Post by eCkS on May 2, 2004 1:53:22 GMT -5
This could be a winner. And if so, it cements the notion of Hyundai as a proper maker of proper cars just as the Coupe, the Matrix and the Getz have done.
Here's the idea. A compact soft-roader SUV, designed to take on the Toyota RAV4, the Nissan X-trail, the Honda CR-V/H-RV and the Land Rover Freelander, is offered at a tempting price without sacrifices in quality or engineering depth. It is built on a chassis-less, unitary platform in the modern idiom (so it shares nothing with its Hyundai group stablemate, the larger Kia Sorento, for example) and has a V6 engine in its top versions (only the Freelander matches that).
Sounds good so far. But is it credible? 4Car flew to Korea to find out first-hand in an exclusive first drive ahead of the Tucson's UK debut in the autumn. And the credibility is pretty much complete even if the Tucson is less than perfect.
So, what exactly is the Tucson? It slots below the Santa Fe and the Terracan (both of them separate-chassis 4x4s) in the Hyundai line-up and, wisely, doesn't have quite the radical sculpture of the Santa Fe. That car's strange concave wheelarches and scooped-out flanks might be distinctive but they also make it look as if it has been in an accident. The Tucson is a bit calmer visually, but still has the muscled-up wheelarch shapes endemic among Far Eastern 4x4s (there was no European design-house input for this Hyundai). Which is not a jibe: it looks fine, and the body is accurately made with excellent panel gaps.
Under this body is a platform of seemingly remarkable versatility, given that it also underpins the Coupe and the Lantra saloon. The all-round strut suspension is toughened up, of course, and that at the rear modified to take the drive to the rear wheels - unless you opt for mere appearance instead of visually-suggested function, and go for a front-drive-only Tucson. Most of the time, the transversely-mounted engine (set far below the bonnet line) sends its efforts to the front wheels only, but the 'Intelligent Torque Management' which delivers 'torque on demand' diverts power rearwards as required when the front wheels lose traction. It does this by applying current to the electromagnetic clutch just ahead of the rear differential, locking it entirely if necessary.
How much the clutch grips is computed by means of sensors for throttle position, steering angle, wheel speed (the ABS sensors) and whether the brakes are in use. So the torque split can change more quickly than it could with an essentially passive viscous coupling. The driver can lock the clutch manually for guaranteed traction in very slippery conditions, too, by means of a facia button. The clutch unlocks itself above 18mph to prevent transmission wind-up and excess tyre wear.
So, a simple but effective 4WD system, which is augmented by traction control and, optionally, ESP stability management (which gets very confused if you attempt a handbrake turn on grass). As for engines, they are much as for the Coupe - a 2.0-litre four-cylinder with continuously variable inlet-cam timing delivering 142bhp and 136lb ft of torque, and a 2.7-litre V6 with a three-stage variable-resonance inlet manifold, 175bhp and 178lb ft. More popular than these, however, is likely to be the 2.0-litre common-rail turbodiesel, currently able to liberate 112bhp at 4000rpm and 181lb ft between 1800 and 2500rpm. These outputs may improve when the diesel gets its variable-geometry turbocharger, probably in time for the UK launch.
The V6 gets twin exhaust tailpipes, widely spaced as befits a vee-engine peddling the illusion of two separate exhaust systems. Oddly, though, the diesel has the same two tailpipes. Some models have plain black plastic for the wheelarches, lower body sides and the deep front valance, while the higher-trim versions - spec and designation to be confirmed for the UK - have these parts in body colour. Wheels are 16 inches diameter with either 215/65 or 235/60 tyres.
Now, a quick interior tour. European cars won't get the lashings of fake walnut beloved of the Korean market, and instead will have plain grey or mock-aluminium adornment. The result is a tidy and quite tasteful cabin, but the Tucson's relatively low cost - UK prices of this five-door-only 4x4 will start at around £15,000 - is shown in the hard plastics that furnish most of the cabin. This is not so unusual in an age which seems to be moving away from padding, but at least some soft-touch paint (as used in the Coupe) would have been good.
This is quite a handy load-carrier, though, with rear seats and a front passenger seat able to fold flat, and the front seats also able to be reclined flat to make a bed. There's an extra layer of underfloor storage beneath the boot floor, and the rear shelf springs into place on four clips. It doesn't hinge up readily, though, slightly negating the usefulness of the separately-opening rear window. The gap between shelf and reclining rear seats is bridged by fabric 'hammocks' which clip to the rear headrests. Rear head- and legroom are plentiful.
