Hyundai Tucson

The Hyundai Tucson is the Hyundai entry into the crossover SUV or CUV market. The Hyundai Tucson was one of the first CUVs on the market.

History

The Hyundai Tucson was one of the first crossover SUVs, coming out in 2005. That first edition of the Hyundai Tucson has a 2.0 liter four cylinder engine with 140 horsepower or a 2.7 liter six cylinder 173 horsepower. The original Hyundai Tucson design received five stars from the NHTSA for the 2006 through 2009 models.
The Hyundai Tucson was redesigned in 2010 to add interior room. The Hyundai Tucson seats four adults comfortably. The 2010 and later models received four stars on average from the NHTSA. The Hyundai Tucson did get a poor score on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) small frontal overlap crash test in 2014.
The Hyundai Tucson had models made before 2015 that were called the ix35, but that name is no longer used for the Hyundai Tucson.


Design

There are three tiers of the Hyundai Tucson: GLS, SE and Limited. The Limited edition used to be called the LX version.
The car is available in both all wheel and four wheel drive; all wheel drive increases the price. The Hyundai Tucson comes with an automatic transmission, whether you have all wheel drive or front wheel drive. The modern version has a six speed automatic by default but you can request a five speed manual transmission.
All versions after 2013 include power windows, remote keyless entry and a music player with a USB port. The SE version adds fog lights and a deicing grid on the windshield. The Limited version adds leather seats, and six disk CD changer, climate control and heated seats.
In all versions, the back seat and front passenger seats fold down for extra storage.
In 2015, the vehicle’s features were expanded to add a touch-screen radio and power driver’s seat.
The 2016 Hyundai Tucson has asymmetric wheel arches to increase the perceived size of the wheels.

Performance

The 2.0 liter four cylinder engine has 164 horsepower. The 2.4 liter engine has 182 horsepower. The European model has a 1.6 liter turbo model that puts out 174 horsepower. The Asian market has a 2.0 direct injected four cylinder engine, though this is not available in the U.S.
The Tucson SE and Tucson Limited come with a 2.7 liter engine in the US.
It gets around 23 mpg in the city and up to 28 on the highway; in the past, Hyundai was dinged by the EPA for overstating fuel efficiency.

Price

The base model of the Hyundai Tucson cost $21,500 in 2015. The 2016 Hyundai Tucson has a base-price in the low twenty thousands. The 2016 Limited (higher end package) version cost almost $27,000.

Rivals

The primary rivals to this car are the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Mazda CX-5, Toyota Rav4, Volkswagen Tiguan, Subaru Forester, Nissan Rogue, and Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

Trivia

In 2005, there was a fuel cell electric version of the Hyundai Tucson.
While there were fuel cell versions of 2015 Tucson, there are no 2016 model year Tucson cars with hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cell versions of the 2015 were only available on a three year lease, primarily in California.
There was a 2014 “Walking Dead” edition of the Hyundai Tucson. It came with a black paint job, red accent graphics, roof rack rails, mudguards and custom floor mats. It even had a black interior and free survivalist backpack.