Review: Hyundai Tucson 1.6T Max – Stellar But Pricey Left-Fielder

Oh, They’re Still Selling These?

In a highly popular and competitive vehicle segment like the C-SUV, some models are bound to get less attention than they truly deserve. That’s because the main spotlights are often commanded not only by the usual Japanese suspects, but also the burgeoning crop of new Chinese alternatives too.

Fourth-gen Hyundai Tucson proves it’s an underrated yet stellar alternative against popular Japanese C-SUVs.

That’s the exact feeling we get with the new, fourth-gen (NX4) Hyundai Tucson. Launched by Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) in late 2023, the new Tucson didn’t get much love in Malaysia as it does in other overseas markets, where this C-SUV model is one of Hyundai’s best-sellers globally.

The new Tucson is one of the most strikingly designed C-SUVs in our market.

Then again, it’s not the Tucson’s fault entirely. This fourth-gen model is one of the most strikingly designed C-SUVs in our market, with the main visual highlight being its Parametric Jewel front face that features a cascading front grille plus LED DRLs integrated into them. The sharp front end is mated with an equally-striking rear end, which features talon-like LED taillights with a full-width light bar.

Not to forget, the new Tucson’s side profile also deserves some love, thanks to its unique styling that pairs well with its squared-off wheel arches, which houses the 19-inch alloy wheels the car rolls in.

Sure, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but we’d reckon it is hard to deny that the new Tucson is definitely a very striking car, so much so that we even prefer it over other more popular C-segment SUVs out there.

What About Its Interior?

We’re glad to report that the new Tucson does not disappoint when it comes to its innards, as its cabin is both practical and pretty well-equipped.

The top-spec Tucson 1.6T Max comes with a host of tech and comfort amenities.

For the top-spec 1.6T Max variant as tested, it comes with a host of modern tech amenities. Key highlights include the 10.25-inch central infotainment display that supports both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a smaller 8-inch digital instrument cluster, 8-way powered, heated and ventilated front seats, a wireless charger, dedicated A/C vents and USB ports for the rear passengers, and more.

While some brands are going the minimalist route by eliminating as many buttons and dials as possible, we certainly appreciate Hyundai’s move to keep some of them, especially for essential controls like the A/C and the driving-related ones.

The new Tucson's long wheelbase grants it with a very roomy cabin, with plenty of legroom and headroom present here.

Comfort is also not an issue for the new Tucson, with all five seats wrapped in the same plush leather upholstery. Thanks to its segment-leading wheelbase that spans 2,755 MM long, space is very plentiful for this Korean C-SUV, so much so that even the rear seats are reclinable, providing an extra level of comfort for the rear passengers.

If that’s not enough, the new Tucson also boasts a segment-leading boot space of 582 litres, which is expandable to 1,903 litres when the rear seats are folded down. What we seriously appreciate too is the fact that this sizable boot also boasts space to house a full-size spare wheel – a true rarity in many cars nowadays.

Our only gripe with the Tucson’s cabin stems from the lack of some key features, notably a head-up display (HUD), panoramic sunroof, and driver seat memory function, to name a few. Although far from being a dealbreaker, we’d reckon these omissions would’ve helped justify the Tucson’s asking price.

With that being said, we simply cannot find any jarring faults in the Tucson’s cabin, and dare we say this Korean C-SUV should be a top candidate should practicality be a priority.

Enough Talk About Space, How Does It Drive?

Whatever negative preconceived thoughts you have about the performance of Korean-made cars, these simply evaporate once you get behind the wheel of the new Tucson.

The range-topping Tucson gets a 1.6-litre TGDi mill that is mated to a 7-speed DCT automatic gearbox.

For the top-spec 1.6T Max model as tested, its 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbocharged SmartSense petrol mill with 178 HP and 265 NM proved respectable. Granted, there are many other peppier C-SUVs available in the market, we reckon the Tucson’s heart stands peppy enough for an SUV of this size, evident through its claimed century sprint time of 8.8 seconds and 201 KM/H V-Max.

