2022 Hyundai Tucson review: The new segment leader

Hyundai is not falling into the business-usual routine of creating all its new cars look like Russian dolls. From the Sonata to the Palisade to the Elantra, every single new Hyundai debut is far more appealing than the past. But they are far more than just great pieces of layout — these solutions are nicely-rounded, as well. The 2022 Tucson crossover is not just Hyundai’s latest design, it’s the firm’s greatest 1 nonetheless.

Crossovers can be cool, as well

Like the new Sonata and Elantra, the Tucson will certainly be divisive, but I completely adore it. Easily the most putting portion of the layout is the Tucson’s face. The wing-shaped “parametric layout” entrance grille has angular inserts and a darkish chrome-ish end, and the LED functioning lights and turn alerts are built-in into the grille, showing concealed when off. Meanwhile, the most important headlights and significant beams are in the more substantial pods in the lower bumper. It is a distinctive answer and seems to be awesome, specifically at evening.

The rest of the Tucson is cool, as well. It is obtained squared-off wheel arches reminiscent of the Lamborghini Countach — of course, actually — and heaps of intense character lines and surfacing details. My Tucson’s Amazon Gray paint has tons of metal flake and seems to be green under direct sunlight, showing off the lines perfectly. The greenhouse is accented by a spearlike chrome strip that gets thicker at the D-pillar, but in any other case you can find not a whole lot of jewellery. The slash-shaped taillights have a exceptional signature and are related by a complete-width light bar, and the placement of the Hyundai badge in the rear glass is appealing.

Globally the 2022 Tucson is offered with two diverse wheelbase lengths, but we only get the more time 1 in the US. The 2022 design is six.one inches more time, .six inch wider and .six inch taller than the outgoing Tucson, and it’s on a 3.four-inch-more time wheelbase. Passenger quantity and cargo place are up, as well, besting the Toyota RAV4 in the two metrics but falling a very little brief of the Honda CR-V. The rear is specifically roomy, with reclining seat backs that easily fold flat and a fold-down armrest with cup holders and storage. The cargo location also has an adjustable load flooring with two peak ranges.

An interior you need to have to contact

Even though far more restrained than the exterior, the Tucson’s interior continue to stands out. It has a waterfall dashboard layout with skinny air vents that wrap all the way around the rectangular dash and on to the door playing cards, and a massive middle panel that homes the infotainment procedure and weather controls. Most trims get analog gauges with a four.2-inch exhibit in the middle, but optional on the SEL and conventional on the Restricted is a wonderful ten.3-inch electronic instrument cluster. The Restricted also gets a force-button equipment selector instead of the actual physical shifter observed on the other trims.

Cloth upholstery is conventional, and the foundation Tucson has plastic door panels, but supportive leather seats and delicate-contact door playing cards are conventional on the Restricted and accessible on the SEL. I certainly favor the two-tone light grey and black coloration plan you see here, as the interior seems to be far more sterile in all black. One of my favored details is the Limited’s cool fabric inserts on the door panels and on the dash in entrance of the passenger I desire that materials had been made use of far more all over the interior. 

The foundation Tucson takes advantage of an eight-inch touchscreen, but Restricted models like my automobile get a ten.3-inch exhibit functioning the exact wonderful infotainment procedure which is observed in a selection of other Hyundai Motor Team solutions like the Santa Fe and the Kia K5. Apple CarPlay and Android Vehicle are conventional throughout the board, but only cars with the eight-inch display screen get wireless CarPlay. The massive exhibit seems to be actually great and is tremendous snappy, and I like that you can swipe in excess of to a simple exhibit that just shows the clock and exterior temperature information. It is also obtained exciting features like character soundscapes, and you can find a quiet mode for the audio that focuses the sounds on the driver.

Even though the lower-conclusion Tucsons have a bunch of actual physical buttons and knobs, the Restricted replaces them with an entirely contact-delicate panel for the weather, audio and infotainment controls, and a electronic exhibit for the temperature and enthusiast velocity. I would like a property button for the infotainment and want the buttons to have some type of force suggestions, but they are effortless to get made use of to. You can keep your finger on a button to promptly adjust enthusiast velocity or quantity, and I adore that Hyundai has several intensities for the automatic weather command.

