2021 Hyundai Tucson Long Term Reports

An event that I was certainly not looking forward to – the going back of the Tucson to the mother ship – has finally happened. One of my favourite long-term test cars, the Tucson had to be returned, which has considerably saddened me. Not only because I grew quite attached to this car but also because I now have to shift to a petrol-powered vehicle, which means my monthly fuel bills are going to go through the roof.

Now, the only word that comes to my mind to recount what I think of the Tucson is ‘grand’. Hyundai had changed a couple of things on the facelifted Tucson, which made it the perfect car for me. First, instead of the earlier two-tone finish, the interior is now all-black, which is perfect as far as I’m concerned. Then there are the LED headlights, which are extremely powerful and make long-distance driving at night a breeze, not to mention dealing with the pesky high-beamers in Delhi. And third, its massive panoramic sunroof – somewhat of a bittersweet addition. The sunroof is great in winter, as it improves the ambience of the cabin, but in summer, it’s a heat magnet, which doesn’t go well with the black interior.

The highlight of the package, for me, was the 2.0-litre diesel engine. With its 400Nm of torque, it gained pace at a furious rate and still remained very efficient. And the new 8-speed gearbox also did its job quite well. Sure, there were a few deficiencies – the steering was rather vague dead centre, and the high-speed ride could’ve been a bit better. But neither was a deal-breaker.

What worked the most for me was that the Tucson’s perfect size – whether I was going on my daily commute or on a 10-day long work assignment to Udaipur, with the car packed to the brim with luggage both in the boot and inside the cabin, the Tuscon was simply brilliant. The Infinity sound system also sounded good and made long road trips an absolute pleasure. Boy, I sure am sad to see the Tucson go, but with the new-generation Tucson due to be launched later this year, there’s always a new car to look forward to.

Recently, I was informed that Hyundai India wanted the Tucson back for a few weeks, and while I wasn’t happy to see it go, there was really no other choice. But what really hurt me was not the going away of the Tucson but the money that I had to pay for petrol for my replacement car. Before the excise duty reduction – not that things have improved a lot after that – the idea of going to a petrol station was really a painful one. Driving a big SUV with a petrol engine could easily make your eyes water, as I discovered. The fact that my weekly commute is a minimum of 400kms only added to my woes.

But ever since the Tucson returned, money seems to be favouring the inside of my wallet. For the past few days, I have been trying to drive the Tucson with a somewhat lighter foot, instead of my customary hell-for-leather driving. And I must say that the results are astonishing, with fuel efficiency going up to 14km/l, without significantly affecting my average speed.

Also, the Tucson needed rear brake pad replacement after nearly 25,000kms, which means the car has done quite well. Indications are that the Tucson will have to permanently go back to the Hyundai mothership soon, but until then, I am sure going to enjoy its massive torque and low running costs before I’m forced to drive something petrol-powered.

After an eventful month of July when I was able to take the Tucson on a lovely weeklong road trip, the Tucson was unfortunately trapped in the Delhi-NCR area for the most part of the next month. In August, I had hoped to squeeze in another trip or two, but that was not to be. Part of the was reason was the work pressure and the fact that numerous drives were happening, as the automotive world is slowly resuming some semblance of normality, with rising automotive sales. Growing demand and sales are always a good sign in terms of economic growth, especially after the haemorrhage our country has witnessed over the last year and a half.

Back to the Tucson’s status, after its service, it has been performing flawlessly. The climate control system, despite the big glasshouse and that humongous sunroof, continues to perform admirably, and I seldom see myself setting the temperature lower than 23 degrees, irrespective of the temperature outside. While I absolutely adore the all-black interior of the Tucson, I do miss ventilated seats – perhaps, the only feature that the Tucson lacks. Given my heavy-footed driving style, I was hoping that after the recent service, there might be an uptick in the fuel efficiency of the Tucson, but unfortunately, it remained just that – a hope. Sure, an efficiency figure of 11.5km/l for a large, powerful SUV is not bad at all, but with diesel prices being where they are, any saving opportunity is welcome.

Lastly, I did manage to squeeze in a short highway trip in the Tucson, owing to the fact that my second vaccine shot was due, and I had to travel to my hometown to get the jab. On our ever-improving roads, it’s quite fun to see how a torquey diesel engine, paired with a quick-shifting automatic gearbox, behaves on long runs. Even at three-digit speeds, the engine sits relaxingly at the 2,000rpm mark, right in the power band to deliver full grunt, in case you need to overtake a slower moving vehicle or increase your pace. What also helps here is the eight ratios of the eight-speed gearbox, which means that it has a lot more flexibility than the old six-speed unit. And honestly speaking, with governments across the world turning anti-diesel, we’re really going to miss the torquey nature and inherently better fuel efficiency of these engines when they’re gone.

The past month has been quite an eventful one for the Tucson. Not only did it get its first major service done – the brake pads, with nearly 20,000kms on the clock, were pretty much finished – but was also my partner in a rather nice 2,500kms road trip to Rajasthan and back.

First up, with the odo crossing the 16,000kms mark, I was beginning to feel that the brakes of the Tucson were not functioning at their optimum and hence booked it in for a service and brake check-up. As expected, the front brake pads were nearing the end of their lives and all the brake discs also needed to get phased on the lathe. At the same time, considering the car was near its second oil change service, we also went ahead with that. The whole experience of the same – at Himgiri Hyundai’s Gurgaon facility – was seamless and the car was turned around within the mentioned time. The bill for the service, brake pad replacement and brake disc work along with a few minor issues came to around eleven thousand rupees, which was quite reasonable.

