Hyundai has expanded its model line in South Africa with the arrival of the stylish Tucson SUV, which slots in below the Santa Fe in terms of price and size. The Tucson is available in three derivatives — a 4X2 two litre 104kW petrol engine with manual transmission, a 129kW 4X4 2,7 litre petrol V6 mated to an auto gearbox, and a two litre common-rail turbodiesel, generating 82,5 kW working through an auto gearbox. All models come standard with dual airbags and ABS brakes with EBD (electronic brake-force-distribution), while the 4X4 versions also come with traction control.
The 4X4 Tucsons employ on-demand four-wheel-drive, with torque split 80/20% front and rear during normal driving. If the front wheels start losing traction a gee-whiz computer allocates increasingly more torque to the rear wheels. A 4WD Lock button in the cabin enables the driver to engage four wheel drive at less than 30km/hr, splitting torque on a 50/50 basis. When speed reaches 40km/hr, the system disengages and the traction mode reverts to variable all-wheel-drive, but will switch back to locked four-wheel-drive again as soon as the speedo needle drops below the 30km/hr mark. Once the 4WD Lock button is disengaged, the car reverts to its standard all-wheel-drive format. The Hyundai TCS (traction control system) is always active unless the driver hits the TCS OFF button.
Despite the Tucson being very affordably priced, the models we drove all seemed solidly built, and the designers haven’t skimped on the little wagon’s specifications. It’s fitted with 16″ alloy wheels and disc brakes all round, and other standard features include cruise control, central locking, electric windows, a trip computer, a luggage net, a roof carrier, climate control, a CD/MP3 player/radio and leather upholstery. The 4X4 versions also include a sunroof in the package. While all offer excellent value for the money, the bottom-of-the-range 4X2 two litre petrol version struck us as being the pick of the bunch.
The Hyundai Tucson is aimed squarely at the soft-roader market that includes the Land Rover Freelander, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander. Recent surveys have shown the Korean manufacturer’s products to be every bit as good as the rest, yet their pricing remains significantly lower than the opposition. At R194 900 for the Hyundai Tucson 2,0 litre 4X2, R254 900 for the V6 and R259 900 for the turbodiesel, they deserve to do very, very well.
The Hyundai Tucson comes with a three-year/60 000km full maintenance plan and a three-year/100km manufacturers warranty.