If the interior finish is one low-cost indicator, then the diesel engine is another. That's a little unkind, because the diesel is more refined in this application than it is in the Santa Fe and has a quiet tickover, but its sound levels are more Toyota (no praise intended here) than, say, Peugeot-Citroën. It's acceptable, though; less so is the pace it provides, at least with the four-speed automatic we sampled. (A five-speed manual is the alternative.)
The Tucson is a heavy car, with even the lightest busting the 1500kg barrier - it's part of the price paid for a likely EuroNCAP four-star rating. We witnessed a 30mph head-on barrier test, incidentally, after which all doors opened, door gaps were barely disturbed and the entire passenger compartment was intact. But the result is pained performance on hills and a lot of shifts for the smooth-shifting transmission to do. There's a Tiptronic mode, too, but the automatic shifts are well-enough managed to make its use more a matter of intrigue than necessity.
Maybe the forthcoming variable-geometry turbo will help here, and certainly the manual gearbox's extra ratio will help make the most of the engine's ability. And there's fair ability elsewhere in the Hyundai's dynamic repertoire, in particular a smooth, supple, quiet and well-damped ride. The Hyundai engineers talk of firmer settings for Europe, but we must hope the ride isn't spoilt. It's just right for UK roads as it is, but the steering would benefit from a sharper initial response and less power assistance if it is to match that of its rivals. Hyundai knows this, so we can expect Euro-spec cars to be better here.
A session slithering around a hilly field proved that the Tucson has enough off-road ability to be a credible 4x4, and that suppleness was welcome on such a surface. We then finished with a rapid run along the twisty coast road of Korea's Cheju Island ('The Hawaii of Korea') in the V6, again with a four-speed auto. Here, too, we were aware of the weight but the V6 engine revved smoothly enough to energise this Tucson quite effectively.
How effectively we can't quantify, as Hyundai hasn't yet published performance and economy figures for the Tucson range, but the V6 certainly felt livelier than the Freelander V6 (not a major feat). It also held the road firmly with little understeer, although again the steering's initial lack of firmness made the Tucson feel more the precarious SUV than it really is.
So that's the Tucson. It's a capable, well-made and decent-looking soft-roader, class-competitive and requiring no apology. It's proof again that the Korean carmakers have come of age. It needs re-tuned steering (which is promised for the cars we'll get in our showrooms), the diesel needs that variable turbo and the transmissions could both use an extra gear, but it's still Hyundai's most civilised 4x4.
As good as a RAV4 five-door? Well... yes, actually.
Here's the idea. A compact soft-roader SUV, designed to take on the Toyota RAV4, the Nissan X-trail, the Honda CR-V/H-RV and the Land Rover Freelander, is offered at a tempting price without sacrifices in quality or engineering depth. It is built on a chassis-less, unitary platform in the modern idiom (so it shares nothing with its Hyundai group stablemate, the larger Kia Sorento, for example) and has a V6 engine in its top versions (only the Freelander matches that).
Sounds good so far. But is it credible? 4Car flew to Korea to find out first-hand in an exclusive first drive ahead of the Tucson's UK debut in the autumn. And the credibility is pretty much complete even if the Tucson is less than perfect.
So, what exactly is the Tucson? It slots below the Santa Fe and the Terracan (both of them separate-chassis 4x4s) in the Hyundai line-up and, wisely, doesn't have quite the radical sculpture of the Santa Fe. That car's strange concave wheelarches and scooped-out flanks might be distinctive but they also make it look as if it has been in an accident. The Tucson is a bit calmer visually, but still has the muscled-up wheelarch shapes endemic among Far Eastern 4x4s (there was no European design-house input for this Hyundai). Which is not a jibe: it looks fine, and the body is accurately made with excellent panel gaps.
Under this body is a platform of seemingly remarkable versatility, given that it also underpins the Coupe and the Lantra saloon. The all-round strut suspension is toughened up, of course, and that at the rear modified to take the drive to the rear wheels - unless you opt for mere appearance instead of visually-suggested function, and go for a front-drive-only Tucson. Most of the time, the transversely-mounted engine (set far below the bonnet line) sends its efforts to the front wheels only, but the 'Intelligent Torque Management' which delivers 'torque on demand' diverts power rearwards as required when the front wheels lose traction. It does this by applying current to the electromagnetic clutch just ahead of the rear differential, locking it entirely if necessary.
How much the clutch grips is computed by means of sensors for throttle position, steering angle, wheel speed (the ABS sensors) and whether the brakes are in use. So the torque split can change more quickly than it could with an essentially passive viscous coupling. The driver can lock the clutch manually for guaranteed traction in very slippery conditions, too, by means of a facia button. The clutch unlocks itself above 18mph to prevent transmission wind-up and excess tyre wear.
