Hyundai's fourth generation Tucson mid-sized SUV has a smarter look and feel - and a very clever Hybrid engine. Jonathan Crouch drives the improved version.

Ten Second Review

Hyundai has almost fully electrified the engine line-up used with its fourth generation Tucson mid-sized SUV, but you'll need a full-Hybrid powerplant of some kind to see a real efficiency benefit. Probably the one used in this front-driven Hybrid HEV variant. Here, we look at the revised model.

Background

For some time now, the established brands have been unable to ignore Hyundai - and they certainly won't be able to ignore the improved fourth generation version of its Tucson mid-sized SUV. The Tucson has yet to break into the top five sellers in its class, where cars like Nissan's Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan and Ford's Kuga tend to dominate, and it isn't going to unless it dresses itself in a form that's going to make people really sit up and take notice. Well the enhanced version of this 'NX4'-series MK4 model certainly does that. This fourth generation model still offers a token conventionally powered unit at the foot of the range, but otherwise everything on offer is in some way electrified: mild hybrid, full hybrid, plug-in hybrid - take your pick. It's the full-Hybrid HEV version we try here.

Driving Experience

For electrified engine technology that'll really make a difference to your Tucson, you'll need some sort of full-Hybrid powertrain, your options for that beginning with the HEV Hybrid model we look at here, which has no engineering or handling changes in this lightly improved form - though can now be ordered with the option of 4WD. With all versions of this HEV variant, a 'Prius'-style self-charging petrol/electric engine working with a 6-speed auto gearbox is mated to a 60PS electric motor powered by a 1.49kWh battery, which provides sufficient extra urge to this powertrain's combined power output to 215PS. Enough to deliver a 62mph sprint stat of 8.2s and a top speed of 116mph. Although the battery on offer in a Tucson HEV isn't very big, it's very good at constantly replenishing itself with regenerative energy, so that much of the time in town travel, you'll be able to cruise through the urban sprawl in a dignified silence. You can leave the powertrain to do its own thing, or use the centre console HEV/EV button to make your own choice between full-Hybrid or full-Electric motion - though the latter won't last for very long. You might not be quite so impressed out of town. The self-charging full-Hybrid system adds 73kgs of weight, enough to see a well equipped Tucson HEV model tipping the scales at nearly 1.7-tonnes. Combining that with the electric motor's relatively feeble output can only have only one result: a frequent propensity for the 1.6 T-GDi petrol unit to kick in (sometimes quite vocally) virtually all the time in usual driving. Once it has, should there be a need for more urgent forward thrust, then a prod of the throttle is accompanied by a pleasing initial stab of electrified torque, but this doesn't last for long because torque is more restricted than it would be with a comparably-powerful diesel-engined rival.

Design and Build

There's little to differentiate this HEV Hybrid Tucson variant from other derivatives in the range and the updates to this fourth generation 'NX4'-series Tucson model are uber-subtle. Look closely and you might notice the thinner, more angluar lines of the radiator grille and the revised front bumper. As before, the front end styling is dominated by the brand's 'Parametric Jewel' daytime running lights borrowed from the company's previous Vision T concept, which represented what Hyundai has called 'a design revolution'. The 'jewel-like' running lights are integrated into the sides of the 3D grille and can't be distinguished from it when switched off. As before, this MK4 model is oner of the larger mid-sized SUV segment models, at 4.5-metres long. And sits on big wheels of between 17 to 19-inches in size. Inside up-front, the changes to this facelifted model are much more noticeable. Borrowing from the cabin design theme seen in the company's latest EVs, the twin screens are now 12.3-inches in size (up from 10.25-inches before). One is for the instrument cluster; the other is for the centre stack and incorporates Hyundai's latest Bluelink telematics. The redesigned dashboard has a new horizontal crash pad design supposed to create a sense of openness. Physical heating and ventilation controls and a redesigned centre console with buttons for regularly used functions feature on the new centre console, whilst the automatic and hybrid powertrains feature a wireless charging pad housed in the centre armrest. As before, there's quite a spacious back seat - a 10mm longer wheelbase increase for the original version of this MK4 model improved that and added 26mm more legroom. The boot is hardly compromised at all in this HEV form, with a 616-litre capacity that's just 4-litres less than the base un-electrified 1.6 T-GDi model. The MHEV Mild Hybrid variant, in contrast, only offers 577-litres and the Plug-in version is 558-litres.

