The previous generation Tucson was a car that sold itself primarily on practicality and family utility. Taking a leaf or two from the success story of Creta, this premium SUV is one of the best equipped in this segment and is offered with AWD and multiple engine options. Price between Rs 27-34 lakh. We’ve now powered it up and put it through our extensive tests to know how it performs in the real world.
2022 Hyundai Tucson: How’s It From the Outside?
2022 Hyundai Tucson Sports a more distinctive exterior design and styling than any other Hyundai on sale right now. Its futuristic look turns heads and it gets Hyundai’s new design language. Up front, it gets a parametric grille with neatly placed LED DRLs at both the ends. The DRLs are made in a geometric grille pattern, so when they are closed, it only looks like a large dark grille.
Moving to the side, there are so many sharp angular lines and cuts that look amazing. The generous wheelbase becomes apparent here and Hyundai claims that it has the longest wheelbase. Dimensionally, the new Tucson measures 4,630 mm in length, 1,865 mm in width and 1,665 mm in height. Its wheelbase is 2,755mm.
The Tucson 235/60 sits on 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in section rubber. At the rear, the Tucson’s design is very well defined and distinctive and stands apart from other Hyundais. The claw-like continuous taillights are a striking signature. It gets an electric tailgate and squarish wheel arches with plastic cladding, which complete the stance of the SUV. The rear wiper is hidden and neatly placed under the rear spoiler.
2022 Hyundai Tucson: How’s It Inside?
The interior of the new Tucson is a bit more traditional. The Tucson’s cabin follows a two-tone gray and white theme. The dashboard gets piano black and silver inserts while the same treatment can be seen on the door pads as well. Running along the width of the dashboard, all the four AC vents are smartly made inside chrome.
Where the Tucson really scores with cabin quality. The choice of materials used gives a premium feel. The richly textured dashboard top, flat-bottom steering wheel with piano black and silver accents and exquisitely crafted buttons coupled with the overall tactile feel of all switchgear provide a plush cabin feel.
The interiors of the Tucson are dominated by a large 10.25-inch infotainment screen and climate control touch panel. The touchscreen and touch-sensitive climate control panel look almost integrated. The Tucson also features a fully digital instrument cluster, similar to the Alcazar, with different themes and different information.
The touchscreen functionality and menus are very similar to our Creta and Alcazar. Below the climate control unit, there’s a wireless phone charger and USB input and surprisingly no USB-C anywhere which is disappointing.
There are all the expected features like auto climate control, panoramic sunroof and wireless phone charging. There’s also a great-sounding 8-speaker Bose audio system, 64-colour ambient lighting, both heated and cooled seats and a perfume dispenser.
Control of seat ventilation external cameras, hill assist and parking sensors can be controlled using a set of flush buttons along the top of the lower central console. Buttons for switching Drive Mode and Terrain Mode are neatly incorporated into the center console.
The rear seats are very comfortable and have the same impressive contouring as the front ones, with under-thigh support and cushioning. The rear passengers get rear AC vents along with a USB input for charging.
2022 Hyundai Tucson: How does it perform and handle?
The Hyundai Tucson comes with two engine options – a 2.0-litre NA petrol (156PS/192Nm) with a 6-speed torque converter, and a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel (185PS/416Nm) with an 8-speed torque converter automatic. You’ll find four drive modes: Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart.
The Hyundai Tucson we drive was equipped with a 2.0-litre CRDi diesel engine mated to an 8-speed torque converter gearbox.
Like other Hyundais the diesel engine is sleek and refined until you reach the upper end of the rev band, where you can hear a slight rumble and rumble.
The diesel engine is responsive off the line and gets four drive modes—Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart—and do what they’re supposed to. Echo, Normal and Smart offer similar responsiveness and ease of use. Sport mode is great for overtaking on the highway as it stays in the lower gear for longer periods, making it more responsive.
The 8-speed torque converter is smooth but feels a bit sluggish. Gearboxes have more ratios for each gear and will almost always have the correct ratio for any given situation. However, this time around the paddle shifters would have been a nice inclusion.
The diesel variant offers the kind of hassle-free driving experience that buyers with longer driving distances would require. At high speeds and on rough roads, the Tucson looks like a perfect SUV. The Tucson filled large potholes with ease, and at least the 235/60 R18 tires did a good job of crushing our rock-laden roads.
In terms of handling, the car feels well fitted and offers plenty of confidence at high speeds, which makes it a good long range cruiser. Overall grip is good from the corners but the body roll is clearly visible when pushed. All-wheel disc brakes give it extra confidence. Steering feel is largely the same with not much feedback, but on the plus side, it’s quite light in the city and has a good weight at high speeds.
2022 Hyundai Tucson: Safety
The big addition to the new Tucson is ADAS technology. It has Level 2 ADAS technology and uses cameras and radar sensors to detect cars, pedestrians or cyclists on the road.
The SUV gets Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Cruise Control with Stop and Go, Lane Follow Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning . ,
Standard safety features like 6 airbags (front dual, side and curtain airbags), front and rear parking sensors, electronic stability control, hill descent control, hill assist control, BVM (Blind-Spot View Monitor) / SVM (Surround View Monitor).
HTRAC all-wheel-drive system
Hyundai introduced the HTRAC all-wheel-drive system in 2013 and was the first model to adopt the Hyundai Genesis technology.
The ‘H’ stands for ‘Hyundai’ and the word ‘TRAC’ is an abbreviation for ‘Traction’, which represents the technical characteristics of the all-wheel drive system.
The HTRAC system electronically controls the torque split between the front and rear axles depending on road and driving conditions, providing greater stability on slippery roads and corners.
The Hyundai Tucson is the first model in India to get this technology. The AWD system in the new Tucson comes with multiple terrain modes – Snow, Mud and Sand. One thing to note here is that AWD will be available only in the diesel engine option.
2022 Hyundai Tucson: Price, Variants and Rivals
2022 Hyundai Tucson is available in 5 variants, here is the list –
| Variants | ex-showroom price |
| Platinum Petrol | Rs 27.69 lakh |
| Platinum Diesel | Rupee. 30.19 lakh |
| Signature Petrol | Rupee. 30.17 lakh |
| Signature Diesel | Rs 32.87 lakh |
| Signature Diesel AWD | Rs 34.39 lakh |
The Signature variant with dual-tone exteriors will be available at an additional cost of Rs 15,000.
The 2022 Hyundai Tucson will compete with the Volkswagen Tiguan, Jeep Compass, Citroen C5 and Skoda Kodiaq.
should you buy it?
The Hyundai Tucson is smart, powerful, efficient, safe and comes with a plethora of features. It’s a comfortable car, looks nice and futuristic, and has a lot of first-in-segment features. Now however, with ADAS, it is much safer not only for you and your family but also for those around you.
With a sticker price of Rs 27 lakh and a top-end model priced above Rs 34 lakh, the Hyundai Tucson is an expensive SUV. Reflecting its premium aspirations, multiple engine options, Level 2 ADAS along with a comfortable cabin and luxurious design, we feel that the Hyundai Tucson is not just priced competitively but also aggressively.