Hyundai TUCSON
2016 (16) - 1.7 CRDi Blue Drive SE Nav SUV 5dr Diesel Manual Euro 6 (s/s) (116 ps)
Hyundai TUCSON
2022 - 1.6 TGDi SE Connect 5dr 2WD
If you’ve decided that a mid-size SUV is the car for you, the Hyundai Tucson should be high on your list. It’s spacious enough for a family of five while offering great value and a comfortable, easy-to-understand interior. The current version of the car (sold new from 2020) has a striking exterior that really stands out.
The current Tucson has been sold new since 2020, when it replaced a version sold from 2015 to 2020. This latest version is completely new and you can easily tell it apart by its much smaller headlights and the LED strips between the bars of the front grille, for extra illumination and style. You can choose from petrol, mild-hybrid, full-hybrid, or plug-in-hybrid power, and a manual or automatic gearbox. The plug-in hybrid also has four-wheel drive. Trim and equipment packages include the popular SE Connect, sporty N Line and luxurious Ultimate.
The older version of the Tucson was updated in 2018 with new styling details, including a larger front grille, as well as improved tech, particularly for safety. You can find this generation of Tucson with a wide range of petrol and diesel engines, and with a manual or automatic gearbox. The 2.0 CRDi diesel model is available with four-wheel drive, which helps if you need to tow a trailer or caravan. There are lots of trim and equipment packages: SE is the most popular, Premium SE is at the top of the range and the N Line model adds a bit of sportiness to the car’s looks.
You’ll find lots of useful tech in all models of the current Tucson, including a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, sat nav and climate control. Every model also gives you cruise control, a digital driver’s display in place of traditional dials, and a rear-view camera. The top-spec Ultimate model gets heated and ventilated leather seats, adaptive cruise control with a full-length glass sunroof to let in extra light and a heated steering wheel for those chilly winter mornings.
If you’re looking at the older version of the Tucson, cars sold from 2018 to 2020 have most of the same features as the current version, though the infotainment system’s graphics don’t look quite as polished. Models sold from 2015 to 2018 are also well equipped and many models have sat nav and cruise control.
According to official figures, the petrol version of the newest Tucson can give you a fuel economy of up to 43mpg, the mild-hybrid 44 mpg and the full-hybrid 49mpg. The plug-in hybrid can give up to 201mpg with a fully charged battery and has a zero-emission electric-only range of up to 31 miles.
Older Tucson petrol models can give you an average of 38-44mpg and diesels can return between 43mpg and 61mpg, depending on the engine and gearbox combination. For both current and older versions of the Tucson, you’ll find Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax) and insurance costs are very reasonable for this type of car.
Rivals you might want to consider include the Ford Kuga, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, among many others. The Hyundai isn’t quite as spacious as the Toyota, nor as efficient as the Honda or as engaging to drive as the Ford, but it’s still a practical, well-built and generously equipped car that’s great value, comfortable and very user-friendly.
Both versions of the Tucson are very spacious, and you’ll comfortably fit four tall adults for a long trip. The back seats are also wide enough for three teenagers, so the Tucson could be ideal if you’ve got a family of five and don’t want a bigger, seven-seat car. Both versions have huge boots – you’d need a very large shopping trip or luggage for a two-week holiday to fill them. The back seats also fold down if you need more space. The current car’s boot is a couple of shopping bags bigger than that of the old car, but the full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid models lose a small amount of boot space because of battery storage.
Both current and older versions of the Tucson have full five-star ratings from safety organisation Euro NCAP. The current car’s standard safety features include automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and a driver-attention monitor. Older cars don’t lack safety features though – all have six airbags, traction and stability control plus hill-start assist. The second-tier SE model adds lane-keeping assist and cruise control with a speed limiter, and higher spec models have similar features to the latest car.
The only hybrid version of the older Tucson is the mild-hybrid 2.0 CRDi diesel, which has an extra electrical system that helps improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions. By contrast, the current Tucson is available with mild-hybrid, full-hybrid or plug-in hybrid power which gives up to 31 miles of zero-emission driving with a fully charged battery.