With the service done, next up was the long road trip. I was invited on a media drive in Udaipur, and by now, sick of being trapped in the Delhi-NCR area, I decided to drive down to Udaipur, rather than take a flight. It had been a while since I’d driven past Jaipur, and I was extremely glad I made that choice. The highway from the Jaipur bypass onwards is much nicer than the hellish Delhi-Jaipur stretch and visually beautiful too. Sure, there’s lots of highway-widening work going on, but with roads largely empty, that was not a bother for me. And while on the way back – driving at night – I also discovered what a delight the super-bright LED headlights of the Tucson are, and how much easier they make driving at night.

I think I should try and do more such road trips, in these COVID inflicted times – these trips might just be what keeps me from going insane!  

The authorities often ignore how some of their decisions can adversely affect an average joe, and when it happens in turbulent times such as now, it becomes all the more problematic. My grudge here being the current stratospheric prices of fuel, which makes every refuelling event an eye-watering experience – both literally and figuratively.

Let me also admit that the petrolhead in me has never really worried about the fuel efficiency of my daily drivers. Partly due to my driving style, which includes a liberal application of the throttle, meaning that obtaining double-digit fuel-efficiency numbers from most vehicles remains a pipe dream. And in my 20-year career, I’ve been able to manage my fuel budget just fine.
But, with diesel at over `85 per litre and petrol nearly scoring a century, the fuel prices are hitting a new high. Thankfully, my commutes in the past couple of months have been shorter than usual, but with the second wave of COVID receding, that is bound to change, and I’ll have to drive long distances. And the current level of fuel prices, for the first time in my life, have become a cause of concern for me.

Small but much-needed mercy in such conditions is the Tucson. Despite the immense torque of its 2.0-litre engine, it still sips fuel conservatively. Currently, I’m getting a steady 11.5km/l in urban driving conditions, which I have to say is a welcome relief to my already depleted wallet!  

Many of my choices in life completely befuddle my colleagues, but perhaps the weirdest of them all is that I find summer to be the ideal weather. Yes, I know it gets scalding hot, but if you’re a driving enthusiast, summer is the best season for long road trips. Long days, no visibility issues due to the weather, and the fact that hills offer a welcome respite from the heat mean that I’m at my happiest in summer. This year though, like 2020, the summer has not brought much good news. And as a result, the Tucson has been spending more time parked than on the road.

But, I did go for some small trips – mainly to pick up supplies and on medicine runs – and I must tell you that the immense torque of the Tucson makes driving a real pleasure. But, if there’s an issue, it’s with the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which is simply too sensitive, and even a drop of 2psi in tyre pressure leads to the car warning you constantly until you refill the tyre. Given our road conditions, I think a slightly larger limit – say a warning after a drop of over 5psi – would have been a more practical and bearable solution. 

Last month, when filing my first long-term report of the new Tucson, I’d mentioned dreading how the humongous panoramic roof of the SUV was going to impact the interiors in the summers. Well, it’s barely the beginning of spring, and I already have the answer! You see, with Delhi now seeing temperature in the late-20’s, I can already feel how much heat transmission happens if you leave the fabric shade of the sunroof open, as I was doing throughout the winters. Sure, the cabin feels airy and very spacious with the shade open, but the minute I drive out of my tree-lined parking spot, I can feel the sun searing through the glass and straight on to my bald head. 

But the better part of the story is that the Tucson’s air-conditioning system is more than capable of keeping up with our summer and has been doing a terrific job of keeping the interiors cool. And while an all-black interior is not the best for a climate like ours but given the ease of keeping it clean, and how classy it looks, I really do enjoy the interiors of the Tucson. I think as long as I can manage to keep the sunroof shade of the Tucson closed throughout the summer, I should be fine!  

The latest addition to the autoX long-term fleet, the updated Hyundai Tucson, is quite an interesting one. You see, a few years ago, in 2018, I think, I had run the pre-facelift Tucson for quite a few months as a long-term car, and I have some fond memories of the machine. From its punchy engine to its spacious interiors, the Tucson was quite a fun car to use in both urban and highway conditions. Of course, it wasn’t without its flaws, the primary of which was my gripe with the high beam headlights, which were candle-like halogen projectors, compared to the uber-bright LED low-beams. 

But, thankfully, in the facelifted version of the Tucson, my biggest gripe with the car is gone. The new Tucson features full-LED headlights, which I have to say are extremely bright and make driving at night, especially in badly-lit areas, really easy. When it comes to the mechanicals though, nothing much has changed as far as the engine is concerned, but the Tucson does get a new 8-speed automatic gearbox, which I’m happy to say is faster than the previous 6-speed ‘box. 

The Tucson also gets minor styling changes to the front and rear, as well as new 18-inch wheels which look quite snazzy with their multi-spoke design. Also, the interior now features a humongous panoramic sunroof – really, the size of the roof simply has to be seen – and while that’s been a great boon in the winter months, I’m dreading what it’ll do to the heat retention in the cabin in the brutal summers that will eventually arrive. More so, because one major change in the interior of the Tucson is the all-black interior. I guess this summer will be a good season to test the air-conditioning capabilities of the Tucson. 

Overall, the Tucson still retains the trait that made it such a useful long-termer. The diesel engine is fairly efficient which means my monthly fuel bills have reduced, while the 400Nm of torque and its immediate power delivery make it a fun car to drive. Needless to say, I‘m looking forward to my time with the Tucson facelift.

Read more:

Hyundai Tucson facelift launched at Rs 22.30 lakh

2020 Hyundai Tucson: Top 5 features