2022 Hyundai Tucson facelift review

Overview

Hyundai Tucson has been the best-selling car for Hyundai in the year 2021. The 2022 version of the Hyundai Tucson is a completely new SUV. It is not a facelift of the outgoing Tucson. It is built on a completely new platform with a whole new design language. The design is so radically different from the car that went before it. Definitely, the design will be a big draw for customers.

Highlights

• Level 2 ADAS
• 8-speed automatic transmission
• More Spacious
• The price starts at Rs. 27.69 Lakh ex-showroom

2022 Hyundai Tucson Design

Exterior

Nobody will confuse the fourth-generation Tucson with the outgoing model, that much is certain. Tucson’s design is extremely cutting-edge and almost too futuristic. It is based on the Vision T SUV concept that debuted at AutoMobility LA in 2019. Even if the design is beautiful right now, it can be noted that it doesn’t seem classic. How this design ages will only become apparent with time.

The design itself is the latest evolution of Hyundai’s sensuous sportiness design. Hyundai calls it parametric design elements and that means all sharp edges increase. The sharp edges were first introduced in the i20 in India. Now, it’s also been seen on things like the Venue facelift. This is the most extreme iteration of it yet though which incorporates the headlights and the grill.

The exterior of the new Hyundai Tucson has an entirely new design. That includs a dark chrome front grille, integrated LED DRLs, and LED headlights. The headlights are set in a triangular cluster on either side of the new bumper. It also has contrast-colored skid plates at the front and rear. It runs on new 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels and features roof rails also. The integrated spoiler conceals the back windshield. The LED taillights have a toothy design. There is a Hyundai logo on the windshield and an LED light bar that runs the length of the boot lid. The large, dark-chrome radiator grille with LED DRLs that is incorporated neatly into it looks fantastic in person. It draws quite a bit of attention on the road.

This is quite a big car 4.6meters long with a 2.75meter wheelbase. The rear spoiler smartly hides the rear wiper underneath which makes the rear look very clean. The tailgate is also a powered one that opens to reveal a significantly large boot.

Interior

The interiors of the 2022 Tucson are less radical. They are quite comparable to Creta’s interior design. The Front AC vents are at the end of the gloss black center console. The central console extends in either direction from the top of the dash. The thin vents on the top of the dash, which softly ‘diffuse’ the AC draught rather than focussing it, are a wonderful, luxury touch. The 10.25inch digital instrument cluster is similar to the one on Alcazar. It is mounted behind the steering wheel. Unlike the Creta’s, the screen is free-standing and has no shroud, much as in the new S-Class. The control switches on the steering wheel are also more finished than those on the Creta.

The Creta’s gear lever (there is no button selector as in other countries), seat heating/cooling switches, plenty of storage space, an electronic parking brake, and driving mode controls are all located further down in the center console. Both the 10.25-inch touchscreen and the touch-only AC controls below mix in well with the gloss black shell. The entire center console seems to be a continuous black mirror when turned off. However, it’s a little difficult to use while driving.

So while the design is the same, the quality has advanced significantly. The whole dashboard, with the exception of the transmission tunnel, is made of soft-touch material. The door cards also have a stylish fabric trim inlaid into them. Although it is quite easy to stain, the light grey leatherette upholstery feels luxurious. The front seats’ metallic inlays give them a more expensive appearance. Everything appears quite opulent since even the column stalks in the back are finished in a knurled gloss black plastic.

Similar to the previous Tucson, the powered front seats will seem a little too low when adjusted to their lowest position. But luckily they have a wide range of adjustments, allowing even shorter drivers to find comfort. And comfortable they will be thanks to the plush padding, heating, and front air conditioning.

