2020 Hyundai Tucson Facelift - What Does The SUV Offers In The First Drive?

2020 Hyundai Tucson Overview: What are the variants?

The Hyundai Tucson made its entry into the Indian auto market in 2005. However, the South Korean automaker did not receive a good response from the customers to the SUV in the country and need to cancel all the plans with the SUV. With a view to improving the Hyundai Tucson’s sales number, the third generation of the SUV was launched in 2016 with more than 200 bookings in the first month. To make things even more positive, a mid-life facelift was given to the SUV earlier this year with alterations inside out. As regards its target customers, the South automaker is expecting the owners of the current Hyundai Creta to update to the new 2020 Tucson facelift. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the facelifted Hyundai Tucson deserves to be an ideal alternative to the Hyundai Creta. This review will help you find the answer to this question.

2020 Hyundai Tucson 360 View: How does it look on the outside?

The Hyundai Tucson exterior has been improved with quite a few alterations despite the fact that its athletic silhouette and sporty stance have been preserved. In the front, the SUV comes with a wider and sharper cascading grille. While the general shape of the headlights has been kept the same, they are now wider and sharper than those on the previous model with five LED projectors and LED DRLs. The fog light housings are also redesigned in a way to fit in the LED DRLs. There is also a silver scuff plate on the bumper and several tight creases on the bonnet, which gives the Hyundai Tucson a meaner presence.

On the side profile, the most noteworthy alteration to the updated Tucson is the redesigned 18-inch diamond-cut alloy rims. Moreover, the roof rails now feature piano-black finish. In the rear, there are much more changes in comparison with the front and side profile. The split tailgate has given way to a single-piece hatch. Also, the taillights have been revised with a different glow pattern. The rear bumper is now a new unit, too. The reflectors are now positioned a little bit higher while the skid plate is polishing than before. Thanks to all these changes, the Hyundai Tucson now features a cleaner rear.

Overall, despite being subtle, the improvements in terms of the exterior to the Hyundai Tucson still can help the SUV look fresher.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Dimensions: Length, width, height & more

The Hyundai Tucson measures 4,480 mm, 1,850 mm, 1,660 mm in length, width and height, respectively with a 2,670 mm wheelbase and a 170 mm ground clearance.

The Hyundai Tucson exceeds the Creta in terms of almost all dimensions: length, width, height and wheelbase, which means that the former can offer a much more amber cabin than the latter.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Interior: What does the SUV have to offer?

In mid-life upgrades, the interior tends to be paid little attention to. Nevertheless, the facelifted Hyundai Tucson is an exception.

Seating capacity

The interior space of the new Hyundai Tucson is impressive with highly supportive and electronically adjustable front seats which offer amber headroom, shoulder room and legroom. Nevertheless, the second seat row feels narrow with a big transmission tunnel in the rear which eats up considerable space in the footwell. The rear-seat sun-blinds, which are present in the Creta, are also absent. Fortunately, the SUV features 3-point seatbelts for the middle-seat occupants of the second row. Moreover, the backrest can be bent to considerable angles.

Interior design

Two major changes have been done to the interior of the SUV: an all-black paint scheme and a revised dashboard. The all-black coulour theme does make the Tucson look premium on the inside but also diminishes the airiness of the cabin. Fortunately, large panoramic sunroof helps the cabin considerably less suffocated. The revised dashboard now features an 8-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system which supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and is paired with an 8-speaker Infinity sound system which feels not as good as the Creta’s Bose-sourced unit. The touchscreen display has now been moved to the top of the dashboard; in its previous place are the air-conditioning vents.

The new Hyundai Tucson has a 513-litre facelift with a deep and wide boot which can comfortably house luggage for four occupants on a weekend trip. The parcel shelf can be adjusted to three positions. A 220v power socket is also available in the boot. Many storage spaces are available in the cabin such as door bins, two cup holders in the front centre console and the rear-seat armrest as well as a deep cubbyhole in the front armrest.

Features

Like any other Hyundai cars, the Hyundai Tucson is also very well-equipped with a wide range of top-notch features. These include automatic headlights, windshield wipers, heated ORVMs, powered tailgate with hands-free function, two-zone climate control, wireless phone charging, cooled glovebox, auto-dimming IRVMs, Hyundai’s BlueLink connected technology, rear air-conditioning vents.  In terms of the safety features, the Hyundai Tucson offers six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, hill hold control, front & rear parking brake, rear parking camera with dynamic guidelines, etc.

Generally, the cabin of the facelifted Hyundai Tucson is an absolute improvement over the Creta with respect to quality and features. Nevertheless, it misses out on the rear-blinds and ventilated front seats, both of which are available on the Creta.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Performance: Is it powerful?

The Hyundai Tucson receives its power from both petrol and diesel motors. Therefore, we have decided to separate this session into two parts which each part focusing on one motor of the new SUV.

Petrol

Diesel

To have a closer look at how the new Hyundai Tucson performs in real conditions, let's have a look at the video below.

Riding and handling quality

The Hyundai Tucson facelift rides on Mc Pherson struts with coil-overs in the front and a multi-link system in the rear. While they are not the most segment-most advanced suspension elements, they can offer a smooth drive. The facelifted Hyundai Tucson can offer the best riding quality in Hyundai's portfolio. The suspension can absorb bumps with a thud without any impacts on the general poise and composure of the ride.

Nevertheless, massive bumps must be gradually addressed. The ride feels planted at high speeds; the suspension soaks up bumps with no jittery problems at low speeds. The body roll, while still being noticeable, can be very well-controlled. Noteworthily, the new Tucson comes with one of the best steering response systems in Hyundai’s portfolio in India. It does not feel heavy at low speeds and allows the driver to easily make tight parking manoeuvres.

The South Korean automaker has offered the facelifted Tucson with a progressive braking system which consists of disc brakes at all four corners. The Tucson rides on Nexen-sourced 225/55/R18 tyres which offer plenty of grip in both wet and dry conditions. Nevertheless, the traction when the car is going off-road is not enough for the car to overcome serious obstacles.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Economy: Is it fuel-efficient?

A car with a decent fuel mileage can help the car owner save a great amount of money in the long run; therefore, car buyers usually consider fuel mileage to be one of the top priorities when choosing their car.

Petrol

Diesel

The new Hyundai Tucson delivers 12.95 kmph and 15.38 kmpl in the petrol and diesel versions, respectively.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Price: Is it affordable?

The 2020 Tucson is priced from INR 22.30 lakh to INR 27.30 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), which makes the new SUV the most expensive offering in Hyundai's portfolio in India.

Although this price range is higher than that of the Hyundai Creta, considering the wide range of features that the Tucson has to offer, it is a real value for money. If you want to buy a Hyundai Tucson at a much more affordable price, please pay a visit to the used cars section of IndianAuto which has a wide range of used car models of various brands for you to choose from.

2020 Hyundai Tucson colours: How many options?

The new Hyundai Tucson is offered in four different colours: Polar White, Starry Night, Phantom Black and Typhoon Silver.

2020 Hyundai Tucson Pros and Cons: What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Verdict: Is the 2020 Hyundai Tucson worth buying?

To make itself a real value for money, the Hyundai Tucson facelift has a gorgeous appearance, a strong road presence and is very well-equipped. While it is not a breakthrough in mechanical aspects over the prefacelifed version, the new 8-speed AT does has its own appeal. Moreover, the AWD system can help the car overcome mild off-road terrains. All in all, the facelifted Tucson deserves to be a worthy alteration to the current Hyundai Creta.

To discover more Hyundai new cars, pay a visit to IndianAuto.