2022 Hyundai Tucson review: The new segment leader

Hyundai isn’t slipping into the industry-standard practice of producing all its new automobiles glance like Russian dolls. From the Sonata to the Palisade to the Elantra, every single new Hyundai debut is much more appealing than the final. But they’re much more than just great parts of structure — these solutions are properly-rounded, also. The 2022 Tucson crossover isn’t just Hyundai’s most recent design, it is really the firm’s most effective a single still.

Crossovers can be cool, also

Like the new Sonata and Elantra, the Tucson will absolutely be divisive, but I unquestionably appreciate it. Conveniently the most hanging component of the structure is the Tucson’s encounter. The wing-formed “parametric structure” entrance grille has angular inserts and a darkish chrome-ish finish, and the LED jogging lights and change signals are built-in into the grille, showing hidden when off. In the meantime, the primary headlights and superior beams are in the larger sized pods in the lessen bumper. It can be a distinct option and appears magnificent, primarily at evening.

The rest of the Tucson is cool, also. It can be received squared-off wheel arches reminiscent of the Lamborghini Countach — yes, actually — and a lot of intense character lines and surfacing particulars. My Tucson’s Amazon Gray paint has tons of metallic flake and appears green underneath direct daylight, exhibiting off the lines flawlessly. The greenhouse is accented by a spearlike chrome strip that receives thicker at the D-pillar, but if not there is not a good deal of jewellery. The slash-formed taillights have a exceptional signature and are linked by a complete-width light bar, and the placement of the Hyundai badge in the rear glass is appealing.

Globally the 2022 Tucson is available with two diverse wheelbase lengths, but we only get the longer a single in the US. The 2022 design is six.one inches longer, .six inch broader and .six inch taller than the outgoing Tucson, and it is really on a 3.4-inch-longer wheelbase. Passenger volume and cargo house are up, also, besting the Toyota RAV4 in equally metrics but slipping a minimal limited of the Honda CR-V. The rear is primarily roomy, with reclining seat backs that effortlessly fold flat and a fold-down armrest with cup holders and storage. The cargo location also has an adjustable load flooring with two peak stages.

An inside you need to have to touch

Whilst much more restrained than the exterior, the Tucson’s inside however stands out. It has a waterfall dashboard structure with thin air vents that wrap all the way close to the rectangular sprint and on to the door cards, and a massive center panel that residences the infotainment method and weather controls. Most trims get analog gauges with a 4.2-inch display screen in the center, but optional on the SEL and standard on the Minimal is a wonderful ten.3-inch electronic instrument cluster. The Minimal also receives a drive-button equipment selector in its place of the actual physical shifter uncovered on the other trims.

Fabric upholstery is standard, and the base Tucson has plastic door panels, but supportive leather seats and smooth-touch door cards are standard on the Minimal and obtainable on the SEL. I surely prefer the two-tone light grey and black coloration plan you see right here, as the inside appears much more sterile in all black. One particular of my most loved particulars is the Limited’s cool material inserts on the door panels and on the sprint in entrance of the passenger I wish that materials had been utilized much more in the course of the inside. 

The base Tucson employs an 8-inch touchscreen, but Minimal products like my car get a ten.3-inch display screen jogging the exact same amazing infotainment method which is uncovered in a range of other Hyundai Motor Team solutions like the Santa Fe and the Kia K5. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard throughout the board, but only automobiles with the 8-inch screen get wi-fi CarPlay. The massive display screen appears actually superior and is super snappy, and I like that you can swipe above to a very simple display screen that just demonstrates the clock and exterior temperature info. It can be also received enjoyment options like nature soundscapes, and there is a quiet method for the audio that focuses the sound on the driver.

Whilst the lessen-conclude Tucsons have a bunch of actual physical buttons and knobs, the Minimal replaces them with an entirely touch-delicate panel for the weather, audio and infotainment controls, and a electronic display screen for the temperature and lover speed. I might like a residence button for the infotainment and want the buttons to have some form of pressure feedback, but they’re uncomplicated to get utilized to. You can maintain your finger on a button to swiftly alter lover speed or volume, and I appreciate that Hyundai has numerous intensities for the computerized weather regulate.