Comfort and ease in excess of corner carving

The Tucson’s conventional powertrain is a obviously aspirated 2.5-liter inline-four paired with an eight-velocity automatic transmission. It makes 187 horsepower and 178 pound-ft of torque, practically similar to the Honda CR-V’s turbo motor and sixteen hp and six lb-ft significantly less than the RAV4’s 4-cylinder motor. Entrance-wheel drive is conventional, but my take a look at automobile has the optional $one,400 all-wheel-drive procedure that has variable torque distribution. This motor is perfectly good around town and on the freeway, but it absolutely would not make the Tucson speedy or sporty-emotion. The transmission can be sluggish to downshift, but at the very least the Restricted will come with paddle shifters.

The Tucson’s steering is the two frivolously weighted and light on suggestions, and you can find a great total of entire body roll in the corners. But what this crossover lacks in sportiness it makes up for in comfort. Even on the Limited’s 19-inch wheels the Tucson soaks up bumps and rough surfaces, offering a exceptional journey which is smoother than any of its rivals — even the refined Mazda CX-5. It is luxurious-automobile quiet on the inside of, as well, though the noisy motor often cuts by that serenity under hard acceleration. 

The EPA fees the Tucson at 26 mpg metropolis, 33 mpg freeway and 29 mpg combined for the entrance-drive design, even though the AWD Tucson is rated at 24/29/26. In primarily stop-and-go metropolis driving I average about 22 mpg, but on a extensive drive from Los Angeles to Bakersfield I match the Tucson’s 29-mpg freeway figure — and which is at 85 mph with elevation changes and the air conditioning on.

Each Tucson trim degree is accessible with a new hybrid set up that pairs a turbocharged one.six-liter 4-cylinder with an electrical motor for a whole of 261 hp, and it’s rated at practically 40 mpg. Even though I have not had a prospect to drive the Tucson hybrid nonetheless, with turbo reaction, far more power and superior effectiveness, it may be the powertrain to get. But you can find also a plug-in hybrid on the way with 261 hp and 32 miles of electrical array, and the recently disclosed Santa Cruz pickup, which is based on the Tucson, has an accessible turbo-4 motor with 281 hp and 311 lb-ft which is paired with an eight-velocity dual-clutch transmission. Tucson N, any individual?

Plenty of bang for your buck

The foundation Tucson SE starts at $26,a hundred thirty five like $one,185 for desired destination, creating it less costly than rivals from Honda and Toyota. It will come with complete-LED entrance lighting, automatic headlights and significant beams, 17-inch wheels, keyless entry, automated unexpected emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-maintaining assist with lane centering, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, a pair of entrance-passenger USB shops and Hd radio. 

Leaping up to the $27,685 SEL nets you LED taillights, force-button commence, adaptive cruise command with stop-and-go ability, two USB shops in the rear, heated aspect mirrors, a run driver’s seat, heated entrance seats, car up/down entrance windows, satellite radio, blind-place assist, rear cross-traffic assist and a selection of aesthetic improvements. A $2,600 Ease bundle provides points like a fingers-free of charge power liftgate, 19-inch wheels, a sunroof, that electronic gauge cluster, a leather-wrapped shifter and steering wheel, ten-coloration ambient lighting, dual-zone automatic weather command and wireless charging. There is also a $one,700 High quality bundle with leather seats, ventilated entrance seats, a Bose audio procedure and the darkish chrome grille. Then you can find a $31,785 N Line trim that builds off the SEL and its offers with far more intense exterior styling, exceptional interior trimmings and sportier tuning for the suspension and steering, though it would not incorporate any extra power.

The fully loaded $35,885 Restricted design like I have includes features and tech products that would have been unheard of in an affordable compact crossover not even ten decades back. In addition to all the things from those people SEL offers, it provides a panoramic sunroof, far more exterior brightwork, a 360-diploma digicam and parking sensors, Hyundai’s Digital Crucial cellphone app, memory for the driver’s seat, a run passenger seat, rain-sensing wipers, remote wise park, 64-coloration interior ambient lighting, blind-place cameras that exhibit in the gauge cluster, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel, and Hyundai’s Degree 2 Highway Driving Support procedure. Surprisingly, 1 characteristic that the Tucson would not have is car up/down rear windows, which is a bizarre omission offered how a lot other extravagant stuff you can get.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson’s styling would not be for absolutely everyone, and which is Ok. I believe it’s superior to stand out and be unforgettable than to be nameless and fade into the track record, specifically in such a packed and ordinarily uninteresting segment. If you might be into the angular seems to be — or can at the very least get previous them — the redesigned Tucson presents the greatest combine of tech, features, refinement and value of any new compact crossover right now.