2nd-row seating space and comfort

The Tucson particularly shines in the back seat, where its 2,755mm wheelbase (85mm larger than the previous model’s) pays well. Even taller passengers can stretch out comfortably thanks to the generous leg room, and there is a good amount of space between your head and the panoramic sunroof. Large rear windows led to a lot of light into the interior, but as with the last vehicle, you’re sitting a touch low to the floor, which eliminates some thigh support and prevents you from getting the theater-like view ahead you desire in an SUV. However, the cushioning is excellent and the backrest has a significant degree of recline. Although there are back AC vents, there is no fan or temperature control, and window coverings would have been nice to have here as well—even the Alcazar has them!

2022 Tucson does not compromise on the sitting space to provide a big boot space. Because of a long wheelbase, it has a boot capacity of 540liters. Airport runs should be a breeze in the new Tucson because our group of four was able to put all of their stroller luggage and stuff inside comfortably and with room to spare. But keep in mind that the spare wheel is there to conserve space.

2022 Hyundai Tucson Specifications

Engine & Transmission

There are two engines on offer. The first one is a Nu 2.0L four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers a max power of 114.7kW (156PS) @ 6200rpm and a peak torque of 192Nm @ 4500rpm. The petrol engine comes mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

The second one is a more potent R 2.0L four-cylinder CRDi diesel engine. It produces a max power of 137kW (186PS) @ 4000rpm and it comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission which delivers 416Nm of peak torque between 2000-2750rpm. The manual transmission is not on offer right now. There is also an option of AWD with the diesel engine in the top variant model. The pedal shifters are missing in all the variants however, we get four drive modes Eco, Normal, Sport, and Smart as standard in all the variants. With AWD, there are multi-terrain modes Snow, Mud, and Sand as well.

2022 Hyundai Tucson features

Safety features

2021 Hyundai Tucson has a 5-star safety rating in the Europe Ncap safety test. The Indian version has not been tested yet. However, Hyundai is offering some driver assistance features which will improve passenger and pedestrian safety. The 2022 Hyundai Tucson’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are a talking point, and this is the first Hyundai vehicle to offer them in India. Adaptive cruise control, emergency auto braking, lane departure warning and assist, lane watch camera, blind spot warning, driver attention monitor, 360-degree cameras, and rear cross-traffic aid are all included in Hyundai’s Level 2 system, according to the automaker. In particular, Hyundai said that the system’s sensor sensitivity, latency before the intervention, level of intervention, and amount of necessary driver input were calibrated for Indian circumstances.

The Tucson is, as one might assume, loaded with amenities, even those that are more commonplace. Highlights include a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, automatic headlights, and wipers, heated and ventilated front seats, wireless phone charging, on and off-road drive modes (available only on AWD models), connected car technology with support for Alexa and Google Assistant, and, of course, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both rows of chairs include USB ports, although they are type-A and not type-C.

2022 Hyundai Tucson comes in two variants

Platinum and Signature are the two feature variants of the Tucson currently on offer. Platinum is a base variant although it houses almost all the features offered by Hyundai in Tucson.

Tucson has made so many developments, and so has its price, which has increased significantly. Although the starting price of Rs 27.70 lakh (ex-showroom) is pretty appealing, the top-spec diesel with AWD will set you back Rs 34.39 lakh, which is more than its main competitors, the Jeep Compass, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Citroen C5 Aircross, in top-spec form. This sort of makes sense, given that the Tucson packs in so much and that the Alcazar, a highly luxury SUV in and of itself, is competing at the lower end of this price range.

2022 Hyundai Tucson is a fundamentally well-sorted luxury executive SUV. It gets its essentials of room, comfort, and powerful powertrains exactly right, even beyond the sophisticated tech like ADAS and all the other goodies. Will the dramatic appearances be to its advantage? Well, this Tucson was the most popular Hyundai model worldwide in 2021, so the designers must have been onto something. More significantly, would it succeed in India where its predecessors failed, giving Hyundai the confidence to enter the genuinely expensive market? We’ll have to wait and see, but the Tucson is an SUV that appears to have all the necessary ingredients to succeed in its bid to become Hyundai’s flagship.