Hyundai Tucson 2021 review walkaround

I'm Tom Baker, this is Chasing Cars, and this is the all-new fourth generation Hyundai Tucson, and isn't it a looker? At least I think so. Of course, design is subjective, but it's very clear that Hyundai have decided that the Tucson isn't going to blend in anymore, and they have gone after a design which is extremely, extremely distinctive. Clearly based around a very geometrical shape at both the front and the rear, the body is full of creases, and it's going to stand out in one of the most crowded fields in the market, and that is mid-sized SUVs here in Australia. Now, this is an all-new car, it's got a new platform, although some things are familiar, including the engine lineup, which we'll get into a little bit later in today's video. There's also two hybrids under close consideration for Australia. Now, no decisions have been made yet, partially because there are some problematic cost considerations that come into it, and the fact the Australian government doesn't have specific financial incentives for buyers who get into low CO2 vehicles. Hyundai say that puts Australia lower down the pecking order to receive the new Tucson hybrid, but you can let me know down below in the comments if you'd consider this car, and if you did, whether you'd want to see it in a series parallel hybrid or a plug-in hybrid version. But in today's video, what we're going to do is take a look at the new Tucson in detail. We'll jump into the cabin and check out the radical new interior in this crossover. We'll have a look at rear seat space, which is bolstered by the fact that Australia is only receiving the new long wheelbase version of the Tucson compared to the short wheelbase, which is the only offer in Europe. We'll check out the boot space and the amount of luggage you can put in this car, and then we'll chat about the engines and how we expect this Australian-tuned SUV to drive when it launches mid-next year. But before we get into all of that detail, make sure to hit subscribe down below and the notification bell so you never miss any of our uploads. Jumping inside the Tucson, we see that this new generation SUV has a completely different interior to the car that it replaces. I mean, that's no great shock when you go from a full generation change to the next, but it really is a departure from the existing car, which is, you know, fine inside, but ultimately pretty forgettable. Forgettable is not a phrase that you would use to describe the new Tucson's cabin, which goes from very middling in the midsize SUV segment to one of the best, in my opinion. Now, Hyundai call this new concept interspace, and what that really refers to is just the illusion, well, not even an illusion, the actual fact of having a greater amount of forward space and space around you because the technology has kind of been integrated better. Initially, you'll see that this dashboard here has absolutely no cowl over the instruments, so the removal of that binnacle means that your visibility forward is a lot better than before. However, it also opens you up to the problem of glare on the driver's digital display here. However, Hyundai have an answer for that. They say they've applied a quite expensive anti-glare film to both displays to prevent glare from the sun and reflections at night. Now, I can't test that because we can only look at this car inside. It doesn't launch in Australia until pretty much mid-next year, but I look forward to working out whether that has actually worked. But moving across here to the center console, you'll see that Hyundai have ditched the previous Tucson's floating sort of stuck-on style touchscreen, which a lot of people really, really disliked, and they've instead gone for an integrated screen. So you can let me know down below in the comments whether you prefer that. The new screen is really wide, not very tall, but extremely high resolution, crisp, and much faster to respond to the touch. It's also capable of doing split-screen view with really, really rapid and responsive switching between the functions. It will also launch with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto here in Australia, while audio will be taken care of by a new Bose premium sound system with the brand moving away from Infinity as a supplier of their premium audio systems. This particular vehicle is indicative of a high spec, probably a Highlander when it arrives in Australia, so we do have luxurious features like seat cooling and heating, as well as a heated steering wheel for those cold winter mornings. We also have moved from the presence of a physical gear shifter to just buttons, which liberates a bit more space between the seats too, though if you haven't used one of these before you will have to get used to pushing buttons for gears instead of selecting with a shifter. There will be an auto across the range, a six-speed torque converter with the updated 2.0-litre petrol, an eight-speed dual clutch in the diesel, and a seven-speed dual clutch in the turbo petrol. Plus there's a bit more storage space. We have a big tray down here ahead of the shifter with wireless smartphone charging on a tilt so your phone doesn't fall out. It also seems to me like the wireless charging actually has a bit of cooling as well, which is very intelligent. There's a box between the seats, decent sized door bins as well, but it's really material quality that's stepped up. I mean, look at this steering wheel. Not only does it look very avant-garde, but it's also very, very soft. Plus there's a leather-like material running across the dash and the doors, and actually some integration of fabric too to bring a little bit of warmth here to the cabin. This one's black. You will also be able to get a grey colour scheme, but not a warmer, lighter colour than that actually. So up front, I think there's a lot to like, and it's good to see Hyundai differentiating themselves. Let me know what you think, and now let's jump in the second row. But it's here in the second row that you'll really reap the benefit of the fact that Hyundai Australia have said they're only taking the long wheelbase version of the Tucson. What does that mean? Well, Europe are getting a shorter version, so one that'll be easier to park basically, whereas Australia and the United States are now taking a larger version of the Tucson that has an extra 75 millimetres between the axles. And as you can see, that translates into pretty phenomenal legroom here in the second row. Now I'm six foot, I've got the driving seat set in my own position, and this is where I fit behind