The Hindu Business Line : Hyundai Tucson: Compact, but capable crossover

IN THE world of crossovers, diesels are a rarity. Crossovers are vehicles that merge the luxury, comfort, compact proportions and fuel efficiency of sedans with the handling, build and feel of a sport utility vehicle (SUV).

In the SUV-crazed US market, crossovers helped the relatively diminutive (at least in outlook) buyer make the `crossover' to sports-utes that are easier to handle, offered the creature comfort of a luxury sedan and did not guzzle gas by the gallon. Crossover-makers foresaw the rise in fuel prices and the resultant cost consciousness among American car buyers in what is arguably one of the markets least focussed on fuel efficiency.

The crossover or the compact SUV (in terms of market segmentation) has continued to evolve asiit attempted to lure the potential SUV or sedan customers. So, with equipment levels equalling or rivalling that of full-sized SUVs and luxury sedans, crossovers are also slowly going diesel, even in the US where this fuel is loathed. One of the first diesels in this segment in the US was the Jeep Liberty CRD.

Back home, compact SUVs are not new and the market for such vehicles has been climbing steadily. Some of the better-known crossovers are already here. We have had the Chevrolet Forester, the Honda CR-V and the Nissan X-Trail. But all of them have been petrol-driven; a diesel-engine, `right-size' luxury SUV was still not available. Until, that is, the launch last month of the Hyundai Tucson (pronounced Too-sawn).

Launched last year in the US, the Tucson was one of the first all-new vehicles to hit that highly competitive market from a resurgent Hyundai Motor that had just hit new highs in reliability and consumer confidence in the US.

With the kind of venerable competition already present in the market, Hyundai put a lot behind the Tucson. The most important being its unique design and good overall build quality. The Tucson's design is quite unique for Hyundai and is one of the few vehicles from that company that does not seem to have borrowed design lines from any other product in the market. The Tucson has also been built on the same versatile platform on which the new Elantra was constructed.

From the outside, the Tucson has a squat, well-planted look. It does not have Hyundai written all over it and though it has a few design quirks, it still oozes European chic. The cab-forward design — with a larger front half and the smaller, squat rear — gives it the ideal crossover look. This image gets accentuated by the increased width of the vehicle, the short overhangs, which have been achieved by pushing the wheels to the extremes and the sharply sloping roof-line which gives the Tucson a dramatically compact rear.

In the front, the Tucson's sculpted bonnet features two trapezoidal clear-lens headlamps that throw a powerful beam. The rectangular bonnet grille with a single horizontal slat is matched by a similar-size air dam integrated into the oversized bumper. The bonnet grille slat comes with chrome lipstick. The headlamps flow onto the bumper and fog lamps are set right below on either side. The oversized bumper is attention-grabbing and it does not come with body-coloured paintwork. Design lines flowing from the bonnet slab makes it look as if semi-bull bars have been incorporated on to the bumper.

Flowing along the sides of the Tucson and merging with the bumpers is black plastic cladding and chunky wheel flares that further enhance the squat appearance of this compact SUV. Well-defined muscular flanks end in the tail lamps.

At the rear, the vertically configured tail lamp cluster is positioned at the right height for good visibility. The hatch door opens upwards and flows down cutting deep into the bumper. The large tailgate affords easy access to the floor of the boot and limited access is also provided by the vertically opening rear glass. Separate levers have been provided to operate the whole hatch door and/or the rear glass.

Roof rails, rear wiper and chrome garnish at the rear are all standard fitment. A neat touch is the twin exhaust tail pipes peeping out from under the bumper that add to the symmetry and balance of the vehicle's design.

The Tucson boasts of a sedan-like monocoque construction. With high tensile sub-frames, this monocoque body and chassis give Tucson good rigidity and props it up for handling characteristics that could potentially match that of a sedan. However, the vehicle is sprung somewhat lightly with the suspension set up adjusted for India's roads. What is more, with the presence of real-time four-wheel drive, the vehicle's suspension had to be suited to perform in off-road conditions, too.

The suspension set-up in the Tucson includes Macpherson struts with coil springs in the front and dual link members at the rear with pneumatic-assisted, hydraulic, double-acting-type shock-absorbers. This set up, especially the multi-link rear suspension, ensures good ride quality, with the impact of bad roads absorbed to a large extent, though it may still not match some of the competition's performance.

The suspension configuration gives the Tucson great straight-line stability and considerable strengths while cornering. Body roll is minimal and the stabilising bar mounted on the strut ensures that the vehicle maintains its composure even it is being put through a tight turning manoeuvre.