The 1.6-litre TGDi mill is mated to a seven-speed DCT automatic gearbox that helps to send the power to the front wheels (FWD). While the DCT unit works fine most of the time, it does have a slight clunkiness to it at times, especially when engaging in either Normal or Eco driving modes where shift patterns don't really tally well with the throttle input.

The Sport driving mode is where you can really feel all the might and power that the Tucson harnesses.

This clunkiness fortunately goes away in Sport mode where the DCT’s shift pattern feels much better and more linear. We’ll add that Sport mode also delivers a bonus in better steering and throttle responses, providing a more engaging driving experience.

As for handling, the NX4 Tucson is quite an agile car despite its rather large stature compared versus other C-SUVs, and its comfort-biased suspension setup it rides on proved stellar too. Speaking of the latter, the softer suspension tuning gives the Tucson a pretty comfortable and smooth ride, which bodes well with the practical nature of the car.

While its braking performance is noteworthy, we’d reckon the Tucson could use better tyres instead of the stock Nexen-supplied ones our tester was shod with – these felt a little loose, especially in the wet. Said stock rubber is also a tad bit noisy for our liking, so this is certainly one area that needs addressing post-purchase.

How Safe & Economical Is It?

Modern cars nowadays are miles ahead of their predecessors when it comes to safety, and this is no exception for the new Tucson.

In range-topping 1.6T Max featured, the Tucson comes with a full-swing of active and passive safety features, with the former comes courtesy of the Hyundai SmartSense ADAS suite. Here, you can find standard ADAS functions like Smart Cruise Control (SCC), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance (BCA), Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) with added junction (FCA-JT) detection, and more.

Besides both active and passive safety features, the Tucson also comes with a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which pairs well with its full-size spare wheel to make you less worried about any tyre flat-related incidents.

Safe to say that our short stint with the Tucson wasn't enough for us to truly gauge its fuel economy.

As for the economical aspect, turbocharged petrol mills aren’t exactly known for their frugality, and unfortunately the Tucson can’t escape this. While Hyundai claims an average fuel economy rate of 7.2 litres per 100 KM, we only managed to chart 11 litres per 100 KM in our week-long stint with the car, which mainly involved urban crawls with sporadic stints of spirited driving.

That said, we believe you can still get decent fuel economy out of the Tucson, provided that you drive it in the way a practical family SUV is supposed to be driven — light-footed and less-spirited.

So, What’s The Cost for All of This?

Boldly styled, nicely-kitted, abundant cabin and cargo space with respectably decent driving performance, the fourth-gen Hyundai Tucson has all the right ingredients to be one of the top C-segment SUVs in our market, if not for one big caveat: the price.

With a sub-RM200,000 asking price, the fully-imported (CBU) Hyundai Tucson 1.6T Max is definitely no bargain.

Fully-imported (CBU) from South Korea, the new Tucson is no bargain at RM195,888 in range-topping 1.6T Max variant tested which sees it stand as one of the priciest C-SUVs in our market now. Though it’s in the same price bracket as some of its top-specced rivals, the Tucson 1.6T Max still lacks some features that simply make it fall a little too short of its tall-standing adversaries.

Also slightly lacking are the warranty packages offered by HSDM for the Tucson, which sees a standard 2-year or 50,000 KM vehicle warranty. There is an optional extended warranty package that costs RM10,000 extra, but said stiff premium does bring a 5-year or 300,000 KM vehicle warranty plus a 3-year or 50,000 KM of free service into the mix.

Despite this, we still reckon the Tucson is still a good buy for those who really prioritise space and practicality, not to mention wanting to stand out in a crowd of Japanese, local, and even Chinese rivals.

Should HSDM elect to localise (CKD) the new Tucson and make its price more accessible, we think that this Korean-badged SUV may have a stronger chance to take a bigger slice of the pie from its more popular Japanese adversaries.

SPECIFICATION

2024 HYUNDAI TUCSON 1.6T MAX (NX4)