UNDERRATED BUT CAPABLE TUCSON
EVERYONE knows the king of the C-segment sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Malaysia is the Honda CR-V. The talk-of-the-town Proton X70 is also gaining traction in this sense.
Even so, there is another interesting model in the market — the Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Turbo and at 175hp, it is one of the most powerful and capable SUVs in its class.
The current-generation Tucson is not new in the market and the latest one in Malaysia is a facelift from nearly two years ago. And it is a shame that not many people at least put it into consideration when buying an SUV of that size.
Styling-wise, the Tucson 1.6 Turbo is nicely-equipped. It’s got a sharp front fascia with new grille design and full-LED headlights with low beam assist-static as well as LED fog lights.
The 17-inch wheels and the LED tail lights are all new, as well. All these simply add up to the stylish and fresh appearance.
Moving inside, it is a bit toned down in terms of appearance. However,
the Tucson 1.6 Turbo is still decently equipped.
The instrument cluster is served by a 4.2-inch TFT display and the floatingtype seven-inch display in the centre console supports all the connectivities, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The car also has leather seats with eight-way adjustments for the driver, dual zone auto air-conditioning system, rear air vents, electro-chromic mirrors and front and rear parking distance warning.
Other standard features include multi-function steering wheel, keyless entry, rear-view camera and auto light control.
Overall, the cabin of the Tucson 1.6 Turbo looks a bit monotonous compared to its rivals but it does have fair material qualities.
The seats are all plush and comfortable and they provide a generous space for all passengers. It is just that I found the front seats to lack side support when the Tucson is driven hard. We will get to this in a minute.
THE DRIVE
On top of the refreshed and sharper exterior, the key point of the Tucson 1.6 Turbo is the powertrain.
It has the 1.6-litre TGDI unit carried over from the spicy Elantra Sport. This engine punches out 175 horses as mentioned earlier, and 265Nm of torque from 1,500 to 4,500rpm.
Yup, some of you might notice that other SUVs also borrow their powertrain from their passenger car siblings, which is a common practice among manufacturers. The CR-V had the powertrain from the Civic and the Tiguan gets the same 1.4 TSI and DSG from the Golf.
The turbocharged mill on the Tucson is simply delicious. Further complementing it is the equally-capable seven-speed DCT automatic. The powertrain combo can be smooth and rapid at any time when you want it to.
Creeping slowly in traffic, the DCT was silky smooth like a torque converter unit with no hint of jerkiness. Hyundai deserved an applause with their job in clutch calibration for the transmission.
But when you actually give it a go, the engine pulls strongly and the DCT keeps up ensuring that the engine is always at the right power band.
Compared to the diesel Tucson with the 2.2 CRDI engine that is an AWD, this 1.6 Turbo transfers its power to the front wheels only.
I drove the car up to Genting Highlands and on tight corners going uphill, it was easy to light up the front inside wheel during hard acceleration.
This naughty side is not necessary for an SUV like the Tucson, but it gives a nice character to it.
The strong power received by the front wheels expectedly induce torque-steer. But since this is not a performance car where you want as 488 litres of space in the cargo area.
many steering feel as possible, Hyundai did a trick to filter the torque-steer.
Under hard acceleration when the steering wheel wants to pull to one side, the electric power steering system kind of disengages the steering connection, giving a dead or empty feel momentarily.
So over time when you accelerate and lift-off the throttle while taking a bend, the steering feel can be inconsistent. This should feel fine to average drivers but more spirited drivers would not be so happy with this.
I guess this is just one of Hyundai’s ways in making powerful cars driveable and comfortable.
Also when driving the Tucson through corners, I found myself in need of more side support from the seat. But the car remained stable and composed though.
On the highway, the Tucson was nicely refined and quiet. Your rear passengers can play with their phones or even doze off without realising that the Tucson has gone way past the national speed limit.
The car was exceptionally economical, too. With that kind of performance and while hauling passengers onboard, I still managed to get well over 570km from the 60-litre tank without even trying.
Not to forget, there’s three driving modes to select from; Eco, Normal and Sport. Strangely, I prefer to drive in Sport most of the time.
Not that I whack the car most of the time, but the Sport mode offered nice responses for both low and highspeed driving. This mode made it easy to modulate the speed while driving on highways with traffic around.
VERDICT
The Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Turbo was such a comfortable, practical and capable SUV. At RM137,488, it’s even more affordable than the base Honda CR-V that uses the non-turbocharged 2.0-litre i-VTEC.
Do I still need to emphasise that the Tucson is a bargain? But if badge and resale value are your main criteria, then you may look elsewhere.