Hyundai Tucson: when looks could thrill

A more pronounced front end that finishes with a muscular blunt rear

With the way the new Tucson is designed, Hyundai must’ve been banking on it to be judged as people would, a book by its cover. It’s a fact that when it comes to automobiles, aesthetics is paramount, for if its looks can’t even rouse your interest to grab the door handle and get you into its driver’s seat, all is lost.

For the Tucson however, it’s looking like an invitation that’s bordering on seduction.

Sleek, with a character line so deliberate it’s almost an incision, a more pronounced front end that finishes with a muscular blunt rear… it has a squat and sporty stance and an aerodynamic, wedge-shaped silhouette; all hallmarks of Peter Schreyer’s design. Mr. Schreyer is the creative genius responsible for the total transformation of Kia’s product line, and that led him to become the head of design for the Kia-Hyundai Corporation, and eventually, its president. His uncompromising passion for the realization of his design concepts seeping through the sheet metal and getting infused with a car’s engineering and performance aspects is inspiring and impressive to say the least. It is the realization of the second phase of Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy, and we were the ones privileged enough to get first crack at its dynamic aspect.

Sleek, with a character line so deliberate it’s almost an incision

Our big group of motoring journalists that included delegates from two other Asean countries were flown to Roxas City, where we started our long drive to Caticlan. A couple of buses shuttled us to where an entire fleet of gleaming new Hyundai Tucsons were parked, ready to embark. After we rushed through the safety briefing, we jumped right into our assigned unit—a top spec’d 2.0-Liter 4WD, CRDi-powered Tucson that had my name on it. In no time, our brisk convoy was carving curves through Roxas city.

The Tucson from its first iteration had already made a mark by being a reliable compact SUV that’s economical. Not much of a looker, but well, very fast. In fact, that’s how I got my first vivid demonstration of what Torque-steer was about, when a car’s low-end Torque was too robust that if you accelerate through a tight turn, you’d actually feel it trying to straighten your path. With its diesel engine, it could easily out-accelerate a Honda Civic back then. This time around on its third iteration, the improvements came in leaps and bounds.

A grand welcome for a compact SUV with a grand style

After I was easily able to dial-in my ideal driving position, I settled into the drive in no time. What the new Tucson made obvious right away, was its plush ride quality—the kind you’d normally enjoy in a premium luxury vehicle. We’re not talking BMW X3 levels yet, but it’s darn close. The suspension’s pleasantly pliant but felt well planted, and that translates to a pleasantly smooth ride that doesn’t compromise handling. The characteristic assertive acceleration was definitely there, but was impressively delivered with finesse, calmly taking you to three-digit cruising speeds with nary a grunt. It actually felt a lot more capable than its listed power rating of 178 PS and 41 kg/m of Torque. It also felt very well-balanced and sharp when I took on tight consecutive turns at speed—a benefit from its generous use of high-strength steel on its chassis and other components that improved its overall rigidity. Plus of course, it being equipped with a state-of-the-art AWD system that’s complemented by Advanced Traction Cornering Control (ATCC) that maximizes grip whatever the terrain. The Tucson’s predictable “pointability” is exceptional, I just wish the steering was a little more weighted, to make spirited driving with it more engaging.

In a fast-moving convoy, driving gets more demanding when you’re tailing someone closely as you try to consistently maintain a tight gap, so I’m thankful for the larger brakes with ABS and EBD, that gave the Tucson ample and reliable stopping power to handle those in-your-face decelerations. I leaned on that drive to make it a real test for the Tucson, and it aced it.

We were made to compete in a photo contest for the Tucson during the drive, and it involved about 30 of us photographing a single Tucson on a certain spot. The challenge there was to come up with a great photo of it despite the fact that everyone was shooting the same exact thing. I drew on the experience of driving one as inspiration, as I bought into its concept—of it performing as great as it looks, of somehow understanding what Fluidic Sculpture meant—via the most dynamic of demonstrations. Exceptional, even excellent, the new Hyundai Tucson is, and I attribute bagging wins in two categories to being fired-up by it.