Tested: Hyundai's punchy Tucson 1.6T

ROAD TEST: Hyundai Tucson 1.6TGDI Executive

By: Brendan Seery

Johannesburg - Life sometimes brings you to an unexpected fork in the road.

When it happened to us, I stopped the Hyundai Tucson and contemplated my next move: push on or turn back and leave this part of the Marievale Bird Sanctuary unexplored. Next to me, my wife had a simply comment: “You should have brought the Subaru…”

Nice as the Tucson was, it was still a front-wheel-drive and a long way from the go-anywhere vehicle its butch looks and plastic cladding may have suggested.

The left fork showed a track submerged for long stretches under water. No surprise. I should have thought of that when I decided to accompany my brother-in-law there: it is a Ramsar bird site and where do you find the greatest variety of birds? In a wetland…

THE MUD TEST

The right fork, where most of the other traffic had gone to avoid what they assumed was dangerous deep water, was even more unnerving, because the heavy 4x4s ahead of us had squelched quickly through the grass to the mud beneath. I knew that the shallowest track was little more than grassy decoration for a swamp.

Then I thought: What the heck, let’s do this. And with my foot reasonably far down the 1.6 turbo-petrol engine’s 130kW did come to the party. In mud, some expert 4x4 instructor once told me, there are three things to remember: Momentum, momentum and momentum.

The Tucson slithered and occasionally saw its traction control light triggered (should have switched traction control off…) but it made it through to the other side.

It was an indicator for me not of the Tucson’s performance (which was about what I would have expected – and thank goodness the mush didn’t go much further because the story would have had a different ending) – but about how quickly you can get into trouble off the beaten track (or road).

The Tucson’s more expensive all-wheel-drive sibling (R500 000 v R420 000 FWD variant we had) would have been better able to cope with the slush, but even then would not be a car one could venture very far off-road with, simply because it has limited ground clearance and a part-time AWD system. This means the vehicle is primarily front-wheel-driven until traction is lost by those wheels and then the rears come into action.

At risk of sounding like a looped sound clip, I say again: Subaru’s AWD is better, because it is permanent. That’s what my wife meant…

MOBILE FASHION STATEMENT

However, the reality is that a Tucson is a mobile fashion statement – and quite a pleasing one, to my mind. The new design is one of the best of the soft-roader category, up there with Ford’s Kuga and Mazda’s CX-3 in terms of prettiness. In my eyes, it is way, way better than the iX35 it replaced.

With its feminine, slightly bloated lines, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why any man would be seen driving one. The new one has the right blend of muscle and stance, as well as a bit of what I might call rakish intent.

Where the Tucson is up with the best in the segment is its ride. It absorbs city road imperfections with ease but, at the same time, offers a highway-driving experience which rivals that of an executive sedan.

There is no doubt it also handles well for a high-riding front-wheel-drive – the turn-in is crisp and steering feedback is good no matter whether you are in the “normal” or the gimmicky “sport” mode.

PUNCHY TURBO ENGINE

The turbo engine is a vast improvement on the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated powerplant, which still does duty in the lower models in the Tucson range. It is punchy and pulls well with little trace of turbo lag under most conditions.

However, the combination of low rev lack of boost and a somewhat springy clutch pedal means you can sometimes bog down a bit on take-off.

Using higher revs and slipping the clutch a bit seems to take care of that, though.

Fuel economy is another Tucson strong suit. In the city, I was getting between 10 and 11 litres per 100km but on my open highway test route (the same I use for all test cars so the playing field is level), the Tucson returned 7.0l/100km at an average speed of 113km/h over 145km. That’s excellent considering the car’s size and power.

The FWD Tucson is something to make the Camel Man (or Woman) look more attractive to others in the urban jungle, I suppose, and most of the cars will be bought for that reason.

CAPABLE MOM’S TAXI

Most will be used as moms’ taxis and, in that role, they are highly capable. Plenty of legroom in the back, a good sound system (with Bluetooth and USB connections) and a decent-sized boot.

While on the subject of features related to the family transport-mission profile, I was disappointed to note the penny-pinching and corner-cutting which characterised the Tucson’s big brother, the Santa Fe. Both have rear-view cameras but these display their images in a tiny display incorporated into the rear-view mirror.

Not good enough at these sort of prices (Subaru’s Forester, cheaper and more capable off-road, has a rear-view camera, which shows an image into a central, 7-inch touchscreen).

BEST WARRANTY IN THE BUSINESS

One of the most attractive features about Hyundai these days is that the manufacturer puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to quality, backing its cars with a 5-year, 150 000km manufacturer warranty and an additional, 2-year, 50 000km manufacturer warranty on the powertrain.

It’s simply the best in the business at the moment.

Not that Hyundai is putting much at risk – the brand’s quality and reliability are on par, easily, with Toyota – which has been considered the leader in that field for years.

VERDICT

In the end, I liked the Tucson; even more so when I saw that I had covered just under 500km and still had more than 350km of range left in the tank. Impressive.

It was also a pleasant vehicle to drive.

But for me, I would always be wary about forks in the road and about not getting to see what was around the corner or over the hill. Thanks, then, but no thanks. I’ll stick to my Subaru.

FACTS

Hyundai Tucson 1.6TGDI Executive

Engine: 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder turbopetrol

Gearbox: 6-speed manual

Power: 130kW @ 5500rpm

Torque: 265Nm @ 4500rpm

0-100km/h (claimed): 9.2 seconds

Top speed (claimed): 203km/h

Consumption (tested, urban): 10.5 l/100km

Consumption (tested, rural): 7.0 l/100km

Price: R419 900

Warranty: 5-year/150 000km