Market and Model

The full-Hybrid version of this mid-sized SUV is priced in the £36,000 to £42,000 bracket, offered in both front-driven and 4WD forms and available across five trim levels - 'Advance', 'Premium', 'N Line', 'N Line S' and top 'Ultimate'. With this fourth generation Tucson, Hyundai has been aiming to move slightly away from comparisons with cheaper mid-sized crossovers like Nissan Qashqais and SEAT Atecas and closer to slightly larger, slightly pricier volume brand mid-size models like Volkswagen's Tiguan and the Ford Kuga. Doing that requires not just sharper looks but a greater degree of technology - and that's certainly been prioritised here. The twin 12.3-inch interior screens are one example of that, the central infotainment monitor not only including 'Android Auto' and 'Apple CarPlay' connectivity but also Google and Apple calendar integration, along with selectable user profiles. There's also a 'last mile navigation' feature, meaning that if the driver won't be able to find a place to park actually precisely at his or her intended destination, further directions can be sent to their smartphone so that the final part of the journey can be finished on foot. Live parking and traffic information is also included, thanks to up-to-the-minute Hyundai Bluelink telematics. And of course there are up-to-the-minute driver assistance safety features, including the company's latest 'Highway Drive Assist' semi-autonomous capability. This can brake and accelerate the Tucson to keep it a pre-set distance from other motorists, using a 'Lane Follow Assist' system to keep the car in lane on major roads. There's even a 'Remote Smart Parking Assist' feature, allowing the car to be summoned from a parking spot via a button on the key.

Cost of Ownership

The efficiency figures reveal that Hyundai's MHEV mild hybrid tech gives you hardly any benefit over the standard version of the brand's 1.6 TGDi petrol engine. It all merely illustrates what we've been saying for some time, which is that mild hybrid tech doesn't really have much to offer the modern motorist. To start seeing more of an efficiency benefit, you'll need a full-Hybrid engine - one that is able to run independently on battery power. The HEV self-charging unit fitted to the Hybrid petrol model can certainly do that. Though not for very long, thanks to the combination of a near-1.7-tonne kerb weight, a relatively feeble 60PS electric motor and the small size of the 1.49kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack that powers it. Still, this front-driven HEV model's emissions efficiency showing - 127g/km of CO2 - is much better than you'd get from a diesel rival, even a more feebly-powered one. A Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI diesel returns 135g/km. This Tucson HEV's 49.6mpg combined fuel return is close to that recorded by that Tiguan too. These days, unless you're planning to tow with your mid-sized SUV, it's really hard to make a case for choosing a diesel with it - and those figures clearly illustrate just why. With a full-Hybrid engine, it's all good.

Summary

If you're looking for efficiency, then this HEV Hybrid Tucson model has far more to offer than its MHEV Mild Hybrid range stablemate. But Hyundai still has to work out a way to make all Tucson variants - including this one - ride and handle with the polish common to the best of this car's mid-sized SUV rivals. The marque also needs more of a brand identity, though with future models all now slated, like this one, to carry a more distinct and individual personality, it seems likely that the days when people primarily chose a Hyundai merely on the basis of price and value will soon be behind us. Overall, there's no doubt that with this NX4-generation design, this Korean maker really turned quite a corner - a switch from delivering the kind of mid-sized SUV you might need to providing one you might genuinely really want. Which of course, as every modern brand knows, makes all the difference in the world in such an over-crowded segment. Historically, the Tucson model line has needed a bit of a spark to really ignite its appeal. Well that's been delivered here - in every sense.