Consolation above corner carving

The Tucson’s standard powertrain is a normally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-4 paired with an 8-speed computerized transmission. It tends to make 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 considerably less than the RAV4’s four-cylinder engine. Entrance-wheel generate is standard, but my check car has the optional $one,400 all-wheel-generate method that has variable torque distribution. This engine is flawlessly great close to town and on the freeway, but it undoubtedly will not make the Tucson brief or sporty-experience. The transmission can be sluggish to downshift, but at the very least the Minimal arrives with paddle shifters.

The Tucson’s steering is equally frivolously weighted and light on feedback, and there is a superior sum of entire body roll in the corners. But what this crossover lacks in sportiness it tends to make up for in consolation. Even on the Limited’s 19-inch wheels the Tucson soaks up bumps and rough surfaces, delivering a exceptional ride which is smoother than any of its competition — even the refined Mazda CX-5. It can be luxurious-car quiet on the inside, also, though the noisy engine sometimes cuts by that serenity underneath tricky acceleration. 

The EPA costs the Tucson at 26 mpg city, 33 mpg freeway and 29 mpg combined for the entrance-generate design, although the AWD Tucson is rated at 24/29/26. In generally prevent-and-go city driving I ordinary about 22 mpg, but on a very long generate 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.

Every Tucson trim amount is obtainable with a new hybrid setup that pairs a turbocharged one.six-liter four-cylinder with an electrical motor for a full of 261 hp, and it is really rated at practically 40 mpg. Whilst I have not had a possibility to generate the Tucson hybrid still, with turbo reaction, much more power and greater effectiveness, it might be the powertrain to get. But there is also a plug-in hybrid on the way with 261 hp and 32 miles of electrical selection, and the just lately disclosed Santa Cruz pickup, which is primarily based on the Tucson, has an obtainable turbo-four engine with 281 hp and 311 lb-ft which is paired with an 8-speed twin-clutch transmission. Tucson N, anyone?

Loads of bang for your buck

The base Tucson SE starts at $26,135 which include $one,185 for desired destination, producing it cheaper than rivals from Honda and Toyota. It arrives with complete-LED entrance lights, computerized headlights and superior beams, 17-inch wheels, keyless entry, automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-retaining aid with lane centering, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, a pair of entrance-passenger USB retailers and Hd radio. 

Leaping up to the $27,685 SEL nets you LED taillights, drive-button start off, adaptive cruise regulate with prevent-and-go ability, two USB retailers in the rear, heated side mirrors, a driven driver’s seat, heated entrance seats, vehicle up/down entrance windows, satellite radio, blind-location aid, rear cross-targeted traffic aid and a range of aesthetic enhancements. A $2,600 Comfort deal provides things like a palms-free power liftgate, 19-inch wheels, a sunroof, that electronic gauge cluster, a leather-wrapped shifter and steering wheel, ten-coloration ambient lights, twin-zone computerized weather regulate and wi-fi charging. There’s also a $one,700 Premium deal with leather seats, ventilated entrance seats, a Bose audio method and the darkish chrome grille. Then there is a $31,785 N Line trim that builds off the SEL and its deals with much more aggressive exterior styling, exceptional inside trimmings and sportier tuning for the suspension and steering, though it will not add any more power.

The completely loaded $35,885 Minimal design like I have involves options and tech items that would have been unheard of in an inexpensive compact crossover not even ten several years in the past. In addition to anything from those people SEL deals, it provides a panoramic sunroof, much more exterior brightwork, a 360-diploma digicam and parking sensors, Hyundai’s Digital Essential cellphone app, memory for the driver’s seat, a driven passenger seat, rain-sensing wipers, distant wise park, sixty four-coloration inside ambient lights, blind-location cameras that display screen in the gauge cluster, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel, and Hyundai’s Level 2 Freeway Driving Support method. Surprisingly, a single aspect that the Tucson will not have is vehicle up/down rear windows, which is a weird omission given how significantly other extravagant stuff you can get.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson’s styling is not going to be for absolutely everyone, and which is Ok. I feel it is really greater to stand out and be unforgettable than to be nameless and fade into the history, primarily in these a packed and ordinarily uninteresting segment. If you are into the angular appears — or can at the very least get past them — the redesigned Tucson offers the most effective combine of tech, options, refinement and worth of any new compact crossover currently.