The Tucson features the same two-litre common rail diesel engine as in the Elantra. This 1991cc engine, puts out a peak power of 112PS at 4,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 25kgM from as low as 1,800 rpm. The engine has been mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. An automatic version is not available here, though it is in other markets. To perform better in the heavier Tucson and to aid the SUV's driving characteristics, the two-litre CRDi engine gets coaxed by shorter gear ratios on the five-speed manual.

The common rail engine is also assisted by a turbocharger. While the turbocharger spools up quickly and the Tucson surges forward from the word go, thanks to the loads of torque that is available from a very low rev range, the engine is less tolerant to a drop in the rpm range within the same gear. This shows up as turbolag particularly at higher gears.

But the engine does not feel underpowered for a vehicle in this class. And the best part is the refinement of the engine and the NVH packaging in the Tucson. With the common rail's inherent benefits and the excellent quality of special NVH assists, cabin noise is amazing low and the average car user will have to be reminded that the Tucson runs on diesel and not its quieter fuel cousin.

The Tucson's drive and off-roading capabilities get a leg up with the standard fitment Borg-Wagner full-time four-wheel drive system. This extremely responsive and sophisticated 4WD system routes the available torque to the two front wheels during smooth drives on black top roads. In the event of wheel slippage or loss of traction or contact on any of the wheels, the on-board system automatically detects and routes adequate torque to compensate the slippage to the specific wheel. The Borg-Wagner 4WD system also allows the user to split available torque equally between the front and rear wheels (for off-roading conditions) at the flick of a dashboard switch.

The Tucson's interior is one of the roomiest in this class. Though this Hyundai looks compact from the outside, and is actually a bit shorter in length than the CR-V, the bigger width and the bit of the extra height gives the loads of shoulder room and storage space. The Tucson is a five-seater and though the boot volume is less than the CR-V's, the rear seats can be folded down for creating a nearly room-size area. The beige interiors that our test vehicle came with was also pleasing to the eye. The dashboard is neatly laid out and has a uniquely symmetrical design that is noticeable. The 2-DIN MP3 audio player, manual air-conditioning, pop-up armrests, tilt steering and loads of cubbyholes for storage are all standard fitment.

The finish quality of the interiors is on a par with the other vehicles in this segment. However, the interior features a lot of plastic and the special lacquered, vertical metal inserts on the centre console do not quite add that bit of crucial luxury feel to the vehicle.

Priced at Rs 15 lakh, the lack of a luxury feel to the Tucson's interior will be sore point. In this price segment, buyers will be more demanding.

The Tucson comes only in one trim currently, though another more expensive leather upholstered variant is expected soon. Internationally, the Tucson comes with two petrol engine variants, including a 2.7-litre V6 and a two-litre, four-cylinder, CVVT burner. But in India, the Tucson will only be offered with the CRDi diesel engine for now.

Hyundai has shrewdly chosen the diesel version to be able to put up a good fight with the segment's benchmark — the petrol-powered Honda CR-V.

Hyundai has also loaded the Tucson with safety equipment, including ventilated disc brakes for the front and rear, ABS with EBD, dual airbags and a traction control system.

But at Rs 15 lakh, ex-showroom, the Tucson is treading on the toes (or should we say tyres) of the Honda CR-V, which is the segment leader and the benchmark till now in terms of looks and luxury. But with a CRDi diesel whirring under its bonnet, the Tucson could wean away the cost-conscious buyer (who is also a petrol-head) in the crossover segment.

`Hyundai Mumbai' or `Ford Bangalore'?

A POPULAR advertising tagline of an erstwhile satellite telecom company used be: `Geography is now history'.

After that catchy, `oxymoronish' slogan and even as that company folded up, geography has been the inspiration for branding in the automobile industry.

Nowhere else has geography been used as much as a source of names by the automotive industry than in the US. With many US cities and districts sporting culturally diverse and fancy sounding names, lifting them off the maps for badging new cars seems to have been somewhat acceptable and possibly also struck a patriotic chord among the Americans. So, while Plymouth was one of the first brands that came about after being inspired by the name of a geographic location (city, district or state), there have been many more that have been adopted during the last few years. We could reel off quite a few, but the most prominent ones will include Sonoma, Tahoe, Pontiac, Tacoma and Santa Fe. The last named is a popular Hyundai SUV sold principally in the US. Hyundai also chose the name Tucson, the name of a city in Arizona in the US, to reflect the rugged, tough built style of the new crossover that the company introduced there in mid-2004.

Tucson and Arizona are well known for a breathtaking, raw and rugged landscape and the state is home to the Grand Canyon.

Can cars be named after some Indian cities? Can we stand a Hyundai Mumbai for example? We don't think that Indians have reached that level of `car mania' as yet. But with so much in the auto industry getting outsourced to India, who knows, we just might get to see a Ford Bangalore!

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