The Hyundai Tucson sticks to the brand’s modern-day playbook by providing a strong value with premium features, a long warranty, and looks that often exceed its price tag. However, in this hotly contested segment, this Hyundai needs to extend its focus to include power and overall refinement in order to rise to the top.
What's New for 2018
While there are no significant mechanical or styling updates, Hyundai has updated its trim hierarchy and feature content for the Tucson. The SE with Popular Equipment Package becomes the SEL, while the SE Plus becomes the SEL Plus. The Value and Limited nomenclatures remain, while the Eco, Sport, and Night trims have been discontinued for 2018.
Choosing Your Hyundai Tucson
Depending on the trim, Hyundai equips the Tucson with one of two powertrains while all-wheel drive is available on all trims for $1,400.
The base SE, mid-level SEL, and SEL Plus trims feature a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, rated at 164 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque, and a traditional six-speed automatic transmission.
The Value and Limited trims come standard with a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This combo develops 175 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque.
The EPA estimates the 2.0-liter with standard front-wheel drive achieves 23 miles per gallon city, 30 mpg highway, and 26 combined. The all-wheel-drive system lowers these estimates to 21 mpg city, 26 highway, and 23 combined, which is a significant penalty when compared to its competitors. The more powerful and efficient 1.6 liter turbo model achieves 25 mpg city, 30 highway, and 27 combined while AWD reduces these EPA estimates to 24 mpg, 28, and 25 combined.
Hyundai has reconfigured the trim levels and has built in some price and feature overlap between the mid-range SEL Plus and the Value packages - meaning, the turbocharged engine doesn’t necessarily correspond with the more luxuriously equipped vehicle.
There are no factory options available on any trim, except for the top-tier Limited trim.
The Value trim is the least expensive trim available with basic active safety features. In fact, stepping up to this trim brings a fairly comprehensive feature list including the the upgraded powertrain. The Value trim, is indeed, the best in all around value - acting in the true sense of the word.