So, a simple but effective 4WD system, which is augmented by traction control and, optionally, ESP stability management (which gets very confused if you attempt a handbrake turn on grass). As for engines, they are much as for the Coupe - a 2.0-litre four-cylinder with continuously variable inlet-cam timing delivering 142bhp and 136lb ft of torque, and a 2.7-litre V6 with a three-stage variable-resonance inlet manifold, 175bhp and 178lb ft. More popular than these, however, is likely to be the 2.0-litre common-rail turbodiesel, currently able to liberate 112bhp at 4000rpm and 181lb ft between 1800 and 2500rpm. These outputs may improve when the diesel gets its variable-geometry turbocharger, probably in time for the UK launch.
The V6 gets twin exhaust tailpipes, widely spaced as befits a vee-engine peddling the illusion of two separate exhaust systems. Oddly, though, the diesel has the same two tailpipes. Some models have plain black plastic for the wheelarches, lower body sides and the deep front valance, while the higher-trim versions - spec and designation to be confirmed for the UK - have these parts in body colour. Wheels are 16 inches diameter with either 215/65 or 235/60 tyres.
Now, a quick interior tour. European cars won't get the lashings of fake walnut beloved of the Korean market, and instead will have plain grey or mock-aluminium adornment. The result is a tidy and quite tasteful cabin, but the Tucson's relatively low cost - UK prices of this five-door-only 4x4 will start at around £15,000 - is shown in the hard plastics that furnish most of the cabin. This is not so unusual in an age which seems to be moving away from padding, but at least some soft-touch paint (as used in the Coupe) would have been good.
This is quite a handy load-carrier, though, with rear seats and a front passenger seat able to fold flat, and the front seats also able to be reclined flat to make a bed. There's an extra layer of underfloor storage beneath the boot floor, and the rear shelf springs into place on four clips. It doesn't hinge up readily, though, slightly negating the usefulness of the separately-opening rear window. The gap between shelf and reclining rear seats is bridged by fabric 'hammocks' which clip to the rear headrests. Rear head- and legroom are plentiful.
If the interior finish is one low-cost indicator, then the diesel engine is another. That's a little unkind, because the diesel is more refined in this application than it is in the Santa Fe and has a quiet tickover, but its sound levels are more Toyota (no praise intended here) than, say, Peugeot-Citroën. It's acceptable, though; less so is the pace it provides, at least with the four-speed automatic we sampled. (A five-speed manual is the alternative.)
The Tucson is a heavy car, with even the lightest busting the 1500kg barrier - it's part of the price paid for a likely EuroNCAP four-star rating. We witnessed a 30mph head-on barrier test, incidentally, after which all doors opened, door gaps were barely disturbed and the entire passenger compartment was intact. But the result is pained performance on hills and a lot of shifts for the smooth-shifting transmission to do. There's a Tiptronic mode, too, but the automatic shifts are well-enough managed to make its use more a matter of intrigue than necessity.
Maybe the forthcoming variable-geometry turbo will help here, and certainly the manual gearbox's extra ratio will help make the most of the engine's ability. And there's fair ability elsewhere in the Hyundai's dynamic repertoire, in particular a smooth, supple, quiet and well-damped ride. The Hyundai engineers talk of firmer settings for Europe, but we must hope the ride isn't spoilt. It's just right for UK roads as it is, but the steering would benefit from a sharper initial response and less power assistance if it is to match that of its rivals. Hyundai knows this, so we can expect Euro-spec cars to be better here.
A session slithering around a hilly field proved that the Tucson has enough off-road ability to be a credible 4x4, and that suppleness was welcome on such a surface. We then finished with a rapid run along the twisty coast road of Korea's Cheju Island ('The Hawaii of Korea') in the V6, again with a four-speed auto. Here, too, we were aware of the weight but the V6 engine revved smoothly enough to energise this Tucson quite effectively.
How effectively we can't quantify, as Hyundai hasn't yet published performance and economy figures for the Tucson range, but the V6 certainly felt livelier than the Freelander V6 (not a major feat). It also held the road firmly with little understeer, although again the steering's initial lack of firmness made the Tucson feel more the precarious SUV than it really is.
So that's the Tucson. It's a capable, well-made and decent-looking soft-roader, class-competitive and requiring no apology. It's proof again that the Korean carmakers have come of age. It needs re-tuned steering (which is promised for the cars we'll get in our showrooms), the diesel needs that variable turbo and the transmissions could both use an extra gear, but it's still Hyundai's most civilised 4x4.
As good as a RAV4 five-door? Well... yes, actually.
