Hyundai Tucson

Most of us would probably not remember the butch Hyundai Tucson, the compact SUV that was launched in India in April 2005. For those who remember, the Tucson was quite a package back then – a comfortable five-seater, good ground clearance, a punchy diesel engine and a shift-on-fly four-wheel-drive. The Tucson is set to make a comeback to India in its latest avatar and will be showcased at the Auto Expo to be held in Greater Noida next month.

Exterior

The Hyundai Tucson that is going to be showcased is a third generation Tucson. The styling is modern and resembles the Santa Fe. The gaping hexagonal front grille is flanked by swept back headlamps that have two projector units apart from the reflector unit for high-beam. The LED day-time running lamps are integrated on the fog-lamp housing on the front bumper which also gets a faux skid plate. The side profile also imitates the Santa Fe with the shoulder line climbing up towards the tailgate. The black cladding around the perimeter of the car gives it a rugged look.

Interior

The interiors are not as dramatic as the exterior. The Tucson is a five-seater SUV and the cabin looks spacious. The seats will get leather upholstery as an option. The top spec variant may also get an electrically adjustable driver seat. Being a Hyundai, the feature list will be long. It will get climate control, an infotainment system with touch-screen, steering-mounted audio controls along with other features like push-button start, electrically operated mirrors and auto-dimming internal rear-view mirror. Parking sensors with rear-view-camera may be standard for the SUV.

Engine and Transmission

The Tucson may get the 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder diesel engine with the 128bhp setup like the Elantra mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. It also may get the 2.2-litre diesel mill from the Santa-Fe with an automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive. There are also chances of the introduction of it getting the new 2.0-litre CRDi diesel engine available globally instead of the 2.2-litre mill. While petrol engines are not really popular in this segment, looking at the Delhi odd-even incident, Hyundai may also think of getting the 1.6-litre turbo petrol or the 2.0-litre GDi engine which is available in the Sonata.

Price and Competition

The Tucson will be slotted between the Hyundai Creta and the Hyundai Santa-Fe SUVs. The Tucson will be the ideal competitor for the Honda CR-V and is expected to be priced between Rs 18 to 24 lakh.

Expected Launch: November 2016

Expected Price:Rs. 18 - 24L