By The Time I Get To Tuscon…

by Jack Baruth

Published: February 17th, 2015

First, there was the five-seat Santa Fe, which in GLS V6 form was the ride of choice for our very own Bark M. back in the day. Then the Santa Fe went upmarket, so Hyundai created the Tuscon. Now the Tuscon is, apparently, going upmarket. It’s like what Chrysler did with Imperial, only in reverse!

The Sonata Eco 1.6L turbo powertrain is likely to be offered here in the United States; it’s a safe bet that the 2.4L NA four will also be available, most likely as the default.

As you can see, it looks very nice inside and out. Reports of ventilated seats might be for the Euro market only; their Elantra, for example, is available with more stuff than ours. Expect the new Tuscon to offer a 1982 Civic 1500GL’s worth of interior space at only twice the weight. We’ll have a chance to see it in the metal come the New York show in April.

Jack Baruth

More by Jack Baruth

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 58 comments

Magnusmaster on Feb 17, 2015

The design of this new Tucson is a huge step down from the current down, particularly in the rear. Peter Schreyer is doing a great job on Kia, but he's completely ruining Hyundai.

Like Reply
- See 1 previous
- 95_SC on Feb 17, 2015
  
  I think this looks way nicer than the current one.
  
  Like
- Ect on Feb 18, 2015
  
  I agree with mkirk, but this is a subjective topic. I found it amusing when we carshopped in 2013 that the Hyundai people were quick to brag about the company having hired a head designer from BMW, and the Kia people bragged about the company having hired a head designer from Audi. True to form, the Hyundais were very busy, bulky designs (to my eye), while the Kias were sleeker. The Kias also drove much better than the Hyundais. As one example, the Tucson of the day only offered the 2.4 engine, while the Sportage could be had with the 2.0 turbo. What a difference that made! The Sportage also had much better handling, and a better range of options. We almost bought it. So, our verdict was that Kia got the better German designer. It seems that Hyundai brass came to the same conclusion, although it took them considerably longer to do so. ANOTHER company that could have saved themselves time and/or made a better business decision by hiring me - but didn't. Alas!
  
  Like
AnotherMillenial on Feb 17, 2015

I think this Tuscon looks great, easily better-looking than anything else in it's segment, interior or exterior. From a visual standpoint '16 Mazda CX-5 comes in second, honorable mention to the Rav4's interior. Meanwhile, the Chevy Equinox looks (more or less) exactly the same.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Lorenzo The unspoken killer is that batteries can't be repaired after a fender-bender and the cars are totaled by insurance companies. Very quickly, insurance premiums will be bigger than the the monthly payment, killing all sales. People will be snapping up all the clunkers Tim Healey can find.
Lorenzo Massachusetts - with the start/finish line at the tip of Cape Cod.
RHD Welcome to TTAH/K, also known as TTAUC (The truth about used cars). There is a hell of a lot of interesting auto news that does not make it to this website.
Jkross22 EV makers are hosed. How much bigger is the EV market right now than it already is? Tesla is holding all the cards... existing customer base, no dealers to contend with, largest EV fleet and the only one with a reliable (although more crowded) charging network when you're on the road. They're also the most agile with pricing. I have no idea what BMW, Audi, H/K and Merc are thinking and their sales reflect that. Tesla isn't for me, but I see the appeal. They are the EV for people who really just want a Tesla, which is most EV customers. Rivian and Polestar and Lucid are all in trouble. They'll likely have to be acquired to survive. They probably know it too.
Lorenzo The Renaissance Center was spearheaded by Henry Ford II to revitalize the Detroit waterfront. The round towers were a huge mistake, with inefficient floorplans. The space is largely unusable, and rental agents were having trouble renting it out.GM didn't know that, or do research, when they bought it. They just wanted to steal thunder from Ford by making it their new headquarters. Since they now own it, GM will need to tear down the "silver silos" as un-rentable, and take a financial bath.Somewhere, the ghost of Alfred P. Sloan is weeping.