Review

The new Hyundai Tucson is one of South Africa’s fastest-growing SUV sellers on the market, mainly because of its safety, security and reasonable pricing.In fact, the new Tucson has one of the best crash test scores when it comes to crossover SUVs.The all-new Tucson has an updated look and features a few interesting characteristics such as Apple Carplay and a hands-free boot lift.

Performance specs and prices

The new car comes standard with front-wheel drive and an auto windscreen deicer for those cold winter mornings. There is an all-wheel drive system available, but this is a costly extra at aroundR17 200.

• The Hyundai Tucson starts at R379 900 for the 2.0 NU Premium manualwhich features the baseline 2.0-litre four cylinder that makes 164-hp. This could feel a bit sluggishbecause the car is heavy for that engine output power.

• The top of the range starts at R604 900 for the 1.6 T GDI ELITE DCT SPORT, which has a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, punching out 175-hp. Theseven-speeddual-clutch automatic gets the car going quickly if you need it to.

Exterior and interior

The exterior of new Tucson starts with the basic SE model body kit, with moderate exterior trims and the standard 18-inch wheels. Fortunately, it doesn’t end there - the SEL model has a few extra chrome exterior trims, the far sportier looking 19-inch wheels and an optional Panoramic sunroof that expands the total length of the vehicle. The car also comes standard with day-time running LEDs and high-performance headlights, as well fog lights that work well at night. This car is definitely one of the best head-turners in its category.

The interioris modern with a moderate luxury feel and includes some valuable features. The biggest noticeable difference from the predecessor is the standard 5.0-inch infotainment system, which is surprisingly quick to react. There is also a larger 8.0-inchthat is for the Apple diehards: AnApple Carplay system which is one of the best on the market right now. Having the infotainment systems allows you to have full Bluetooth compatibilities and hands-free.

The car comes with the standard six speaker Hyundai audio system, but there is a R19 700 eight-speaker Infinity audio system,which really packs out a clean powerful sound.

The car comes with a comfortable five seats with reasonably good space in every seating position. The front seats are power adjustable seats that includes heating and ventilation.

The vehicle also has optional blind spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert system. Controls and the layout are very clearly marked and easy to use from both driver and passenger positions. Unfortunately, there is a considerable amount of hard plastic that certainly doesn’t give a luxurious“Bentley Bentayga” feel, but it’s not absolutely terrible either.

The steering wheel looks good and feels firm with full steering wheel control, as well as the on/off park distance control system, which is an optional extra.With the two-wheel drive system you can get a huge 513 litres of space on the boot. The four-wheel drive system has less boot space, but still offers a reasonable488 litres of space - still bigger than most of its rivals.

Driver Assistance systems

The Tucson has Driver Assistance systems covered. The car is well balanced for its size and very comfortable car to drive in. The car comes with many optional extras such as cruise control, park distance controland a speed-sensitive, automatic door locking system that will indicate if you reach a speed of 15km/h. The car also comes with a very handy safety feature, the blind spot detection, which uses very sensitive rear sensors to monitor your blind spot.

Overall verdict of the 2018 Hyundai Tucson

If safety and security are your main concern, then the new Tucson is a good option to consider.It’s one of the most comfortable and best looking in its class, and one of the top rivals. It ticks all the boxes for convenience, safety and reliability,all in an affordable package.

All prices include VAT