myself. Legroom is cavernous. Toe room, there's heaps of it. And headroom is really good, even though this car is fitted with an optional panoramic sunroof. Plus, I reckon you could get three people sitting abreast if you had to, because the floor is low, even though this car has the all-wheel drive system fitted to it. However, even though we get a stretched Tucson, Hyundai have chosen not to cram a third row into this car, because they have the Santa Fe for that, and also the forthcoming Palisade, so they probably don't need three three-row SUVs. So you never seem to know these days, do you? In terms of amenities, we do have air vents back here. We've got USB ports, old style, weird for a car launching in 2021. We have the Annoy Your Parents feature for the front row seats as well, and a flip-down armrest with two cup holders. Plus, check this out. The recline is amazing on the back row seat, which will put your kids to sleep on a road trip really well. One quirk though, this is the long wheelbase car that Australia is getting. However, the only Tucson hybrids are coming out of the factory in Europe. Does that mean they'll be short wheelbase? Not really sure. We're still waiting on an answer on that particular question. Now on that note, let's check out cargo room. Now heading to the back of the new fourth generation Tucson, as I mentioned this is basically the equivalent of what will be a high spec car here in Australia. All those sorts of detailed specifications and pricing haven't been finalized yet, but I mean this certainly looks like a Highlander to my eyes. It's also wearing the largest wheel size that we know the Tucson will come with for now, and those are 19-inch wheels. There will be a sportier N-line version coming out later, and possibly, probably, possibly even a full-fat Tucson N as well. Now, the design around here on the tail, I love it. I'm not hugely convinced yet by the side profile of this car, but the rear lights are totally rad with these kind of teeth striking down. You know, obscure reference, but it actually reminds me a little bit of the Saab 94X SUV, which we never got here in Australia, but looked pretty cool. But other aspects are totally modern, including this full-length LED light bar across the back, and even a hidden rear windscreen wiper. Not even the Genesis GV80 gets that, so that's pretty cool. Now, as you'd expect, we do have a power tailgate when I can find the button. Hey, this car only came out this morning. I don't blame myself too much. Now, that operates really quickly, which is great, and it opens up to reveal a boot that does benefit from the longer wheelbase of our version of the Tucson as well, plus nice features like a completely flat load bay here, so you don't have to lift stuff in and out. Now, those rear seats, they only fold 60-40. The best cars in this segment for practicality do fold 40-20-40, and in terms of special features, it's a bit few and far between in the boot. Shopping bag hooks, for example, MIA for now, but we can fold down those rear seats with pull tabs here in the boot, and of course, for country buyers, they will appreciate the fact that we do actually have a full-size spare, even in this top-spec equivalent model. Whether or not that stays for the final version, I'm not sure, but hopefully, given there does appear to be sufficient room. Next up, let's chat about the engines that we know are locked in for Australia for the new Tucson, plus the two hybrids under close consideration. Hyundai Australia have already confirmed three engines for the release of the new Tucson, and all of them are based on updated SmartStream versions of the current lineup here in Australia. That means two petrols and one diesel. The price leader will be a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol with front-wheel drive, a SmartStream version of today's engine. Currently, this entry-level Tucson produces 122kW of power and 205Nm of torque. Now, it's possible that it would lose direct injection if it mirrors changes to the new i30 sedan, which launches with an MPI version of the SmartStream 2.0-litre, but either way, this engine won't be the desirable one. People will continue to choose the turbo diesel or turbo petrol if they're looking for a Tucson with a bit more pep. First to the turbo petrol, which will continue to measure 1.6 litres of displacement and be available with all-wheel drive. In terms of outputs, we expect this to sit somewhere between 130kW and 150kW of power for the standard versions of the turbo petrol Tucson, with a bit of power left in reserve for an N-line version that will be revealed later, and torque will likely remain at 265Nm sent to all four wheels. While the most frugal Tucson will continue to be the 2.0-litre diesel AWD variant, at the moment it produces 136kW of power and 400Nm of torque. It's possible this particular car is fitted with the SmartStream D 1.6 engine, which makes 100kW and 320Nm. There's not yet a SmartStream 2.0-litre diesel, but that's probably being developed for our market as we speak and we'll likely see more details on that later. As for hybrid and plug-in hybrid, which are officially under consideration for Australia but have certainly not been confirmed, Hyundai Australia made the following statement. We are interested in all electrified powertrains and will always study new products carefully, but at this time no decisions have been made to introduce Tucson PHEV or HEV models. With no Australian government-regulated corporate fleet emissions targets in place, we're not considered a priority market for electrified powertrains. This does not rule us out for any products, but it puts us lower down the list than we might otherwise be. So that's a detailed first look at the new 2021 Hyundai Tucson SUV. Now obviously this is a really bold design play from Hyundai. There's plenty of other good parts about this car, you know it's available with a good torquey diesel engine and all-wheel drive, I'm sure it's going to be very good to drive because it has that Australian ride and handling tune, plus the interior is pretty nice, but really it's about catching your attention with the exterior design. That's kind of the main point, and because design is so subjective that means it's really up to you whether you think this is a good looking car or not, and that's what I want you to let me know down below this video in the comments. While you're there make sure to hit subscribe and the notification bell so you never miss any of our full-length highly detailed Australian video car reviews, and as always thanks for watching Chasing Cars.